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Penn State researchers increase data transmission rate of copper cables
Nittany Lions electrical engineers show it is possible to increase the data transmission of Category-7 copper cables used to connect computers to each other and the Internet
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Researchers slow down, stop, and capture light
Slowing light would allow the use of light rather than electrons to store memory, enabling an increase in operating capacity of 1,000 percent by using light’s broad spectrum rather than single electrons
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CANBERRA offers new interactive CD for popular UltraRadia radiation monitor
Monitoring nuclear radiation and dosage levels is becoming more important for firefighters, HAZMAT teams, paramedics, and other first responders — but also for soldiers in the theater; it is also important for those in the nuclear power industry
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GeoEye's technology monitors endangered gorilla population
Specialist in satellite, aerial, and geospatial information donates high-duality maps of Africa’s Virunga National Park to help in mapping mountain gorilla habitat
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Chinese espionage "single greatest risk" to U.S. technology sector
China’s disregard of intellectual property law is a matter of record; European governments are increasingly alarmed by Chinese intelligence engaging in massive industrial espionage campaign on behalf of Chinese companies; now, congressional panel warns of dire consequences to U.S. technology sector from sustained, sophisticated Chinese espionage campaign
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Pulse power harnessed to defeat IEDs
Texas company wants to use pulse power as the basis of an anti-IED device; DHS will give the company $2.5 million to continue to develop the idea; company says the principle behind the anti-IED device can be use in killing cancer cells, cleansing polluted air, purifying water
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Using pulse power to stop cars in their tracks
A beam of microwave energy could stop vehicles in their tracks; good solution for perimeter defense, security check points, and police car chases; problem is, it may disable electronic systems in the neighborhood
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Using visualization to see through fuzzy data
Finding method in the madness: DHS’s S&T Directorate supports efforts, building on Edward Tufte’s work, to use visualization to find patterns in and make sense of fuzzy data
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Carbon fiber UAV sets flight duration record
QinetiQ Group’s Zephyr breaks record for the longest duration unmanned flight — 54 hours — nearly doubling Northrop Grumman’s RQ-4A Global Hawk 2001 record of 30 hours, 24 minutes
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More opposition in Europe to Galileo
Growing opposition in Europe to the Galileo Project, Europe’s response to the U.S. GPS network; behind schedule and over budget, many ask whether the benefits of the system would outweigh its costs
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Octopus inspire new camouflage strategies for military applications
New in personal protection equipment: The remarkable shape- and color-changing abilities of the octopus and its close relatives inspire researchers to attempt to understand one of nature’s most stunning feats of camouflage and self-preservation — and see whether such techniques can be applied in the military
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Plasma antennas are stealthy, versatile, and jam resistant
Soldiers in the field would soon benefit from a new antenna made of plasma — that is, a gas heated to the point at which the electrons are ripped free of atoms and molecules) works just like conventional metal antennas, except that it vanishes when you turn it off
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D-Wave demonstrates quantum computer with Google image search
This week in Reno, Nevada, D-Wave demonstrates the first commercial quantum computer by using Google’s forthcoming search-by-image tool; problems remain
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Chinese intelligence engages in industrial spying in Europe
China may be slowly integrating into the global economy, but its massive disregard of intellectual property laws shows that it has yet to internalize important norms of market conduct; and now this: Chinese intelligence is using its considerable assets to engage in industrial spying on behalf of Chinese companies
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FLIR expanding Gulf presence
FLIR’s sensor technology, used in border protection and perimeter defense, among other applications, has won the company several hefty contracts in the Gulf region; company eager to build on its success
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The long view
China Will Dominate High-Tech Unless the United States Takes Off the Gloves
The U.S.-China trade war has affected businesses from Apple to American cherry growers and shows no signs of halting, but the profuse debate around Huawei and the Trump administration’s trade war reveals a fundamental weakness in the American economy: its lack of competitiveness. The United States should continue to defend against potential security threats posed by Chinese firms, but it should not rely on these protections only as a strategy to maintain competitiveness. The erosion of U.S. dominance in other key high-tech, high-value sectors – automobiles, consumer electronics, robotics, AI, energy, biotechnology, electric vehicles —suggest that there are more fundamental problems. “If the United States wishes to maintain its high-tech leadership, it must be willing to invest in the industries critical to success in the twenty-first century,” three experts write.
Retreating from Rising Seas Isn’t a Win or a Defeat — It’s Reality
“Managed retreat” is a controversial response to climate change. It’s the idea that communities and governments should be strategic about moving people away from areas that have become too waterlogged to live in safely. Retreating from coastlines and riversides might have once been considered unthinkable. But across the world, it’s already happening — in Australia, Colombia, Vietnam, and here in the United States. And Indonesia just found itself a new capital. The country’s president, Joko Widodo, announced on Monday that the new seat of government will be on the island of Borneo, hundreds of miles to the northeast of the current capital, Jakarta. The Java Sea threatens to swallow 95 percent of the city over the next 30 years.
Coming Soon to a Battlefield: Robots That Can Kill
A Marine Corps program called Sea Mob aims to develop cutting-edge technology which would allow vessels to undertake lethal assaults without a direct human hand at the helm. A handful of such systems have been deployed for decades, though only in limited, defensive roles, such as shooting down missiles hurtling toward ships. But with the development of AI-infused systems, the military is now on the verge of fielding machines capable of going on the offensive, picking out targets and taking lethal action without direct human input.
China May Have Used a Recent Massive iPhone Hack to Target Uighur Muslims
A recent massive iPhone hack discovered by Google researchers may have been a campaign to target Uighur Muslims, an oppressed ethnic minority living in China, TechCrunch and Forbes report. The hack came to light last week, when researchers at Google’s cybersecurity wing Project Zero reported they had found a handful of websites which had been secretly injecting spyware into iPhones over the course of two years.
Even for Non-Believers, These Are the Next Steps on Climate Change
Research indicates that we need to go beyond observing the wreckage of major storms and pondering trillion-dollar plans to attempt to mitigate carbon. Businesses, homeowners, and local governments must focus on what can be done today to address these direct threats to people and property. There are three major tools in the “what to do next” approach: probability, selection, and migration.
Bill Gates Is Funding a Chemical Cloud That Could Put an End to Global Warming
Whether you agree or not, global warming is happening. As reported by the minds at NASA, human activity continues to exacerbate the problem. Currently, there is more carbon dioxide in our atmosphere than in all of human history. Two-thirds of extreme weather events from the past 20 years can be tied back to human activity, while both our summers and winters are getting much warmer. Bill Gates is currently backing a potential solution to global warming that centers around the technology of solar geoengineering.