• Breakthrough: Universal detection system

    Livermore researchers work on developing a universal detection system — a system that can monitor the air for virtually all of the major threat agents that could be used by terrorists: biological, chemical, explosives, and radiological — along with illicit drugs

  • Smith Detection shows peroxide vapor detector

    Peroxide is used in many household chemicals — and by terrorists; Smith Detection shows a hand-held detector which allows for fast detection of IEDs; military and airline industry are primary markets

  • Super-sensitive explosives detector

    Innovative explosives detector can detect explosives at distances exceeding 20 yards; the technology is a variation of photoacoustic spectroscopy but overcomes a number of problems associated with this technique

  • MoD: The risk of nuclear warheads' "popcorning"

    Light-weight but extremely sensitive high-explosives are use to envelop the plutonium core of nuclear warheads; these explosives trigger the implosion which causes a nuclear reaction to happen; U.K. Ministry of Defense is worried that these explosives are so sensitive, they may explode if warheads are dropped to the floor or bump each other, triggering “popcorning”

  • New X-ray technology order of magnitude brighter

    The electron pulse enters an undulator and generates an X-ray which is reflected back into the undulator entrance by crystals and connects with the next electron bunch and again travels back along the undulator

  • Unmanned Ground Systems Summit: Early Bird Special

    Unmanned systems perform more and more missions that used to be performed by humans; the Pentagon plans to spend about $4 billion on robots by 2010; IDGA holds ground robots summit in D.C. this August

  • Universal biosensor would detect disease, bioterror attack, pollution

    A consortium of U.K. research institutions, in collaboration with a Chinese University, work on developing a universal biosensor which would help in many types of detection — from home diagnosis of disease to chemical plant monitoring, anti-bioterrorism, and pandemic outbreak

  • DHS experiments with testing planes for radioactive cargo

    In an effort to prevent terrorists from bringing radioactive materials into the United States on planes, DHS engages in 4-month, $4 million test to see whether the government’s radiation-detection equipment can pick up depleted uranium and other radioactive material hidden aboard passenger planes

  • Scientists scan boats for radiation

    Scientists from several national labs collect radiation data in Puget Sound with help form nationwide program

  • School of Robofish forms basis for underwater robot teams

    Most ocean robots require periodic communication with scientist or satellite intermediaries to share information, but new robots can work cooperatively communicating only with each other

  • U.S. nuclear recycling plans raise proliferation risks

    GAO says that the Department of Energy’s new approach to recycling nuclear materials — or rather, the department’s 2006 decision to go back to a more traditional plutonium separation method — increases the risk of nuclear proliferation

  • Russian sources: Gas leak in China contained phosgene

    A 5 June gas leak in a Chinese plant located near the Russian border caused a gas cloud to waft over the border and kill several Russin citizens; Russian scientists say the gas contained phosgene, a known chemical warfare agent with a lethal concentration of 0.01-0.03 milligrams per liter

  • Next generation of nukes may not happen

    The U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) had argued that the Reliable Replacement Warhead (RRW) was needed because it would be safer to stockpile and harder for terrorists to acquire and use, but Congress was not persuaded

  • Thermo Fisher's radiation detection system available commercially

    Thermo Fisher Scientific launched its intricate radiation detection system during last year’s Labour Party conference in Bournmouth; company now makes system available for the wider markets, targeting first responder, nuclear power, industrial, and medical facility protection

  • 5th Bomb Wing flunks nuclear inspection

    Last August six nuclear-tipped cruise missiles were mistakenly loaded onto a B-52 Stratofortress at Minot Air Force Base in South Dakota and flown to Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana — a serious violations of the U.S. Air Force’s regulations regarding flying nuclear weapons over U.S. terrotiry; heads rolled; the Defense Threat Reduction Agency came back to Minot on 17 May to conduct an inspection of how nuclear weapons were being handled now — and issued a scathingly critical report