• Not Just Beijing’s Doing: Market Factors Are Also Hitting Rare Earths Prices

    Have depressed rare earths prices been engineered by the Chinese state to snuff out non-Chinese rivals before they get going? Or do they simply reflect a weak market, with demand rising more slowly than was expected by the promotors of a slew of new projects?

  • Why the Experts Should Answer to the Amateurs

    Tension between experts and non-experts is an inevitable part of modern organizations and societies. Highly trained experts are necessary to keep things functioning smoothly —but accountability matters. We need specialists to solve hard problems, but they need to be accountable to non-experts.

  • Climate Change Has Forced America’s Oldest Black Town to Higher Ground

    Princeville, North Carolina, is relocating with help from a new federal grant. Hurricane Matthew, which submerged the town under more than 10 feet of water, was the final straw. The town has just received millions of dollars in new funding from FEMA to build a new site on higher ground.

  • A $40B Critical Mineral Supply Chain Could Start in Pennsylvania

    Pennsylvania has a mine pollution problem. America has a critical mineral shortage. And both problems may get solved as researchers find these critical and strategic elements in the polluted waters that come from acid mine drainage.

  • Why Chinese Technology Set Off Alarm Bells in Germany

    Even as the German government moves to bar components made by China’s Huawei and ZTE from core parts of the country’s 5G networks, some German companies are looking to work with Chinese firms in other critical areas.

  • In an Era of Dam Removal, California Is Building More

    Earlier this year, the federal government finalized $216 million dollars in funding for a controversial dam project south of the Klamath River, adding to the $1 billion in direct grants already pledged to the project known as Sites Reservoir. This would be California’s first major new reservoir in half a century. Proponents say a new reservoir off the Sacramento River is environmentally friendly.

  • Germany Foils Russian Plot to Assassinate German Arms Company Chief

    German politicians have voiced horror over a report that Russia planned to murder a German arms company boss. US intelligence is said to have uncovered the plot against Rheinmetall chief Armin Papperger.

  • The New Fintech That Knows Whether Your Voice Matches Your Face

    Your face is no longer your own. Nor is your voice. Fraudsters can steal them both from the Internet. And, using the power of AI, they can create a deepfake version of you that’s so convincing it’ll beat bank security. Banks and financial institutions increasingly use voice biometrics these days to confirm a caller’s identity.

  • Transformers: Cooler Side of the Grid

    Failures in transformers cause widespread disruptions across electrical networks, severely affecting grid stability. The financial impact of such failures often goes beyond just the cost of replacing the transformer. Simulations on NSF-funded Stampede2 provide models for a resilient and sustainable electric grid.

  • Hundreds of Tech Companies Want to Cash In on Homeland Security Funding. Here's Who They Are and What They're Selling.

    Whenever concerns grow about the security along the U.S.-Mexico border and immigration, the U.S. government generate dollars — hundreds of millions of dollars — for tech conglomerates and start-ups. Who are the vendors who supply or market the technology for the U.S. government’s increasingly AI-powered homeland security efforts, including the so-called “virtual wall” of surveillance along the southern border with Mexico?

  • Will China's Economy Ever Overtake the U.S.'s?

    China’s ambition to be the world’s largest economy has been dented by COVID-19, the real estate crisis and an aging population. Boosting growth will be the prime focus at a Communist Party meeting.

  • Businesses Are Harvesting Our Biometric Data. The Public Needs Assurances on Security

    Visual data capturing and analysis are particularly critical compared to non-visual data. That’s why its growing use by businesses raises so many concerns about privacy and consent. While the public remains unaware of the extent to which their visual data is being captured and utilized, their information will be vulnerable to misuse or exploitation.

  • Some Firms Resisting Pressure to Take Sides in 'Chip War'

    New research has revealed why German firms are refusing to join the United States’ tech trade war with China over semiconductor chips, a key component in modern electrical devices.

  • Silicon Valley Steps Up Screening of Chinese Employees to Counter Espionage

    Leading U.S. technology companies reportedly have increased security screening of employees and job applicants, which experts say is necessary to counter the cyber espionage threat from China. Applicantswith family or other ties to China are thought to be particularly vulnerable to pressure from the Beijing government.

  • U.S. States Shape Foreign Policy Amid National China Unease: Research

    State-level officials such as governors, state legislators and attorneys general are shaping U.S.-China relations as the two countries navigate a strained geopolitical relationship. While the U.S. Constitution clearly states that foreign policy is the responsibility of the federal government, it also leaves space for cities and states to have international relationships and even to enter into certain kinds of agreements.