• Robots closing in on humans

    Last week’s Robo Business 2009 conference in Boston showed what we sensed already: robots are narrowing the gap between themselves and humans

  • Army to complete Fort Detrick Lab probe

    For a year now, U.S. Army investigators have been trying to find out what happened to three vials of Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus that were unaccounted for at Fort Derrick bio research lab; as they are about to complete the probe, investigators say that there were no signs of criminal misconduct found yet

  • U.K. government's budget proposal attracts lukewarm reaction

    Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling’s budget — described by the chancellor as “the world’s first carbon budget” — offers support to U.K.’s fast-growth technology sector, but some say it is not enough; EFF’s Gilbert Toppin: “The measures are helpful though he should have gone further to make a real difference”

  • Lip-reading computers can detect different languages

    Researchers develop lip-reading computer that can distinguish among different languages; discovery could have practical uses for deaf people, for law enforcement agencies, for military units serving in foreign lands, and in noisy environments

  • Russia to build new-generation nuclear icebreaker by 2015

    Russia is locked in legal dispute with four other countries over rights to the mineral-rich areas in an under the North pole — areas which are slowly becoming accessible as a result of global warming; to make sure it gains ready access, Russia invests a new generation of nuclear ice breakers

  • Aussie company receives $250 million to prove wave power concept

    Investec Bank gives West Perth-based energy developer Carnegie Corporation $250 million to demonstrate the viability of its wave technology

  • Light refraction used to detect explosives or toxins, and identify infections

    The transmission of light can be affected by the suspension of metal particles in a clear medium; researchers are now exploiting this property to construct nanosensors that could be used to detect explosives or toxins, or identify infections

  • No dog left behind: DARPA seeks dog-training machines

    Impatient with old-fashioned dog trainers and their archaic techniques of squeaky toys and personal affection, DARPA solicits ideas for machines which would “automates the training of complex behaviors in animals without human intervention”; the training machines should also be able to collect performance metrics that will “indicate” a dog’s “intelligence, capability, and progress”

  • New Ebola vaccine protects against lethal infection in animal models

    Ebola virus is the the cause of severe hemorrhagic fever in humans and nonhuman primates; it is transmitted through direct contact of bodily fluids with infected individuals resulting in death up to 90 percent of the time; no licensed vaccines or antivirals are available against EBOV; researchers say new vaccine shows promise

  • EC to boost funding for scientific research

    The EU countries produce almost one-third of the world’s scientific knowledge, but research in the information and communication technologies sector accounts for only a quarter of the EU countries’ overall research efforts; the EU wants to change this

  • Self-powered monitoring system for bridges developed

    More than 70,000 of the U.S. bridges are structurally deficient; funds from the administration’s stimulus package will be going to shoring up these bridges; how do agencies responsible for keeping an eye on the health of tens of thousands of bridges do so? University of Miami researchers offer an answer

  • Obama names Aneesh Chopra first U.S. chief technology officer

    President Barack Obama fulfills a campaign pledge to appoint chief technology officer for the United States; Chopra will work closely with Chief Information Officer Vivek Kundra, who is responsible for setting technology policy and federal technology spending, which amounts to more than $70 billion a year

  • Britain's MI5 looking for real "Q"

    Q, the head of Q Branch in James Bond movies, helped Bond escape several scrapes thanks to the wealth of new-fangled gadgets he offered Agent 007; MI5, U.K. domestic intelligence service, is looking for a real Q; applications due by Friday

  • Space-based solar power coming to California

    Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E), California’s largest utility company, will purchase from Solaren 200 megawatts of electricity when Solaren’s system is in place, which is expected to be 2016

  • Using a long tether to deflect threatening asteroids

    An asteroid-tether-ballast system could effectively alter the motion of an asteroid to ensure it missed hitting Earth; the tether, though, is on the long side: between 1,000 kilometers to 100,000 kilometers