• Video games as a training tool for first responders

    The U.S. video game market is booming — consumer spending for console and handheld games will reach $11.7 billion in 2012, a noticeable increase over the $8.6 billion in 2007 the firm recorded; within this market there is a small niche dedicated to training and education

  • Experts call for establishing near-earth asteroid surveillance network

    Scientists have identified almost 6,000 near-earth objects (NEOs) whose orbits intersect with the Earth’s; five-hundred to 1,000 NEOs have a diameter of over 150 kilometers

  • Making cloud computing safer

    As the cost and other benefits of cloud computing become apparent, more and more companies move parts of their infrastructure out of their data centers; there is a need, though, to think long and hard about disaster-proofing the cloud

  • Seattle successfully tests emergency response policy

    Can local public health providers can handle a major earthquake, pandemic flu, or some other really big disaster? King County, Washington, says it is ready

  • Can China's future earthquakes be predicted?

    To predict earthquakes, China relied on GPS data, which showed movements of two millimeters per year in certain areas of Szechwan province where a May 2008 earthquake killed 70,000 people (20,000 are still missing) and destroyed more than eight million homes; scientists examine a better way to predict disasters

  • Briefly noted

    Obama preparing comprehensive technology policy… Germans advance surveillance bill… Report warns incoming administration of of “future military failure”… Senator Clinton welcomes more than $18,000 for Long Island Fire Department

  • Google offers flu-tracking tool

    The tool developed by Google.org, the company’s philanthropic department, uses search terms that are commonly entered into the Internet to work out possible flu clusters

  • Harris to demonstrate innovative radios at ShakeOut

    Great Southern California ShakeOut is the largest-ever earthquake preparedness drill in the United States; the exercise, scheduled for tomorrow, 13 November, will model the effects of a magnitude 7.8 earthquake along the San Andreas Fault; Harris will demonstrate advanced systems for restoring first responder communication links

  • 1918 U.K. Spanish flu records help in solving future pandemics

    The 1918-19 Spanish flu killed more than fifty million people worldwide; Aussie scientists study record of the flu out break in the United Kingdom in search for answers about the pandemic quick spread and lethality

  • DHS releases FY2009 guidance for $3 billion worth of grants

    FEMA requests applications for 14 programs for which it has allocated $3 billion; funded programs concentrate on state and local governments and strengthening community preparedness

  • Earthquake's trampoline effect

    During earthquakes the ground not only shakes from side to side, but also bounces up and down; this has important implications for designing quake-proof structures

  • Using laptops to detect earthquakes

    Laptops have a small accelerometer chip built into them in order to protect the delicate moving parts of the hard disk from sudden jolts; same chip is a pretty good earthquake sensor, too

  • Debate over safety of taser-proof vests

    A U.S. body-armor company is selling taser-proof vests to police units; some argue that the vests make officers less safe because taser-toting bad guys would now aim for the officer’s head; the response: this is like arguing that bullet-proof vests make officer less safe because the bad guy would aim for the head

  • Report: Private sector can better prepare for cyber attack risks

    New expert panel report suggests shifting control of corporate cyber infrastructures from IT departments to chief financial officers

  • IT security during tough economic times

    Tough economic times lead to layoffs and mergers and acquisitions; a key aspect of such transitions is the inevitable turnover and its impact on internal security