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DHS makes twenty-two small business awards
Winning companies will receive up to $100,000 to refine their ideas; contracts given in WMD detection, ground sensors, mobile biological assays, emergency pre-planning software systems, and simulation training
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Russia, Disney World say nyet to the gas-powered shoe
An inventor bemoans his country’s inhospitality to commercial development; western venture capital firms ignore the country’s inventors, but new technology parks are planned
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Aberdeen Proving Ground at full speed
Experimental tank armor must master the combine; center activity up 87 percent since 9/11
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International Technology Centers face the axe
Just the latest in a series of blows to military research, Army’s technology outposts looked for foreign start-ups to bring into DoD; “buy American” rules stifle innovation, but China is not so concerned
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Patent Office unveils Wiki site to help sort claims
Project with IBM will help weed out junk patents; Microsoft, Oracle, and other software companies volunteer to place their claims under heightened scrutiny; scheme is just the latest in the Wikification of the federal government
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British test metal detecting gloves
$200 robogloves permit clandestine detection; when metal is found, the Kevlar device begins to vibrate
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Chesapeake Innovation Center struggles
Interim director resigns as CIC confronts looming budget problems; calls mount to take the center under private management; new leadership reaches out to Northrop Grumman and others; loss of NSA contract a major blow
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Air Force closes all seven battle labs
With budget pressures mounting, Air Force can no longer afford the investment; Air Force Space Battlelab, Command and Control Battlelab, and Air Warfare Battlelab among those receiving the axe
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Army breaks ground on New Jersey R&D park
Picatinny Arsenal to be transformed into a public-private research and development park; one million square feet of office space planned, including 100,000 for high security work; planners look for companies working on technology with both commercial and military applications
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Lockheed bullish on rise in defense and homeland security spending
The world’s largest defense contractor is confident Congress will respond to an “uncertain security market” by maintaining a robust defense budget, and the company’s CEO points to his company’s increased focus on homeland security and law enforcement work in addition to its core aircraft, ship, and missiles business as a source of increasing revenue
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U.S. military testing heat-generating non-leahtal weapon
Some non-lethal weapons are already in use 9for example, taser guns and rubber bullets), while others are still being debating (for example, troop-blinding laser weapons); the U.S. military is testing another non-lethal system: A beam which engulfs enemy sodiers wiht a 130-degree heat blast
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Guidelines released for DARPA's Urban Challenge
Track B teams required video submissions and site visits in order to continue in DARPA search for autonomous ground vehicle
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DHS to push for seamless emergency communication in top 75 U.S. cities
A DHS survey released this week gives low grades to most U.S. urban centers for emergency communication; DHS says it aims to achieve major imporvements in emergency interoprability by 2009
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Mantech in $159 million mine-clearing contract
Land mines is the curse that keeps on killing and maiming the innocent long after wars end; Mantech receive large contract to help clear mines in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Kuwait
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More headlines
The long view
Canada’s Biosecurity Scandal: The Risks of Foreign Interference in Life Sciences
In July 2019, world-renowned biological researchers Xiangguo Qiu and Keding Cheng were quietly walked out of the Canadian government’s National Microbiology Lab (NML). The original allegation against them was that Qiu had authorized a shipment to China of some of the deadliest viruses on the planet, including Ebola and Nipah. Then the story seemed to go away—until now.
A New Way to Detect Radiation Involving Cheap Ceramics
The radiation detectors used today for applications like inspecting cargo ships for smuggled nuclear materials are expensive and cannot operate in harsh environments, among other disadvantages. Work by MIT engineers could lead to plethora of new applications, including better detectors for nuclear materials at ports.
Action Needed to Improve U.S. Smallpox Readiness and Diagnostics, Vaccines, and Therapeutics: Report
A new report says that action is needed to enhance U.S. readiness for smallpox and related diseases, as well as to improve diagnostics, vaccines, and therapeutics that could be used in case of an outbreak. The COVID-19 pandemic revealed weaknesses in the ability of U.S. public health and health care systems to adapt and respond to an unfamiliar pathogen, as did challenges during the recent mpox outbreak to rapidly making diagnostics, vaccines, and therapeutics available at scale.
Tantalizing Method to Study Cyberdeterrence
Tantalus is unlike most war games because it is experimental instead of experiential — the immersive game differs by overlapping scientific rigor and quantitative assessment methods with the experimental sciences, and experimental war gaming provides insightful data for real-world cyberattacks.
The Flooding Will Come “No Matter What”
Another great American migration is now underway, this time forced by the warming that is altering how and where people can live. For now, it’s just a trickle. But in the corners of the country’s most vulnerable landscapes —on the shores of its sinking bayous and on the eroding bluffs of its coastal defenses —populations are already in disarray. The complex, contradictory, and heartbreaking process of American climate migration is underway.
Companies Ignoring Climate Risks Get Punished by Markets: Study
Companies that proactively manage climate risks boost their valuations, while those with a passive stance are discounted in the equity market, according to new research.