• Aurora shows new, more lethal hovering killer drone

    Innovative UAV company shows a new drone capable of carrying four Hellfire missiles at speeds of up to 400 knots (the Predator carries just two Hellfires and cruises at just 70 knots)

  • Republicans try to keep Yucca Mountain project alive

    The Obama administration has signaled its intention to bring the curtain down on the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository project, but Republicans have not given up on it

  • U.K. looking for ways to deal with IEDs

    Eighteen U.K. troops have been killed in Afghanistan in July, raising the overall toll in the conflict to 187 British deaths; many of these soldiers were killed by IEDs; the government is looking for a solution

  • U.S. halts uranium mining at Grand Canyon

    The Interior Department has barred the filing of new mining claims, including for uranium, on 1 million acres near the Grand Canyon

  • U.S. gives $47 million for smart grid trials

    The Department of Energy is directing $47 million of the stimulus package to speed up work on several smart grid technology test sites

  • New distance record for quantum encryption

    Quantum encryption (or quantum key distribution [QKD]) holds the promise of unbreakable communication encryption; the technology has a weakness, though: the short distance of key distribution; researchers break distribution distance record by distributing keys over a distance of 250 kilometers (it may not look like much, but back in 1992 the record was 32 centimeters)

  • Breakthrough: Radiation protection drug developed

    American and Israeli researchers developed a drug which offers protection from radioactive radiation; the drug uses proteins produced in bacteria found in the intestines to protect cells against radiation; the FDA is expected to approve the drug within a year or two

  • Hair examination can help in tracing terrorists

    U.K. researchers devise a test which uses laser to determine the recent whereabouts of an individual by analyzing hair strands

  • Robo-wheels to help search-and-rescue teams

    There is new help coming to search-and-rescue teams, especially those specializing in rescuing victims of avalanches: robots with wheels — each wheel with six vanes on its side that are linked to both the wheel and a central hub; the design allows the best possible traction in tough conditions and prevents the wheel from sinking or slipping

  • Predicting hurricanes

    Researchers developed a new computer model that they hope will predict with unprecedented accuracy how many hurricanes will occur in a given season

  • U.S. military considered developing "gay-bomb" and "'who me?' bomb"

    Fifteen years ago the U.S. military planned to use stink bombs, chemicals that cause bad breath, and a so-called “gay-bomb” that would make enemy soldiers irresistible to one another — all as part of a range of non-lethal, but disruptive and morale-damaging weapons

  • Middle East peace may be closer as Israel successfully tests Iron Dome

    Peace between Israel and the Palestinians depends on Israel feeling secure enough to make deep territorial concessions to the Palestinians in the West Bank; Israel has been reluctant to make such concessions because of the security risks they entail; the successful tests of Iron Dome, a defensive system against short-range rockets, may ease Israel’s security concerns, making concessions more likely

  • Glass fibers can make a building sturdier

    Conventional means to reinforce concrete involve the use of steel bars; the use of fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) is emerging as a valuable option, owing to its natural resistance to corrosion, its high strength, light weight, transparency to electrical and magnetic fields and ease of manufacturing and installment

  • Scientists work on creating robot-insects

    Researchers in the field of insect-machine hybrids believe the day is not far when police could release a swarm of robot-moths to sniff out a distant drug stash, and rescue robot-bees would dodge through earthquake rubble to find survivors

  • USAF wants to use dye used by purple bacteria to power UAVs

    Purple bacteria use pigment that can convert solar energy to electricity; the USAF wants to use a synthetic version of the pigment to keep UAVs in the air for longer periods