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Boeing successfully tests airborne tactical laser
Silent death ray from the skies may usher in a new chapter in warfare: the laser may cause a cell tower to stop working, a vehicle’s fuel tank to suddenly explode, or a single person to inexplicably be incinerated — all completely silently and tracelessly, without anyone knowing they were ever there and not so much as a spent bullet left behind
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Saving the planet: Plan B
Top U.K. science organization calls for coordinated geoengineering efforts as Plan B for protecting the planet from the negative consequences of climate change
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Protecting DNA privacy
New mathematical tool protects genetic privacy while giving genomic data to researchers
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Understanding nuclear ignition better
The U.S. nuclear warheads are aging; researchers looking for new ways to figure out safe and reliable ways to estimate their longevity and to understand the physics of thermonuclear reactions in the absence of underground testing currently prohibited under law
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Handwriting analysis offers alternate lie detection method
Israeli researchers discover that with the aid of a computerized tool, handwriting characteristics can be measured more effectively; they have found that these handwriting characteristics differ when an individual is in the process of writing deceptive sentences as opposed to truthful sentences
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New disappearing ink developed
Nanoparticle inks that fade away in hours could be ideal for secure communications, top-secret maps, and other sensitive documents
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Stockton College to offer homeland security certificate
Joining a growing number of colleges and universities, and responding to the growing demand for certifications in various homeland security fields, New Jersey’s Stockton College is offering a blended online and classroom-based certification program
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NRC awards $20 million to 70 colleges for nuclear education
It has been nearly 30 years since the last nuclear power plant was built in the United States; the United States has also been cutting, rather than increasing, its arsenal of nuclear weapons; with many things nuclear falling out of favor, fewer and fewer engineering students have been choosing nuclear engineering for their career; the NRC wants to change that
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Throwable robots for U.S. Navy SEALs
The U.S. military has ordered 150 Recon Scout devices (at a cost of $9,000 each) for the special forces; the beer can-sized robot is equipped with infrared night sight video; the robot is tough enough to be thrown through a door or window, dropped down a chimney, etc. before being driven about to see what it can see
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Space technology to benefit defense, health care markets
Technology developed for the Mars lander could prove useful in defense and health care applications
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More swine flu cases at U.S. colleges as students return
CDC spokesperson: “I don’t think we’re surprised by the fact influenza is returning to these campuses. What is concerning to us is people becoming complacent about this and not taking the steps we know can protect them”
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U.K. assessing two nuclear reactors designs
The United Kingdom wants to build more nuclear reactors, and the government is assessing two different reactor types — the U.K.-EPR designed by Areva and EDF, and the AP1000 designed by Westinghouse — for their suitability to meet U.K. regulatory standards
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New Orleans storm pumps do not protect city
The Army Corps of Engineers quickly installed new storm control pumps in New Orleans in the months after Katrina; trouble is, these pumps do not protect the city, the the Corps could have saved $430 million in replacement costs by buying proven equipment
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DARPA looking for "Precision Electronic Warfare"
“Surgical jamming” bubble would follow enemy soldiers; the system would be able to lock onto the other side’s soldiers’ cellphones and hold these soldiers within a bubble of jamming no matter how they moved about, denying them any communications or navigation services
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Simulation to help in preparing for wildfires
Increasingly complex systems which combine simulation and monitoring tools could help emergency services prevent future ecological disasters on the scale witnessed in Greece this week
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The long view
Are We Ready for a ‘DeepSeek for Bioweapons’?
Anthropic’s Claude 4 is a warning sign: AI that can help build bioweapons is coming, and could be widely available soon. Steven Adler writes that we need to be prepared for the consequences: “like a freely downloadable ‘DeepSeek for bioweapons,’ available across the internet, loadable to the computer of any amateur scientist who wishes to cause mass harm. With Anthropic’s Claude Opus 4 having finally triggered this level of safety risk, the clock is now ticking.”
A Brief History of Federal Funding for Basic Science
Biomedical science in the United States is at a crossroads. For 75 years, the federal government has partnered with academic institutions, fueling discoveries that have transformed medicine and saved lives. Recent moves by the Trump administration — including funding cuts and proposed changes to how research support is allocated — now threaten this legacy.
Bookshelf: Preserving the U.S. Technological Republic
The United States since its founding has always been a technological republic, one whose place in the world has been made possible and advanced by its capacity for innovation. But our present advantage cannot be taken for granted.
Autonomous Weapon Systems: No Human-in-the-Loop Required, and Other Myths Dispelled
“The United States has a strong policy on autonomy in weapon systems that simultaneously enables their development and deployment and ensures they could be used in an effective manner, meaning the systems work as intended, with the same minimal risk of accidents or errors that all weapon systems have,” Michael Horowitz writes.
Ukraine Drone Strikes on Russian Airbase Reveal Any Country Is Vulnerable to the Same Kind of Attack
Air defense systems are built on the assumption that threats come from above and from beyond national borders. But Ukraine’s coordinated drone strike on 1 June on five airbases deep inside Russian territory exposed what happens when states are attacked from below and from within. In low-level airspace, visibility drops, responsibility fragments, and detection tools lose their edge. Drones arrive unannounced, response times lag, coordination breaks.
Shots to the Dome—Why We Can’t Model US Missile Defense on Israel’s “Iron Dome”
Starting an arms race where the costs are stacked against you at a time when debt-to-GDP is approaching an all-time high seems reckless. All in all, the idea behind Golden Dome is still quite undercooked.