• New congressional majority could scale back U.S. science budgets

    President Barack Obama has ordered all federal agencies that are not linked to national security to reduce by 5 percent their budget requests for 2012 compared to the 2011 budget year; if Republicans hold to their pre-election pledge, non-defense related federal research spending could dip more than 12 percent to around $58 billion — compared to $66 billion requested by the White House for 2011

  • Carnegie Mellon to develop flying car for DARPA

    DARPA chooses Carnegie Mellon to develop autonomous capability for flying car; the military ground vehicle would transform into flyer for scouting, resupply, and medical evacuation; the flying car would be capable of transporting four people and 1,000 pounds of payload up to 250 nautical miles, either by land or by air

  • DoJ IG: ATF not doing enough to curb U.S. gun flow to Mexico

    Because Mexican law severely restricts gun ownership, drug traffickers had turned to the United States as a primary source of weapons; the massive smuggling of firearms from the U.S. to Mexico has caused the militarization of the Mexican drug war: with drug cartels often better armed than the local police, President Calderon, in December 2006, has enlisted the Mexican military to take on the armed-to-the-teeth cartels; the war has already claimed nearly 30,000 dead, and has rendered many cities and towns in Mexico ungovernable; a new Department of Justice reports faults the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms for not sharing enough information with its Mexican counterparts and other U.S. agencies, undermining the effort to stem the flow of firearms into Mexico

  • Breakthrough: Flapless UAV gets airborne

    The conventional control surfaces of a UAV include many moving parts, require frequent, costly repairs, and account for a significant percentage of an aircraft’s noise output; British researchers developed a UAV with no moveable control surfaces — no flaps, ailerons, elevators, or spoilers; just a wing, an engine, and some holes

  • Bellevue University: A comprehensive offering of security courses

    With more than 9,000 students worldwide, Bellevue University, the largest private university in Nebraska, offers open-enrollment for both online or in-class settings at their main campus or satellite locations; the university offers degrees in business and management, health and human services, as well as public safety which branches off into corrections administration and management, criminal justice administration, investigations, and security management

  • Securing the nation with fingerprinting materials

    Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) researchers may have found a way to improve Raman spectroscopy as a tool for identifying substances in extremely low concentrations; potential applications for Raman spectroscopy include medical diagnosis, drug/chemical development, forensics and highly portable detection systems for national security.

  • Overseas students in Australia to face biometric scans

    Foreign students in Australia will be included in a trial of biometric checks as part of a wider campaign to weed out potential terrorists; the screening process has been described by the Immigration Department as a discreet, non-intrusive examination that captures a digital facial image and 10-digit fingerprint scan

  • 9 million Euro project aims to develop stretchable electronic fabrics

    Belgian researchers are working on developing smart electronic fabrics; the project will focus on making electronic packages conformable to the properties of textiles instead of just weaving rigid electrical components into fabrics; the fabric will also feature stretchable electrical interconnections

  • Impact: Earth! Web site calculates asteroid impact effects on Earth

    Purdue University researchers unveils the Impact Earth! Web site; the site allows visitors to use a calculator to calculate the potential damage a comet or asteroid would cause if it hit the Earth; visitors enter parameters such as the diameter of the impact object, its density, velocity, angle of entry, and where it will hit the Earth, and the site estimates the consequences of its impact, including the atmospheric blast wave, ground shaking, size of tsunami generated, fireball expansion, distribution of debris, and size of the crater produced

  • Electric brain stimulation improves math performance

    Applying electrical current to the brain can enhance people’s mathematical abilities for up to six months; Oxford University researchers demonstrates for the first time that electrical stimulation can successfully enhance mathematical abilities — and that students who undergo the stimulation retain their higher mathematics performance for long periods

  • Increasing counter-IED role for robots

    U.S. and coalition military operating in Afghanistan have experienced about 10,500 roadside bomb incidents so far this year, up from 8,994 in 2009 and 2,677 in 2007; robots continue to play ever-more important combat roles in the air and on the ground in Afghanistan and Iraq, and their responsibilities will only continue to grow

  • Laser has clinical, security applications

    A novel laser system that could help detect bone diseases — and airport security; the spatially offset Raman spectroscopy (SORS) instrument uses a technique that allows it to scan deep into human tissue; the instrument is also being studied as a bottle and packaging scanner for airport security and is already used to assess the content of drugs

  • DARPA, NASA collaborate on "100-Year Starship" project

    DARPA, NASA collaborate on a study to examine the business model needed to develop and mature a technology portfolio enabling long-distance manned space flight a century from now; “The 100-Year Starship study looks to develop the business case for an enduring organization designed to incentivize breakthrough technologies enabling future spaceflight,” the mission statement says

  • ISC Solutions 2010, III: Innovative tools for attendees

    The event organizers have introduced tools that will help attendees navigate the seminars they would like to attend, and better handle the contacts they would like to network with, through customizable online agendas, smart phone applications, and ISC Solutions’ matchmaking tool

  • Strongest-ever nano-material developed

    Israeli scientists develop a revolutionary new ball-shaped nanostructure — fully derived from very simple organic elements yet strong as steel; potential uses of the nanotechnology include bullet-proof vests, medical implants, space, and aviation applications