• Space debrisMonitoring Space Debris

    Swirling fragments of past space endeavors are trapped in orbit around Earth, threatening our future in space. Over time, the number, mass and area of these debris objects grows steadily, boosting the risk to functioning satellites. ESA’s Space Debris Office constantly monitors this ever-evolving debris situation, and every year publishes a report on the current state of the debris environment.

  • Truth decayThe State of the Science of Combating Misinformation

    With the current flood of misinformation and “fake news” undermining democracies around the world, a consensus document that summarizes the science of debunking has been published by a team of 22 prominent researchers of misinformation and its debunking.

  • InfrastructureClimate Change Undermines Safety of Europe’s Buildings, Infrastructure

    Buildings and infrastructure also need to adapt to the changing climate. Updating structural design standards is crucial to improving European climate resilience and ensuring the safety of constructions, that are expected to suffer from changes in atmospheric variables and more frequent and intense extreme weather events. The higher temperatures expected over the next 50 years in Europe will accelerate corrosion of buildings, and will expose infrastructure to higher stresses, thus undermining the safety of constructions.

  • Truth decayGame “Pre-Bunks” COVID-19 Conspiracies as Part of U.K.'s Fight against Fake News

    Go Viral!is a new game developed in partnership between the University of Cambridge and the U.K. government. Based on “inoculation theory,” it simulates an environment for users to play the role of fake news producer, so they can understand how COVID-19 misinformation circulates online.

  • Emergency responseThis Emergency Response Tech May Just Save Your Life in a Shooting

    By Naama Barak

    Gabriel is an emergency-response system that can be installed in schools, places of worship, workplaces and elsewhere to help save lives in cases of shootings and other attacks. New Gabriel device detects gunshots, points first responders to the scene and mitigates crises in schools and places of worship.

  • CommunicationThe Future of Security-Forces Communication

    Setting out to tackle real-world challenges in the fight against terrorism and crime, researchers and police officers have developed a new, future-ready technology for sharing information and coordinating in the field. The solution has since been adopted throughout Germany on the merits of its great practical benefit and acceptance on the part of users.

  • Climate challenges“Staggering” Rise in Climate Emergencies in last 20 Years

    The first twenty years of this century have seen a “staggering” rise in climate disasters, UN researchers said on Monday. There were 7,348 recorded disaster events worldwide, during the last two decades, causing the death of approximately 1.23 million people. These two decades of disaster also caused $2.97 trillion in losses to the global economy.

  • DeepfakesFooling Deepfake Detectors

    Because new security measures consistently catch many deepfake images and videos, people may be lulled into a false sense of security and believe we have the situation under control. Unfortunately, that might be further from the truth than we realize.

  • Rare earth mineralsPredicting Valuable Rare Earth Element Deposits

    Pioneering new research has helped geologists solve a long-standing puzzle that could help pinpoint new, untapped concentrations of some the most valuable rare earth deposits.

  • DeepfakesIn a Battle of AI versus AI, Researchers Are Preparing for the Coming Wave of Deepfake Propaganda

    By John Sohrawardi and Matthew Wright

    Deepfakes are here to stay. Managing disinformation and protecting the public will be more challenging than ever as artificial intelligence gets more powerful. People may soon be able to watch videos through a specialized tool, which tells them whether or not the videos they are watching are what they seem – or whether the videos are “deepfake,” videos made using artificial intelligence with deep learning. We are part of a growing research community that is taking on the deepfake threat, in which detection is just the first step.

  • DetectionMarine Organisms as Underwater Detectives

    Because marine organisms observe changes in their environment using a combination of senses, they offer unique insights into the underwater world that are difficult to replicate using traditional engineering techniques. DARPA wants to leverage marine organisms for persistent monitoring and detection of underwater vehicles to bolster shores and harbors protection.

  • Mini reactorsMini Nuclear Reactor to Solve the E-Truck Recharging Dilemma

    Electric semitrucks sound like a great idea, leading to cleaner, carbon-free skies. But the largest cross-country 18-wheel truck needs five to 10 times more electricity than an electric car to recharge its battery. And these trucks often need to recharge far from high-power transmission lines. Where will that electricity come from? Engineers will tell you the answer is clear — microreactors.

  • Search & rescueRapid Rescue of Buried People

    When someone is buried by an avalanche, earthquake or other disaster, a rapid rescue can make the difference between life and death. Researchers have developed a new kind of mobile radar device that can search hectare-sized areas quickly and thoroughly.

  • Food securityGlobal Food Production Poses an Increasing Threat to the Climate

    The significant use of nitrogen fertilizers in the production of food worldwide is increasing concentrations of nitrous oxide in the atmosphere—a greenhouse gas 300 times more potent than carbon dioxide—which remains in the atmosphere longer than a human lifetime.

  • Energy securityTwo's a crowd: Nuclear and Renewables Don't Mix

    If countries want to lower emissions as substantially, rapidly and cost-effectively as possible, they should prioritize support for renewables, rather than nuclear power. That’s the finding of new analysis of 123 countries over 25 years.