• Experts to address IED threat

    Improvised explosive devices (IEDs) have proven deadly against ground transportation in Iraq and other theaters; experts believe the day is not far when terrorists would use them against rail and ground transportation in Europe and the United States

  • New sensor for detecting plastic explosives

    Zinc complexes are naturally fluorescent, but they lose this ability when exposed to chemicals contained in plastic explosives, a phenomenon called quenching; since zinc complexes react by losing different amounts of their fluorescent ability, they can be used to create sensor arrays that produce a different visual display when exposed to different explosives

  • Nuclear proliferation looms, I

    Owing to rising oil prices and worries about climate change, there is a growing interest in nuclear power generation; forty countries have told the UN nuclear agency of plans to develop nuclear power generation capability; experts worry that this interest in nuclear technology is fueled at least in part by interest in nuclear weapons - especially in Middle Eastern countries terrified about the rise of a nuclear-armed Iran

  • New cell-based sensors sniff out danger

    New sensors will incorporate living olfactory cells on microchips; sensors would detect presence of IEDs –- but may also be used to sense the presence of pathogens, the presence of harmful bacteria in ground beef or spinach, and detect the local origin of specialty foods like cheeses or wines

  • Unassuming fungi lock depleted uranium out of harm's way

    Common fungi, found in most back gardens, could help clean up battlefields contaminated with depleted uranium

  • A shoebox-size chemical sensor to detect toxins, pollution

    Quantum cascade lasers were first demonstrated by Harvard’s Federico Capasso and colleagues in 1994; now Capasso is using the technology to develop a portable array of lasers to be used to monitor pollution and detect toxins

  • New ultrasensitive assay detects most poisonous substance known

    One gram of botulinum toxin could kill more than one million people — little wonder, then, that CDC identifies botulinum neurotoxin as one of six “maximum threat” bioterrorism agents; researchers have now developed a new ultrasensitive assay to detect botulinum neurotoxin

  • Israelis buy hand-held assays for anthrax detection from UDTT

    In Israel they like to be self-reliant when it comes to antiterror technologies, and they have the scientific and industrial base to do so; still, an Israeli company turns to UDTT for anthrax detection technology

  • AWWA urges scientific approach to pharmaceuticals in drinking water

    The sky may not be falling: Stories about pharmaceutical traces in U.S. drinking water abound, but an expert from Southern Nevada Water Authority testifies before Senate subcommittee that worries about the ill effects of such traces are exaggerated

  • New airborne pathogen detector

    An Austrian company joins forces with a German specialist to develop autonomous lab-on-a-chip based detection system for the European Defense Agency

  • Palestinian terrorists planned to poison diners at Israel restaurant

    Two Palestinians staying illegally in Israel and working in a restaurant in a Tel Aviv suburb, planned to use poison supplied by Hezbollah to kill restaurant patrons

  • Next-generation nuclear fuel may be too hot to handle: report

    It sounded like a good idea: Enrich the uranium used to power nuclear reactors further so that operators will be able to extract more electricity from a given amount of fuel; trouble is, burn-up rates above a certain point would violate U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s safety standards unless new methods were devised for packaging the fuel

  • UDTT's anthrax detection featured on Chinese TV

    The Chinese Government has warned that terrorists pose the biggest risk to this summer’s Olympic Games; officials say they foiled two plots, one to bring down an airliner, and another to disrupt the summer games; they are also worried about bioterrorism

  • Cannister containing iridium 192 stolen in Japan

    Worries about a dirty bomb increase as a container containing 48.4 pounds of iridium 192 is stolen from an inspection company in Japan

  • Iran accelerates march toward the bomb

    The Bush administration December 2007 National Intelligence Estimate asserted that Iran had “halted” its nuclear weapons plans; that assertion did not impress the Iranians, as their effort to acquire nuclear bombs, far from having been “halted,” is now accelerating