• Last-Minute Defense Against an Asteroid: Obliterating It Before Impact

    Scientists say that pulverizing a threatening incoming asteroid into tiny pieces is our best bet to protect ourselves from an asteroid on short notice.

  • Researchers Show They Can Steal Data During Homomorphic Encryption

    Homomorphic encryption is considered a next generation data security technology, but researchers have identified a vulnerability that allows them to steal data even as it is being encrypted.

  • Insect-Inspired Robots Can Monitor Hard-to-Reach Spots

    There aren’t many spaces that are off-limits to an insect. Researchers have created tiny bug-inspired robots that can carry out tasks in hard-to-reach spaces and inhospitable environments.

  • Computer Security Researchers Aim to Prevent Tech Abuse

    Tech abuse often exists within a larger web of harm. Assailants can abuse their victims through tech including spyware, also known as stalkerware, and through inappropriate use of location-tracking features in phones and other devices. They harass their former partners on social media, hack into email accounts, and more. Researchers have created a new approach to helping survivors of domestic abuse stop assailants from hacking into their devices and social media to surveil, harass and hurt them.

  • Number of Wildfires to Rise by 50% by 2100 and Governments Are Not Prepared

    Even the Arctic, previously all but immune, faces rising wildfire risk, experts say. Wildfires and climate change are “mutually exacerbating.” Governments are called to radically shift their investments in wildfires to focus on prevention and preparedness.

  • Accelerated Impact of Climate Change on Human Wellbeing, Nature

    Increased heatwaves, droughts and floods are already exceeding plants’ and animals’ tolerance thresholds, driving mass mortalities in species such as trees and corals. These weather extremes are occurring simultaneously, causing cascading impacts that are increasingly difficult to manage. They have exposed millions of people to acute food and water insecurity.

  • Safely Studying Dangerous Infections Just Got a Lot Easier

    To combat a pandemic, science needs to move quickly. An extremely fast new 3D imaging method can show how cells respond to infection and to possible treatments.

  • Using AI to Find Anomalies Hiding in Massive Datasets

    Identifying a malfunction in the nation’s power grid can be like trying to find a needle in an enormous haystack. A new machine-learning technique could pinpoint potential power grid failures or cascading traffic bottlenecks in real time.

  • Improving Bay Area Seismic Hazard Maps

    Using the Santa Cruz Mountains as a natural laboratory, researchers have built a 3D tectonic model that clarifies the link between earthquakes and mountain building along the San Andreas fault for the first time. The findings may be used to improve seismic hazard maps of the Bay Area.

  • A Security Technique Fools Would-Be Cyber Attackers

    Multiple programs running on the same computer may not be able to directly access each other’s hidden information, but because they share the same memory hardware, their secrets could be stolen by a malicious program through a “memory timing side-channel attack.” Researchers demonstrate a method that safeguards a computer program’s secret information while enabling faster computation.

  • How AI Is Shaping the Cybersecurity Arms Race

    The average business receives 10,000 alerts every day from the various software tools it uses to monitor for intruders, malware and other threats. Dealing with this avalanche of alerts is achallenge which underscores the need for better ways to stem the tide of cyber-breaches.

  • U.S. to Bolster Critical Mineral Supply Chain

    The U.S. federal government and private sector are taking actions to bolster the supply chain for rare earths and other critical minerals used in technologies from household appliances and electronics to defense systems. These steps will reduce the U.S. dependence on China, a major producer of these elements.

  • Can California’s Lithium Valley Power the EV Revolution?

    The Salton Sea geothermal field in California potentially holds enough lithium to meet all of America’s domestic battery needs, with even enough left over to export some of it. But how much of that lithium can be extracted in a sustainable and environmentally friendly way? And how long will the resource last?

  • Improved Nuclear Accident Code Helps Policymakers Assess Risks from Small Reactors

    New software will help the global nuclear industry in assessing the consequences of nuclear accidents. The Maccs code, developed by Sandia researchers, can also evaluate the potential health and environmental risks posed by advanced nuclear reactors and small modular nuclear reactors.

  • Lake Evaporation Patterns Will Shift with Climate Change

    Lakes serve as a major global source of freshwater. As temperatures continue to get warmer, so will lakes. As global average temperatures rise, lake evaporation is projected to increase at double the rate of ocean evaporation. However, future increases in lake evaporation vary substantially across regions.