• Congress to establish a commission to study threat of asteroid impact on Earth

    The annual probability of the Earth being struck by a huge asteroid or comet is small, but the consequences of such a collision are so calamitous that it is prudent to appraise the nature of the threat and prepare to deal with it, experts say; Congress agrees

  • New radiation mechanism may ward off oil spills, terrorism

    New radiation mechanism in the terahertz range could be used to destroy cancer cells, track miniscule traces of explosives hidden under clothing, and trace and potentially destroy specific chemicals that damage the environment and our bodies

  • Endangered antelope interferes with Arizona border security

    Environmental concerns and border security clash along the U.S.-Mexico border; the wild Sonoran Pronghorn numbers are down to about 80 in Arizona and they occupy less than 10 percent of their original range — but what is left of their range straddles the border; environmentalists and government stewards of the environment object to the erection of a fence or watch towers, saying they would drive the antelope-like creature to extinction

  • UTSA's cyber security center moves into new home

    The Institute for Cyber Security Center for Infrastructure Assurance and Security at the University of Texas at San Antonio is moving to a new home on campus; Congress, DHS, and the Defense departments have thrown their money behind UTSA, which the New York Times has named one of the best places to get training as a “cyber sleuth”

  • Particle injection into the stratosphere could mitigate effects of climate change

    In what scientists describe as Plan D, or an insurance policy for the situation in which Earth hits a tipping point in climate change quickly, a 20-kilometer pipe — “garden hose to the sky” — would be deployed to spray a shield of sulphate particles into the stratosphere; the idea is to emulate the eruption of volcanoes which spew sulphur-rich gas that spread worldwide, blocking sunlight and lowering temperatures

  • "Bulletproof custard" liquid armor better than a Kevlar vest

    Materials scientists combined a shear-thickening liquid with traditional Kevlar to make a bulletproof material that absorbs the force of a bullet strike by becoming thicker and stickier; its molecules lock together more tightly when it is struck, the scientists explained — they described it as “bulletproof custard”

  • A First: full-sized aircraft takes off, flies, lands with no human help

    Last month, in Mesa, Arizona, a helicopter took off, avoided obstacles during flight, scoped out a landing site, and landed safely — and did all that on its own; no humans were involved, and there was no pre-programmed flight path

  • Scientists: Oil spill's "grim reshuffle" of Gulf food web may destroy region's fishing industry

    The initial impact of the BP disaster on the maritime food chain in the Gulf are already apparent; scientists warn that if such impacts continue, they will result in a grim reshuffling of sea life that could over time cascade through the ecosystem and imperil the region’s multibillion-dollar fishing industry

  • To qualify for lucrative defense research work, Florida research park undergoes anti-terrorism makeover

    Florida’s largest research park, located in east Orange County, has quietly and subtly transformed some of its most prominent facilities into anti-terrorism fortresses for the high-tech military agencies located there; the research center has now become a defense-industry “nerve center” that looks and operates more like a military base than ever before

  • Software to cut millions from nuclear clean-up bill

    New software lets planners work out the best way of breaking up and packing contaminated equipment while minimizing workers’ radiation exposure. It also shows in minute detail how radioactive waste can be stored in the smallest possible space, reducing the number of long-term storage containers needed

  • L.I. homeland security research center to get $1 million from DHS

    Long island’s Morelly Homeland Security Center to receive $1 million in earmarks in DHS Appropriations Act; the center aims to adapt next-generation technologies to be used by first responders in case of a terrorist attack or natural disaster

  • U.S. nuclear safety agency unveils new data, physical security controls

    NNSA the rollout of new information and physical security controls aimed at balancing efficiency and safety; officials said, though, that the implementation of cybersecurity improvements is about a year behind the progress the agency has made on physical protection

  • Breakthrough: day of terahertz remote sensing nears

    Terahertz (THz) wave technology, has great potential for homeland security and military uses because it can “see through” clothing and packaging materials and can identify immediately the unique THz “fingerprints” of any hidden materials; a major breakthrough opens the way for detecting hidden explosives, chemical, biological agents, and illegal drugs from a distance of twenty meters

  • ICE activates Secure Communities in ten more west Texas counties

    Secure Communities uses biometrics to prioritize immigration enforcement actions against convicted criminal aliens; with the addition of ten new Texas counties, all eighteen westernmost counties of Texas are currently using Secure Communities

  • To prevent terrorism we need better understanding of the process of radicalization

    Why do some radical people turn to violence while others do not? Experts say that we really do not know for sure, but we need to know if we want to strengthen our counter-terrorism measures; until the understanding of this improves, the efforts to stop further terrorist attacks will continue to rely on a lot of luck