• The Only Way for the U.S. to Maintain Tech Edge Over China: STEM Immigration

    U.S. global technology leadership is under serious threat. Given current trends, it is inevitable that China will overtake the United States. The most powerful—and perhaps only—lasting and asymmetric American science and technology advantage over China is the U.S. ability to attract and retain international S&T talent. But the U.S. government risks squandering that advantage through poor immigration policy.

  • Face Recognition Is So Toxic, Facebook Is Dumping It

    Facebook’s decision to end its face-recognition program comes at a time when face recognition technology is receiving push back, criticisms, and legislative bans across the United States, and the globe.

  • Securing Data Transfers with Relativity

    The volume of data transferred is constantly increasing, but the absolute security of these exchanges cannot be guaranteed, as shown by cases of hacking frequently reported in the news. Scientists have implemented a new way to secure data transfers based on the physical principle of relativity.

  • WMD Threat Sensors Deployed on Police Vehicles

    DARPA’s SIGMA+ program completed a 3-month test in Indianapolis, in which CBRNE sensors were deployed on IMPD vehicles.

  • Protecting U.S. Critical Infrastructure from Cyberattacks

    Over the past year, there has been a sharp increase in cyberattacks using malware to target the systems of critical infrastructure such as utility companies, government agencies and organizations that provide services and products that we rely on daily.

  • The Ripple Factor: Weather Extremes Amplify Economic Losses

    Weather extremes can cause economic ripples along our supply chains. A new study shows that if they occur at roughly the same time the ripples start interacting and can amplify even if they occur at completely different places around the world.

  • Researchers Test Electric Personal Flying Machine

    Imagine hopping into a zero carbon emission, personal aircraft and zipping skyward over the traffic and congestion to land conveniently right at the office. The day of the personal, electric flying machine nears.

  • Extreme Events and Major Impacts

    In a sobering new report, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) says that record atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations and associated accumulated heat have propelled the planet into uncharted territory, with far-reaching repercussions for current and future generations

  • Waste of Space: A Proactive Approach to Removing Space Junk

    There are more than 27,000 pieces of space debris bigger than the size of a softball currently orbiting Earth, and they are traveling at speeds of up to 17,500 mph, fast enough for a small chunk to damage a satellite or spacecraft like an intergalactic cannonball. Cleaning up this space junk will be an important task if agencies are to shoot more rockets and satellites into orbit.

  • Less than a Third of U.S. Parents Eager to Vaccinate Young Kids Against COVID-19

    The latest poll from the Kaiser Family Foundation found that only 27 percent of parents said they were eager to get their young children vaccinated against COVID-19. Thirty percent said they would definitely not get their child vaccinated, and 33 percent said they would take a wait-and-see approach.

  • Improving Safety in Labs Dealing with Lethal Viruses

    Biosafety-Level (BSL) 4 laboratories undertake hazardous research into lethal viruses to improve our understanding of diseases such as Ebola and Lassa Fever and to better prepare the world against new and emerging diseases. But these activities pose significant risks. Surges in the number of labs and an expansion in the high-risk research carried out within them have exacerbated safety and security risks.

  • Promise and Peril: Dual-Use Research in the Life Sciences

    Advances in the life sciences and technology are making important contributions to improving global health. Transformative developments in many fields, however, can also pose risks to global health. It is thus only prudent to assess the potential adverse consequences of choosing particular technological pathways and potentially deleterious applications of technologies.

  • Commercial and Military Applications for Quantum Technology

    Most of the quantum technologies are still in the laboratory, but we may see quantum-based applications within the next few years. China currently leads the world in the development of quantum communication, while the United States leads in the development of quantum computing.

  • Managing Water Resources in a Low-to-No-Snow Future

    With mountain snowpacks shrinking in the western U.S., a new Lab study analyzes when a low-to-no-snow future might arrive and implications for water management.

  • Can U.S. Missile-Defense Systems Handle China’s New Missiles?

    A hypersonic glide vehicle, possibly with a fractional orbital bombardment system (FOBS), would enable the Chinese to circumvent existing and likely planned U.S. missile-defense and early warning systems. They would go through the back door, rather than try to bash down the defended and watched front door.