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National Security Commission on Emerging Biotechnology Urges Swift Action to Protect U.S. National Security

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Emerging biotechnology is key for U.S. to remain dominant and secure future economic growth in a new era of global competition.

WASHINGTON, April 8, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Today, the National Security Commission on Emerging Biotechnology delivered its major report and action plan to Congress. The Commission’s top assessment is that urgent Congressional action is needed to bring the full weight of American innovation to bear on the biotechnology challenge and maintain U.S. global leadership in this transformative area.

Read the report here: www.biotech.senate.gov/final-report

For decades, the U.S. has been the global leader in biotechnology innovation. Now, the Commission finds that the U.S. is dangerously close to falling behind China.

The United States is locked in a competition with China that will define the coming century. Biotechnology is the next phase in that competition. It is no longer constrained to the realm of scientific achievement. It is now an imperative for national security, economic power, and global influence. Biotechnology can ensure our warfighters continue to be the strongest fighting force on tomorrow’s battlefields, and reshore supply chains while revitalizing our manufacturing sector, creating jobs here at home.” -NSCEB Chair Senator Todd Young

The Commission reports that the United States’ growing dependence on China for numerous critical supply chain elements is a national security vulnerability. Biotechnology can be the key to increasing supply chain security, resilience, and scalability, by allowing the U.S. to control its own access to critical components.

“Technology is not inherently good or bad, but who uses it matters. Biotechnology can have tremendous potential for good or tremendous potential for harm. The Chinese government has made biotechnology a strategic national priority for 20 years. The U.S. must reassert our global leadership to remedy this strategic weakness. We must be the ones driving the standards for how biotechnology is developed and used” -NSCEB Vice Chair Dr. Michelle Rozo

The Commission finds that emerging biotechnology is rapidly advancing, and the impact of biotechnology innovation already extends far beyond health, touching industries from agriculture and infrastructure, to manufacturing and defense. The intersection of artificial intelligence (AI) and biotechnology is accelerating this impact.

“Biotechnology holds immense potential to transform numerous key sectors of our economy and will create good paying jobs at all skill levels in agriculture, health care, defense, industrial manufacturing, and more. I am proud to be part of this commission that is ensuring the United States maintains our national security and economic competitive advantages as biotechnology grows across industries.” -NSCEB Commissioner Senator Alex Padilla

The Commission reports that biotechnology will drive the next wave of battlefield innovation, used to secure supply chains, enhance readiness, streamline logistics, improve resilience, and counter biological threats before they emerge.

“As emerging technologies transform the national security landscape, both the United States and our adversaries are gaining new capabilities. The United States must take the lead in biotechnology and propel us ahead of China in the 21st century.” -NSCEB Commissioner Representative Stephanie Bice 

The Commission’s assessment is that the future of American biotechnology leadership is only possible through strategic federal action that encourages innovation by spurring private investment. This includes targeted investments and strategic government reforms to reduce regulatory bottlenecks.

“We must embolden the best and brightest in biotechnology to innovate boldly. American ingenuity is stifled by outdated regulations in this sector. Only Congress can open the door to the American-led biotechnological future.” -NSCEB Commissioner Representative Ro Khanna 

The Commission’s report lays out six pillars for action and makes 49 recommendations. Full details can be found at www.biotech.senate.gov/final-report

Pillar 1: Prioritize biotechnology at the national levelPillar 2: Mobilize the private sector to get U.S. products to scalePillar 3: Maximize the benefits of biotechnology for defensePillar 4: Out-innovate our strategic competitorsPillar 5: Build the biotechnology workforce of the futurePillar 6: Mobilize the collective strengths of our allies and partners

Scheduling note:
HASC Subcommittee on Cyber, Information Technologies, and Innovation hearing on: Final Report of the National Security Commission for Emerging Biotechnology
Witnesses: NSCEB Chair Young and Vice Chair Rozo
Date/Time: Tuesday, April 8th at 4:00pm ET

About NSCEB: The National Security Commission on Emerging Biotechnology is a time-limited, high-impact legislative branch advisory entity whose purpose is to advance and secure biotechnology, biomanufacturing, and associated technologies for U.S. national security and to prepare the United States for the biorevolution. The Commission published a comprehensive report in April 2025, including recommendations for action by Congress and the federal government. The bipartisan Commission is composed of Congressionally-appointed Commissioners with members from both the Senate and the House of Representatives as well as experts from industry, academia, and government. For more information about the Commission and to view the report, visit https:// biotech.senate.gov.

Contact: press@biotech.senate.gov

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SOURCE National Security Commission on Emerging Biotechnology

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Ultra Clean Announces Retirement of the Chief Financial Officer Sheri Savage

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HAYWARD, Calif., April 28, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Ultra Clean Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq: UCTT), today announced that Sheri Savage, CFO, will be retiring from the company.

“On behalf of the Board and the entire UCT team, I want to extend my deepest gratitude to Sheri for her remarkable 17 years of leadership and service,” said James Xiao, CEO. “Throughout her tenure, Sheri has played a pivotal role in shaping UCT’s financial strength, operational discipline, and long-term strategic direction. Her steady leadership, deep expertise, and unwavering commitment to excellence have helped guide the company through multiple industry cycles, positioning UCT for the next phase of growth. Sheri has been a trusted partner to me, the Board, and the broader global finance team, and her positive impact on this company will be lasting. We thank her sincerely for her dedication and wish her all the very best in her well-earned retirement.”

