• National nuclear medicine shortage could have a Wisconsin solution

    Scientists believe they can generate the neutrons necessary to create Mo-99, an essential nuclear medicine tool, without using a nuclear reactor to do so; there is almost no long-lived nuclear waste, no risk of an explosive accident, and it is about 20 times less expensive to produce than more traditional methods

  • A Delaware chemical ID startup earns a state grant

    AlphaSense is working on developing a prototype, which will look like a shoebox; the user will put a swab of the material into the box and the device will sense emissions in the terahertz range to identify the chemical compound

  • Radiation safety

    A new book — Radiation Safety: Protection and Management for Homeland Security and Emergency Response — helps first responders, EMS, and medical personnel understand how to detect and cope with nuclear incidents

  • NRC seeks tighter oversight of often-lost radioactive devices

    A 3 August proposal by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) would expand the agency’s oversight, giving federal and state officials more muscle by stiffening regulations on almost 2,000 items — mostly industrial gauges containing radioactive material; there are approximately 2 million radioactive devices in factories, hospitals, research facilities — and the GAO estimates that up to 500,000 of those devices are unaccounted for

  • Millimeter-wave imaging comes to Cleveland, Houston airports

    TSA expands its testing of millimeter wave and backscatter imaging systems, deploying them in Cleveland and Houston; TSA claims passengers’ privacy is guaranteed, but passengers can opt out of being screened and choose body pat instead

  • Breakthrough: Radiation protection drug developed

    American and Israeli researchers developed a drug which offers protection from radioactive radiation; the drug uses proteins produced in bacteria found in the intestines to protect cells against radiation; the FDA is expected to approve the drug within a year or two

  • Hair examination can help in tracing terrorists

    U.K. researchers devise a test which uses laser to determine the recent whereabouts of an individual by analyzing hair strands

  • Scientists work on creating robot-insects

    Researchers in the field of insect-machine hybrids believe the day is not far when police could release a swarm of robot-moths to sniff out a distant drug stash, and rescue robot-bees would dodge through earthquake rubble to find survivors

  • Inkjet printer technology to be used in biosensors

    Researchers describe a method for printing a toxin-detecting biosensor on paper using a FujiFilm Dimatix Materials Printer; the method relies on a “lateral flow” sensing approach similar to that used in a home pregnancy test strip

  • Cities need to prepare for a home-made nuke

    An explosion of ten kiloton nuclear bomb in a city would be disastrous; as catastrophic as such an attack would be, it would not level an entire city, and a timely response could save many lives

  • New way to make sensors that detect toxic chemicals

    Ohio State University researchers use extremely pure, very small metal-oxide nanoparticles to make materials for gas sensors that detect toxic industrial chemicals (TICs) and biological warfare agents

  • Experts: local and regional approach better for addressing radioactive waste

    The Obama administration has stopped funding for the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository, so experts say it is now time for a regional and local approach to solving the nuclear waste problem

  • GAO finds major security flaws at federal buildings

    Undercover investigators sneaked bombs and detonators past security guards and into federal buildings occupied by DHS, Justice, and State departments; the investigators were able to assembled the bombs, carried them in a briefcase and “walked freely around several floors”

  • NYPD deploys mobile radiation detectors

    DHS gives the NYPD three SUVs equipped with sophisticated radiation detectors; each monitor cost $450,000

  • Ground-penetrating radar helps border patrol to spot tunnels

    DHS researchers place radar antennas in a trailer which is towed by a Border Patrol truck; the antennas shoot a signal directly into the ground and use it to construct a multi-colored picture of the earth; tunnels show up as red, yellow, and aquamarine dots against a blue background