• Microsoft releases critical Internet Explorer patch

    The update fixes a JavaScript-related vulnerability which is being actively exploited through hacked Web sites

  • Radioactive-waste tracking software deployed at U.K. nuclear sites

    The radioactive-waste tracking software developed by Tennessee-based AttentionIT will be deployed in decommissioned U.K. nuclear facilities; the waste tracking software provides electronic storage of information related to “cradle to grave” treatment of radioactive and mixed waste

  • National nuclear lab helps develop more soothing hand lotion

    Hand- and face lotions are typically uncomfortably chilly when coming fresh from the jar; Sandia National Lab, using microencapsulation technology used in nuclear weapons, helps a New Mexico cosmetics entrepreneur develop a hand cream which warms itself up as it is gently rubbed on

  • The continuing development of Fort Detrick offers business opportunities

    In some places there is a debate about the balance between the business opportunities and risks that the presence of a BioLab facility offers; in Washington County, Maryland, they concentrate on the business opportunities the sprawling — and growing — Fort Detrick (it covers 1,127 acres and employs more than 8,000 people) offers

  • Trains carrying hazmat collide in Minnesota

    At least 40 cars were derailed and some went into the Mississippi River in an early morning crash in southeast Minnesota; liquid ammonia and propane are leaking from some of the cars

  • Getting the coming investment in infrastructure right

    America 2050 issues blueprint for infrastructure investment; guiding principles: Fix, Phase, Green, Train, Count

  • Researchers show promising approach to avian flu vaccine

    Terrapin researchers are developing a universal flu vaccine for animals; it could ultimately help prevent or delay another avian flu pandemic in humans

  • DARPA seeks damage tolerant technology for killer robots

    The U.S. military — and other militaries — are interested in robots that can autonomously operate weapon systems and make decisions about when to fire; such systems, however, are as vulnerable as human beings to enemy fire; “damage tolerant technology” will make them less vulnerable

  • New system locates origin of incoming fire

    A Massachusetts company develops a system which helps soldiers pinpoint the location of sniper fire; system has been successfully used in Iraq and Afghanistan

  • Researchers inadvertently release IE7 attack code

    Chinese researchers fail to note that the last security patch released by Microsoft did not take care of a problem they had earlier identified; thinking the problem has been fixed, the researchers release code that might be misused to exploit an unpatched IE 7 vulnerability

  • No end in sight for Moore's Law

    Moore’s Law lives! Worries that reduction in transistor size to below ~20 nm would create heating and quantum effects so severe that such transistors will not be of practical use (read: an end to Moore’s Law) are misplaced; researchers show the Moore’s Law will obtain for a while yet

  • Hackers target rich content files

    New security report says that PDF and Flash files will be used by cybercriminals much more in 2009

  • Day of smart grid nears

    Major blackouts may be a thing of the past: the world’s first high-voltage Li-ion system can connect to the grid, without a transformer, and immediately turn on if there is a disruption in power

  • High-powered laser for refueling aircraft

    Moving military units from theater to theater is a challenge for the military’s lift capabilities; an integral part of such capabilities is the ability to refuel aircraft in mid-flight, which is dangerous; researchers offer a way to use laser to recharge the plane’s batteries; for now the system is limited to surveillance UAVs, but the developers envision it being used for larger planes

  • Day of smart fabrics nears

    Researchers report progress toward a simple, low-cost method to make smart fabrics — electronic textiles capable of detecting diseases, monitoring heart rates, and other vital signs