• Using ozone to kill prions dead

    Prions are among the worst infectious-disease agents; these proteins are resistant to a wide variety of extreme disinfectant procedures; they have been identified as the culprits behind mad cow disease and chronic wasting disease in animals and humans, and are also implicated in Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease and other prion-related disorders

  • Food safety business plan competition

    Two Michigan-based organizations announce a business plan competition for ventures in the food safety area; entrepreneurs with new food safety business concepts will compete for $10,000 prize

  • Advanced forensic tool for the battlefield

    A forensic tool could soon make the analysis of evidence faster and more accurate, giving military investigators an advantage in the wars against drugs and terror

  • Accenture develops crime management system for Norway

    Accenture is developing a new national crime management system for the Norwegian National Police Directorate (POD) to support police investigations and criminal prosecutions in Norway; the crime management system will enable the Norwegian police force to manage, link, and analyze case information and intelligence for more reliability and consistency across law enforcement, police investigations, border management, emergency response, and case administration

  • Compact helmet-display for first responders

    Engineers at Physical Optics Corp. are working with DHS’ Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) to develop a helmet-mounted micro display system for first responders designed to improve their situational awareness

  • New bill to allow more private screeners at airports

    Private security companies could soon be taking over passenger screening at U.S. airports thanks to recently passed legislation that has cleared both the Senate and the House; the proposed law would require that the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) allow airports to switch to private contractors unless it can demonstrate that the move is not cost-effective and hinders security

  • Four-legged robot carries troops’ load

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    The increasing weight of military equipment has a negative impact on soldiers’ readiness and effectiveness; reducing the load on dismounted soldiers has thus become a major point of emphasis for defense research and development; the Legged Squad Support System (LS3) robot follows squad members through rugged terrain and interact with them in a natural way, similar to the way a trained animal and its handler interact, while carrying 400 lbs. of squad’s gear

  • U.S. Navy’s railgun takes an important step forward

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    In the coming weeks the first industry railgun prototype launcher will be tested at a U.S. Navy facility in Virginia; the railgun launcher is a long-range weapon that fires projectiles using electricity instead of chemical propellants

  • ISC West goes hi-tech

    This year Reed Exhibitions is going hi-tech for its ISC West security conference; the show’s organizers have developed a special mobile app and other technological changes to make this year’s show more convenient for attendees

  • New methodology evaluates risk of scarce metals

    China produces more than 95 of the world’s rare Earth metals, making governments and businesses around the world uneasy; researchers develop a methodology ti answer two important questions: how do we know what is scarce? If we know a metal is scarce, how do we know whether we should worry about it?

  • Wireless underground robots for first responders

    First responders may have to look for victims in hostile or challenging environments, such as clandestine tunnels, subway systems, and underground structures; sending a wireless robot to look around and pull victims out would be safer

  • BAE enters U.S. critical infrastructure protection market

    British defense Giant BAE Systems recently announced its plans to enter the U.S. critical infrastructure security market

  • Obama unveils global supply chain protection strategy

    Last week the Obama administration unveiled its new counterterrorism strategy aimed at securing the entirety of the global supply chain

  • Researchers develop altered fingerprint detector

    Researchers at Michigan State University have developed a technique to help detect when an individual has deliberately altered their fingerprints in an effort to fool biometric scanners

  • Mexico , the next private contracting boom?

    As military spending winds down in Iraq and Afghanistan, security contractors eying lucrative opportunities are looking towards Mexico, but strict gun laws and a turbulent environment greatly complicate things