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Lobster's eyes inspire hand-held detection device
The crustacean’s impressive ability to see through dark, cloudy, deep sea water is guiding scientists in developing a ray that could be used by border agents, airport screeners, and the Coast Guard
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Russia begins delivery of nuclear fuel to Iran's Bushehr plant
As the Bush administration’s recent NIE report fatally weakens case against sanctions on Iran for its nuclear activities, Russia begins delivery of fuel to Iran’s Bushehr plant; in addition to intensified uranium enrichment program, Iran will soon be able to choose the plutonium path to a nuclear weapon
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Spain tightens security of nuclear plants
There are eight active nuclear power plants in Spain; recent incidents — Greenpeace activists breaching security in one plant; an employee trying to smuggle out uranium tablets in another — convinced the authorities that more must be done to secure them
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New T-ray source would improve airport security, cancer detection
Terahertz radiation does not have sufficient energy to “ionize” an atom by knocking loose one of its electrons, which is good news, because this ionization causes the cellular damage that can lead to radiation sickness or cancer; T-ray absorption patterns could not only detect but also identify a much wider variety of hazardous or illegal substances than X-ray
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Self-powered biosensor sniffs out danger
University of Glasgow students win prestigious competition with a device which can sniff out pollution and then generate its own electricity to set off an early-warning system
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Companies join to create the RFID Consortium
The consortium will license patents that are essential to making products supporting the UHF RFID Standards announced by EPCglobal and ISO/IEC
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New York opposes extending Indian Point license
Indian Point nuclear plants in Westchester County are surrounded by 20 million people within a 50-mile radius, more than any other reactor in the country; plants’ operator applied for a 20-year extension license, but the State of New York says plants pose too much risk and should be shut down
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Bulgaria to build the first Russian-designed nuclear reactor in the EU
Bulgaria will be the first EU country to build a nuclear power plant based on Russian design; the plant will be built at a site deemed unsafe two decades ago because it was prone to earthquakes
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DSC receives Home Office funding for improved explosive detector
U.K. company has developed technology to produce from vapor single crystals of the compound semiconductor cadmium telluride, which can be used as detectors of X-rays and gamma rays
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Cernium raises $10 million
Virginia-based video analytic specialist raises $10 million from Chicago investor
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U.S. intelligence: Iran halted work on nuclear weapons in 2003
The U.S. National Intelligence Estimate, which represents the consensus view of all sixteen American spy agencies, asserts that Iran halted its nuclear weapons program in 2003 and that the program remains on hold
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New X-ray technique developed
The tomographic energy dispersive diffraction imaging (TEDDI) harnesses all the wavelengths present in an X-ray beam to create 3D pictures; could be used to detect hidden explosives, drugs, and human cancers more effectively
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Europeans install radiation detectors as U.S. question detectors' efficacy
U.S. legislators raise questions about DHS’s $1.4 billion program which aims to deploy nuclear radiation detectors in U.S. ports; GAO raises questions about test methodology of latest technology; Europeans, though forge ahead with port deployment
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Living cells as bioterror detectors
Terrapin researcher has an idea for bioterror attack detection: Use cells that die when exposed to a particular pathogen, thus providing the early warning; the cells are also engineered to produce a signal, such as fluorescence, when attacked
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How real is the nuclear threat for the United States?
Graham Allison: “Based on current trends, a nuclear terrorist attack on the United States is more likely than not in the decade ahead”
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The long view
What We’ve Learned from Survivors of the Atomic Bombs
Q&A with Dr. Preetha Rajaraman, New Vice Chair for the Radiation Effects Research Foundation in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan.