• Iranian-born U.S. citizen charged with nuclear smuggling

    The Iranian-born engineer worked for seventeen years at Palo Verde nuclear plant, about fifty miles west of downtown Phoenix, the largest U.S. nuclear plant; he loaded software onto his laptop, and took the laptop to Iran

  • Microwave: Nondestructive imaging technology of the future?

    Microwaves on a chip may replace X-rays for medical imaging and security

  • Bluetooth-based traffic tracking system

    Bluetooth-based traffic tracking system would provide information on the speed of the morning commute — or the sluggishness of airport security lines

  • IAEA: Iran evasive about its nuclear program

    Iran’s march toward the bomb continues unabated; the U.S. intelligence community may have concluded that Iran had “halted” its nuclear weapons program in 2003, but a UN atomic agency says indications are to the contrary

  • Turning buses into mobile sensing platforms

    Modern buses could be used as mobile sensing platforms, sending out live information that can be used to control traffic and detect road hazards, according to European researchers

  • Super-sensitive spray-on explosive detector

    A new explosive detection system: A spray detects the presence of just a billionth of a gram of explosive, and shows the difference between nitrate esters, such as trinitroglycerin, and nitroaromatic explosives, such as TNT

  • Nanotechnology-based biosensor

    NASA develops nanotechnology-based biosensor that can detect trace amounts of specific bacteria, viruses, and parasites; New York-based Early Warning, Inc. will initially market the sensor to water treatment facilities, food and beverage companies, industrial plants, hospitals, and airlines

  • Jimmy Carter: Israel has 150 nuclear bombs

    Former president breaks a 40-year taboo which saw U.S. officials — and Israeli officials — refuse to make explicit references to Israel’s nuclear arsenal

  • Boston biolab: Panel urges review of possible lab threats

    As community opposition to the almost-complete Boston University biolab continues, a panel of experts says neighborhood’s concerns — and safety — should not be excluded from consideration of final approval for lab opening

  • Civilian nuclear facilities in Sichuan confirmed safe

    The Chinese government has identified 32 radioactive sources in the earthquake-devastated Sichuan area - hospitals, research centers, factories, but no power plants; 30 sources have already been located and removed; the two remaining sources have been cordoned off and are being excavated

  • An HSDW conversation on hazmat detection with Frank Thibodeau, vice president, Bruker Daltonics NBC Detection Corp.

    Each year, 1.7 to 1.8 million carloads of hazardous material (hazmat) are transported by rail in the United States; hazmat detection is essential in preventing accidents developing into catastrophes; Bruker Daltonics’ RAID-M, offering sensitivity and specificity, monitors concentrations of both chemical warfare agents and toxic industrial chemical vapors in ambient air

  • Experts to address IED threat

    Improvised explosive devices (IEDs) have proven deadly against ground transportation in Iraq and other theaters; experts believe the day is not far when terrorists would use them against rail and ground transportation in Europe and the United States

  • New sensor for detecting plastic explosives

    Zinc complexes are naturally fluorescent, but they lose this ability when exposed to chemicals contained in plastic explosives, a phenomenon called quenching; since zinc complexes react by losing different amounts of their fluorescent ability, they can be used to create sensor arrays that produce a different visual display when exposed to different explosives

  • Nuclear proliferation looms, I

    Owing to rising oil prices and worries about climate change, there is a growing interest in nuclear power generation; forty countries have told the UN nuclear agency of plans to develop nuclear power generation capability; experts worry that this interest in nuclear technology is fueled at least in part by interest in nuclear weapons - especially in Middle Eastern countries terrified about the rise of a nuclear-armed Iran

  • New cell-based sensors sniff out danger

    New sensors will incorporate living olfactory cells on microchips; sensors would detect presence of IEDs –- but may also be used to sense the presence of pathogens, the presence of harmful bacteria in ground beef or spinach, and detect the local origin of specialty foods like cheeses or wines