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American Technology Corp.: LRAD worked as intended in February incident
San Diego-based American Technology Corporation says its product — long-range acoustic device (LRAD) — was never deployed during the February 2009 MV Biscaglia pirate incident; LRAD is a critical part of a layered defense strategy; it is effective in giving crew members time to determine the intent of unidentified vessels that do not respond to radio calls, and let the pirates know that they lost the element of surprise
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DARPA seeks deep-learning AI to cope with flood of information
The growing use of UAVs to loiter over enemy territory and send images and streaming videos back to HQ has created a glut of information; DARPA seeks a better, deeper, and more layered artificial intelligence to help the intelligence community cope with the avalanche of information coming in
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Study: Catastrophic rise in sea levels "distinct possibility" this century
New study — based on fluctuations in sea levels the last time Earth was between ice ages, as it is now — shows that oceans rose some three meters in only decades due to collapsing ice sheets
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NIST offers five encryption tips
There are many encryption algorithms, techniques, and products — and many user devices and threats against them; NIST offers five encryption tips
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U.S. tests large flying wing-type UAV in Afghanistan
Hazy photographs emerged of a large flying-wing UAV — or, rather, UCAV (unmanned combat air vehicle) —on a runway in a military base in Afghanistan; the shape and assumed capabilities indicate growing role of unmanned system in attack missions
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One-story masonry building withstands strong jolts during seismic tests
University of California, San Diego researchers design a one-story masonry structure and showed it could survive two days of intense earthquake jolts
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Watching the watchers: new solution monitors CCTV operators
People watching CCTV images back in the control rooms often have too many screens to monitor at once, and as a result may miss the criminal or antisocial activities they are there to spot; a new solution monitor the monitors
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Latest in nonlethal weapons: Poo-flinging catapult
A colorful English businessman, tired of his property and business being burglarized, used a catapult loaded with chicken excrement to deter burglars; the police said the smart-poo device was illegal because it could not be said to use “reasonable force”
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Protection from terrorism affects far reaches of Montana
When you think of terrorism and preparations for terrorist attacks, you think of big cities; the remote precincts of Montana, however, are not exempt; the local inhabitants, who foot the bill for local homeland security, want to know whether rural dams are really terrorist targets
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New curved laser beams may be used to lessen threats of thunderclouds
U.S. physicists have created the first curved laser beams; the laser’s plasma channels could be used to control lightning strikes by firing laser pulses into thunderclouds
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Cisco acquires Tidal Software for $105 million
Cisco buys Palo Alto-based Tidal Software to enhance the next-generation data centers it is building; Cisco is also planning on challenging IBM and Hewlett-Packard by building servers
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Germany is target of sustained cyberattacks from China
The German government is constantly the target of hackers seeking to insert spy programs into its computer systems; the attacks are becoming more and more sophisticated
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Seeing through concrete, clearly
Insurgents and terrorists fight from within civilian structures, making it difficult for soldiers and first responders to respond without injuring many civilians; DARPA wants a solution which would allow soldiers to look through concrete walls and give them a detailed picture of a building’s interior — right down to the fixtures
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£8.5 million in grants for innovative businesses in east England
U.K. regional development agency has £8.5 million in grants for research and development of hi-tech products and proof of concept; businesses may also benefit from funds available from the European Regional Development Fund
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CSIRO to lead effort to standardize sensor network information sharing
Sensors, and sensor networks, are the wave of the future (the wave is already here, in fact) in allowing remote monitoring of everything from machinery to buildings’ temperature to perimeter fences to water quality to patients’ health and much, much more; Aussie research organization now leads the effort to develop standards for sharing information collected by sensors and sensor networks over the Internet
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More headlines
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.