“It has been an incredible honor to be part of UCT’s journey over the past 17 years. I am deeply proud of what we have built together – strengthening our financial foundation, supporting our customers, and growing alongside a truly talented and committed global team,” said Sheri. “I am grateful for the trust and support I’ve received from my colleagues, our leadership team, and the Board throughout my tenure. UCT is well positioned for the future, and I look forward to watching the company continue to grow and succeed in the years ahead.”

The Board has initiated a comprehensive search for Sheri’s successor, considering both internal and external candidates, and will provide an update in due course.

About Ultra Clean Holdings, Inc.

Ultra Clean Holdings, Inc. is a leading developer and supplier of critical subsystems, components, parts, and ultra-high purity cleaning and analytical services, primarily for the semiconductor industry. Under its Products division, UCT offers its customers an integrated outsourced solution for major subassemblies, improved design-to-delivery cycle times, design for manufacturability, prototyping, and high-precision manufacturing. Under its Services Division, UCT offers its customers tool chamber parts cleaning and coating, as well as micro-contamination analytical services. Ultra Clean is headquartered in Hayward, California. Additional information is available at www.uct.com.

Contact:

Rhonda Bennetto
SVP Investor Relations
rbennetto@uct.com

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SOURCE Ultra Clean Holdings, Inc.

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SandboxAQ CEO Jack Hidary at Davos: GPS Jamming and AI Cyber Threats Now Converge

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CEO tells The National that navigation interference and AI vulnerabilities now form a single threat surface for critical systems.

PALO ALTO, Calif., Apr. 28, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — At the World Economic Forum in Davos, Jack Hidary, CEO of SandboxAQ, warned that GPS jamming, GPS spoofing, and AI-enabled cyberattacks are converging into a single operational threat to critical systems. In remarks to The National, Hidary said the threats are no longer separate concerns but overlapping challenges requiring unified resilience.

SandboxAQ addresses both fronts with two technologies: AQNav, which uses the Earth’s magnetic field — the same signal birds and animals navigate by — to deliver resilient positioning, navigation, and timing in GPS-denied environments, and AQtive Guard, which unifies AI security and cryptographic posture management.

GPS interference is shifting from edge case to operational norm:

In June 2025, residents across multiple Middle Eastern countries reported location-service disruptions affecting consumer devices, ships, and aircraft, according to The National.In September 2025, media outlets reported GPS jamming on a flight carrying European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, attributed to Russian interference.

“Recently, there was a plane flying and because it lost GPS because of jamming, the autopilot would not engage,” Hidary said, citing pilot reports of cascading failures inside aircraft systems. AQNav, tested by the US Air Force and several aviation companies, has drawn interest from Middle Eastern airlines.

Hidary linked GPS disruption to a parallel AI threat: “Large language models are also a vector of cyber attack.” He cited nation-state hackers exploiting generative AI tools, plus the Samsung incident, where engineers entered confidential information into ChatGPT.

The WEF’s 2026 Global Risks Report ranks cyber insecurity #6 among short-term global risks, with adverse outcomes of AI technologies showing the sharpest long-term rise — moving from #30 in the two-year outlook to #5 in the ten-year outlook. The report warns that “technological risks are also anticipated to worsen in severity over the next decade.”

Learn more or request a demo at sandboxaq.com. Read the full Davos coverage in The National.

About SandboxAQ

SandboxAQ is an enterprise company delivering AI solutions at the intersection of machine learning and science. Spun out from Alphabet in 2022, it develops Large Quantitative Models (LQMs) for life sciences, cybersecurity, financial services, navigation, and advanced materials. Visit www.sandboxaq.com to learn more.

 

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SOURCE SandboxAQ

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Tech-Access Canada Welcomes $165M Federal Investment to Accelerate Commercialisation

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OTTAWA, ON, April 28, 2026 /CNW/ – Tech-Access Canada, the national network of Canada’s Technology Access Centres (TACs), welcomes today’s federal Spring Economic Update, which includes an investment of $165 million over five years to extend support for the College and Community Innovation (CCI) Program.

Delivered through Canada’s tri-council research system and administered by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, the CCI Program enables businesses to access applied R&D expertise, specialized facilities, and technical services to advance innovation and bring new technologies to market.

This investment will strengthen Canada’s capacity to support commercialisation and productivity by helping businesses, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises, accelerate the development, validation, and adoption of new products, processes, and technologies.

“Continued support for the CCI Program reinforces a proven model that connects businesses with the expertise and infrastructure they need to innovate and compete,” said Melanie Ross, Research Chair, Green Building Technology Access Centre, Southern Alberta Institute of Technology, and Chair of Tech-Access Canada’s Board of Directors. “Technology Access Centres deliver practical, industry-driven solutions that help companies move ideas forward and translate innovation into real economic outcomes.”

Each year, TACs work with thousands of companies across sectors to advance technologies along the commercialisation pathway from early-stage validation through to deployment and scale-up. By providing objective, non-dilutive support, TACs help companies make informed decisions, avoid costly missteps, and accelerate time-to-market.

“This investment helps ensure that innovation developed in Canada stays in Canada,” said Ken Doyle, Executive Director of Tech-Access Canada. “TACs help companies commercialise here at home reducing risk, accelerating time to market, and driving real outcomes. As Canadian firms scale and export globally, that success returns to the Canadian economy.”

Tech-Access Canada’s network includes more than 70 Technology Access Centres located across the country, providing businesses with access to over 2,100 applied R&D experts, millions of square feet of specialized facilities, and hundreds of millions of dollars in equipment and infrastructure.

About Tech-Access Canada

Tech-Access Canada is the national network of Canada’s Technology Access Centres (TACs), which help businesses access the expertise, facilities, and support they need to advance innovation and bring new products and services to market.

www.MeetTheTACs.ca

SOURCE Tech-Access Canada

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