Sci-Tech

Better baggage security through simulation
Aussie researcher develops software which allows airport managers to examine how baggage handling operations at a typical airport would cope with upgrades to security systems
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New reactor design lessens risk of weapon proliferation
Nuclear materials for power reactors cannot be stolen by those interested in using it for nuclear weapons while the material is in the reactor — it is too hot to handle; the risks of diversion are during the enrichment process, and while the material is being transported; to lessen the risk, researchers offer innovative reactor design
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Debate over safety of taser-proof vests
A U.S. body-armor company is selling taser-proof vests to police units; some argue that the vests make officers less safe because taser-toting bad guys would now aim for the officer’s head; the response: this is like arguing that bullet-proof vests make officer less safe because the bad guy would aim for the head
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Closed Maine suspension bridge used for anti-terror testing
DHS is using a closed Maine bridge for tests on how to fortify bridges against terrorist attacks
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Debate over safety of taser-proof vests
A U.S. body-armor company is selling taser-proof vests to police units; some argue that the vests make officers less safe because taser-toting bad guys would now aim for the officer’s head; the response: this is like arguing that bullet-proof vests make officer less safe because the bad guy would aim for the head
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Innovative shoe scanner to make travel safer, lines shorter
University of Manchester researcher develops a technology which allows security personnel to spot people with concealed items in their shoes as they walk through passport control or through traditional security checks
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DHS to use TeraView's terahertz technology in chemical detection
Goodrich chose U.K. terahertz technology specialist TeraView for developing a DHS-sponsored chemical detection system for government and public buildings, and on the battlefield
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Using pre-cast abutments to build bridges faster
Wisconsin contractor using pre-cast, segmental abutments for the first time to build a bridge in Wisconsin; technique may allow building bridges 30 percent faster
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Unsettling lack of security at Level 4 Biosafety Labs
Biosafety labs (BSLs) handle the world’s most dangerous agents and diseases; only BSL-4 labs can work with agents for which no cure or treatment exists; there are five BSL-4 labs in the United States, and GAO conducted a study of these labs’ perimeter security; you are not going to like what the GAO found
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GE shows a chemical sensor that does not need batteries
Researchers develop a chemical sensor that can detect minute quantities of chemicals in the air or water; it has no batters: it receives its power wirelessly from a sensor reader
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Spanish mathematicians model submarine avalanches and tsunamis
Mathematicians develop a new model to explain submarine avalanches and certain types of tsunamis.
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Battery-free, multi-detection wireless sensors
Home food and beverage safety monitoring, remote water purity testing, more effective chemical and biological sensors are all potential applications
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U.S. government looking for game-changing cyberspace ideas
With an RFI published yesterday in the Federal Register, the Bush administration has launched its Comprehensive National Cybersecurity Initiative (CNCI); initiative seeks “the most promising game-changing ideas with the potential to reduce vulnerabilities to cyber exploitations by altering the cybersecurity landscape”
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SAIC to develop artificial nose
DARPA awards SAIC a contract under the RealNose program; the project aims to create a device which emulates dogs’ olfactory system
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Briefly noted
Laser raygun plane gets $30m extended evaluation… Security wonks warn of cell phone zombie uprising… Aladdin’s cyber security center… Gartner: Top 10 strategic technologies for 2009
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