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Japanese scientists use radio waves to detect TNT
Airport luggage screening to benefit from this breakthrough approach; nitrogen nuclear quadrupole resonance solves the problem of low nitrogen resonance levels; distinghuishing between cocaine and explosives the key challenge
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Smiths joins Birmngham U. to develop next-generation IMS systems
Ion mobility spectrometery has already proven itself in Smiths Detection’s Sentinel portals, but all agree that improvement in chemical detection is neccesary; £1 million project will take a close look at ionization chemistry
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Congress looks to expands America's K-9 ranks
Canine Detection Improvement Act of 2007 sets out standards for an increased push at explosives detection; airports and other critical infrastructure suffer from a lack of trained dogs; “breed American” is the new watchword, as congressmen try to take the German out of German shepherd
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Coda Octopus announces new Underwater Inspection System
Device creates real-time 3D images of subsea objects; port security the primary market for this intriguing new sonar product; company already known for its oil exploration-enhancing echoscope; government delivery pending
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Moths inspire explosives-hunting alorithim
Scent-tracking behavior provides a model for uncertain robot sniffers; Infotaxis algorithim developed by U.S. and U.K. researchers helps the robot develop and react to a “probability map”; exploration and exploitation tendencies are coordinated
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Sandia looks to the terahertz spectrum for next-gen explosives detection
Sitting between microwave and infrarerd, terahertz has long been neglected; technology is already used to detect chemical compounds in space, and so researchers look to miniaturize the system and create a library of spectral signatures
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ScanTech wins Chesapeake Innovation Center contest
Company, developer of X-ray technology capable of detecting uranium, explosives, and drugs, wins $50,000 but declines to put down roots in Maryland; other finalists include TIRF Technologies, Armada Group, and Riverglass
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SET Corp. to marry radar-imaging to gait recognition technology
Virginia company’s CounterBomber is proven effective at identifying hidden weapons on moving individuals; addition of gait recognition will allow constant surveillance of suspects, as well as point out a few new ones as well
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Smiths Group plays its cards tight
Smiths Groups sells its aerospace division to GE for $4.8 billion, proposing investors a £2.1 billion return — and then forms a detection JV with that company, with both companies hopingt o benefit from increased spending on WMD dection
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ICRC delivers first responder vehicles to Michigan National Guard
Heavy-duty truck is first to incorporate IRCS’s national guard vehicle information system for interoperability and networking; flexible communications, NBS detection, and nighttime surveillance among the features of this interesting vehicle
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Implant Science explores teaming up with RAE's senor networks
Companies will discuss technology-sharing possibilities; RAE’s AreaRAE system looks to expand into the explosives detection business; ISC’s device identifies TNT, black powder, ammonium nitrate, and more
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New radiation countermeasure to be tested on humans
As worries about radiation attack by terorists — whether on a large scale, or for the killing of a single individual, as was the case in the recent London poisioning of Alexander Litvinenko — the FDA approves human trials of new radiation countermeasure from a Minnesota company
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Bruker Daltonics wins $1.7 million Army contract
RAID-M chemical weapons detectors already a hit with German and Danish forces; devices will support the National Guard WMD Civil Support Teams’ Analytical Laboratory System
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DHS releases 2007 state and municipal grant funding levels
Urban Areas Security Initiative and Citizen Corps Program receive mild funding boosts; other programs see minor losses; DHS gives risk assessment the old college try
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Colorado researcher to test natural mustard gas cure
Milk thistle has shown remarkable ability to prevent skin cancer; $2.7 million contract will explore whether similar mechanism may obtain for mustard gas exposure; researcher hopes to create an ointment to be applied post-attack
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The long view
Keeping the Lights on with Nuclear Waste: Radiochemistry Transforms Nuclear Waste into Strategic Materials
How UNLV radiochemistry is pioneering the future of energy in the Southwest by salvaging strategic materials from nuclear dumps –and making it safe.
Model Predicts Long-Term Effects of Nuclear Waste on Underground Disposal Systems
The simulations matched results from an underground lab experiment in Switzerland, suggesting modeling could be used to validate the safety of nuclear disposal sites.