• Government's flu season recommendations for companies

    Toughing it out is not the solution; the U.S. government hopes that workers who think they may be coming down with something will stay home so as not to infect their coworkers

  • Mega-quake could strike near Seattle

    New study shows that two massive tectonic plates colliding 25 miles or so underneath Washington state’s Puget Sound basin; findings suggest that a mega-earthquake could strike closer to the Seattle-Tacoma area, home to some 3.6 million people, than was thought earlier

  • "Active cloak" protects buildings from earthquakes

    Researchers say real objects could be cloaked by active cloaking — which means the technology uses devices that actively generate electromagnetic fields rather than being composed of “metamaterials” (exotic metallic substances) that passively shield objects from passing electromagnetic waves

  • Medical experts divided on swine flu precautions

    Sixty public health officials, epidemiologists, and flu researchers worldwide about what, if any, personal precautions they have taken as the autumn flu season hits; there is no consensus

  • Justice sues bulletproof vest manufacturer for using faulty materials

    The Justice Department sues Massachusetts-based First Choice Armor for knowingly using faulty material in the bulletproof vests they sold the military and law enforcement; the company used Zylon, which degrades quickly, especially in hot and humid conditions

  • TeleContinuity, SRA to support national communication system

    TeleContinuity will help the National Communications System’s (NCS) national security and emergency preparedness programs in providing critical continuity of communications expertise, preserving the ability of federal agencies to maintain Continuity of Government (COG) when it is most vital - during disasters, emergencies, evacuations, or pandemics

  • Radiation safety

    A new book — Radiation Safety: Protection and Management for Homeland Security and Emergency Response — helps first responders, EMS, and medical personnel understand how to detect and cope with nuclear incidents

  • NASA short on funds to keep up with killer asteroids

    NASA is charged with seeking out nearly all the asteroids that threaten Earth; trouble is, it does not have the money to do the job

  • Cobham reports a 32 percent increase in first-half profits

    Company benefits from strategic investments in military and government markets; its work with M/A-COM, which it acquired from Tyco Electronics in September 2008, had resulted in increased technology collaboration and new contract awards

  • U.K. government trains shopping malls in counterterrorism

    Shopping centers are likely to feature in the attack plans of terrorist organizations in the future as they are usually locations with limited protective security measures; the U.K. government wants to change this

  • In-building public-safety communication a growing business

    The 9/11 attacks exposed a major weakness: rescue personnel had no communication coverage inside the towers; regulations now require that first responders have communications coverage everywhere in a building — or at least 95 percent of it; as businesses and local governments face deadlines for complying with these requirements, businesses offering in-building communication services will benefit

  • Swine flu deaths reach to 1,154

    Laboratory confirmed cases world-wide have reached 162,380; WHO has estimated that 2 billion people, or one in three of the world’s population, will have been infected by the virus by the end of the pandemic

  • Third patient dies of plague in remote Chinese town

    Chinese authorities have sealed off a remote Chinese town after an outbreak of pneumonic plague; authorities have set up a cordon with a 17-mile radius around the town of Ziketan; public buses were pulled off the streets, and the police is patrolling on the streets, advising shops to close

  • Powered robot suits demonstrated in Tokyo

    Japanese company develops a powered exoskeletal suit intended for heavy labor, rescue support at disaster sites, and use by the disabled or elderly

  • Universities, businesses offer solutions for dealing with hurricanes

    Three universities are busy offering solutions which better predict hurricanes and cope with the damage they cause; a Bill Gates-supported company is more ambitious: it proposes to kill hurricanes by placing giant ocean-going tubs in the paths of storms