Chemical

Smart gas sensors offer better chemical detection
Smart chemical sensors can detect chemical weapon vapors or indicators of disease better than the current generation of detectors; they also consume less power, crucial for stretching battery life on the battlefield, down a mineshaft, or in isolated clinics
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Naturally occurring enzyme to defend against chemical terrorism
Today, protection against nerve agents relies primarily on physical barriers such as gas masks and protective suits that can easily be breached; following exposure, people are treated with drugs that help with the symptoms but do not eliminate the nerve agent; researchers hope to change this, relying on the principles of evolution to produce a more efficient version of an enzyme that occurs naturally in all of us
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MRIGlobal awarded $9 million to evaluate detection gear
Kansas City company in a $9 million contract with the U.S. Army to test and evaluate equipment to identify chemical, biological, and radiological hazards in the field
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Researcher develops highly sensitive, nanomaterial gas detector
A doctoral student at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute has developed a new sensor to detect extremely small quantities of hazardous gas
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Universal Detection unveils radiation detection smartphone app
Last week Universal Detection Technology unveiled its first generation smartphone app designed to detect nuclear radiation levels on a variety of surfaces including food
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New paper gas detectors developed
Researchers at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, have developed a quick and simple way to detect the presence of nerve gases
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End of Utah’s chemical weapons stockpile signals end of federal grants
As the last of Utah’s chemical weapons stockpile is destroyed, the millions of dollars that have flowed into the state from federal grants will begin to disappear along with thousands of jobs
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New technology will allow miniaturization of chemical sensors
A new measuring technology – based on measuring near-resonant nonlinear behaviors rather than measuring chemomechanically induced shifts in linear natural frequency – will allow a dramatic miniaturization of sensors; the miniaturization will make these sensors more suitable for first response, law enforcement, and military missions
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Inspectors uncover Qaddafi’s hidden WMD stockpile
Last week international weapons inspector found clear evidence that the late Libyan dictator Moammar Qaddafi had large caches of hidden chemical weapons, despite making a promise to destroy all weapons of mass destruction weapons in 2004
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Smiths Detection unveils new portable chemical detector
Earlier this month Smiths Detection unveiled its latest chemical detector, a portable device that combines high speed, high-resolution gas chromatography and a miniaturized toroidal ion trap mass spectrometer
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New portable chemical detector for military, first responders
New, portable chemical detector for the military and emergency response can quickly and accurately confirm the presence and identity of chemical warfare agents and toxic industrial chemicals in gases, vapors, liquids, and solids
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Tracking nerve agents back to the source where terrorists got it
Scientists are reporting development of a first-of-its-kind technology that could help law enforcement officials trace the residues from terrorist attacks involving nerve gas and other chemical agents back to the companies or other sources where the perpetrators obtained ingredients for the agent
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Anthropomorphic robot testing chemical protection

Boston Dynamics is showing its PETMAN — an anthropomorphic robot for testing chemical protection clothing used by the U.S. Army
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A toxic gas detecting wristband for first responders
To protect first responders from deadly toxic gases that are invisible to the human eye, Morphix Technologies has developed the Chameleon chemical detection wrist band
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DHS funds Ricin detection
Positive ID announces the company’s immunodetection assay for the identification of Ricin toxin to meet DHS specifications; Ricin, a chemical warfare agent, is derived from the seeds of the castor oil plant Ricinus communis and has become a tool of terrorist groups across the world due to its easy production and high toxicity
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