• Vulnerability identified in Amazon's cloud computing

    Researchers show that it is possible to find would-be victims within cloud hardware; cloud technologies use virtual machines — remote versions of traditional onsite computer systems; the number of these virtual machines can be expanded or contracted on the fly to meet demand, creating tremendous efficiencies — but the actual computing is performed within one or more physical data centers, creating troubling vulnerabilities

  • Despite concerns, development still heads to the coast

    Many scientists predict that by 2100, sea levels would rise more than one meter; still, Florida has opened more vulnerable areas along the Atlantic coast to construction — and has done so more than any other state

  • Aussies worry about rising sea levels

    About 80 percent of Australians live in coastal areas, and a new parliamentary report recommends new laws banning further development in coastal regions

  • Robotic platform helps soldiers carry heavy gear

    Israel Aerospace Industries unveils robotic platform designed for ground forces; the platform, carrying up to 200kg of gear, follows the lead soldier from a distance; the soldiers control the platform by using simple commands, including “stop,” “fetch,” and “heel”

  • Kent State to train lab workers for biocontainment

    The increasing number of high-containment laboratories and the constant threat from emerging diseases and bioterrorism require more extensive biosafety training of the highest caliber, and more facilities in which to offer this training

  • New material makes buildings more fire resistant

    New material, called “liquid granite,” is fire resistant to temperatures in excess of 1,100oC; it reduces the fire risk in buildings because, unlike concrete, it does not explode at high temperatures

  • New device to "smell" human fear

    City University London’s researchers launch a project aims to develop two sensor systems that can detect the unique chemical signature of the fear pheromone, assessing the stress of an individual and interpreting it in security-critical contexts

  • Humanoid robots to help people in hazardous environments

    Current calculations required for robots’ handling objects and avoiding collisions are based on movements in the XYZ coordinates, and are sensitive to any minor deformations in the environment, such as a flexible object that would cause the calculations to be invalid; researchers offer a new way to govern robots’ movement

  • Fingerprint technology beats world’s toughest tests

    Among the fingerprints most difficult to identify are those of brick-layers, but a new technique developed by University of Warwick researchers did so successfully; the secret: the University of Warwick researchers consider the entire detailed pattern of each print and transform the topological pattern into a standard co-ordinate system

  • Israeli company shows unmanned smart-missile pack

    A large box contains several vertically launched missiles and its own communications and power; it is generally light enough to be driven about by a Humvee or similar, parachuted down from a transport plane, dropped off by helicopter, tied down on the deck of a ship or barge; the missiles are launched by remote control

  • A new Amsterdam neighborhood floats on a lake

    The Dutch experiment with a new concept for addressing over-crowding, flooding, and rising sea-level problems: floating neighborhoods

  • New method takes 0.2 second to test for explosive liquids

    German scientists develop a novel nanoelectronic device which uses electromagnetic radiation to identify explosive liquids, or liquid components for the fabrication of explosives, in usual plastic bottles almost instantly

  • Mitchell Zakin revived the chemistry discipline at DARPA

    Mitch Zakin —who says, “I joined DARPA because it is unfettered by conventional wisdom” — will leave the agency in 2010; he has been working on developing “the infochemistry project,” which combines the powers of chemistry and information technology

  • DARPA seeking to improve bio-threat detectors

    The agency is requesting proposals for a device that would enable faster, more accurate detection of a broad range of biological agents; DARPA hopes to create a biosensor that would identify viral and bacterial threats, and do so using a natural first-line of defense: human antibodies

  • NRC rejects Westinghouse's new nuclear reactor design

    In what must be seen as a setback for the nuclear power industry, the NRC said that a key component of Westinghouse’s new reactor design might not withstand events like earthquakes and tornadoes