• 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

  • New chemical contamination wipe developed

    New, nonwoven dry wipe material proves itself in cleaning up chemical warfare agents and toxic chemicals

  • Old fingerprints help solve heretofore unresolved crimes

    A forensic scientist at Northamptonshire Police and the University of Leicester has helped detectives move a step closer to solving a murder case; the key: lifting fingerprints off bullets

  • Boeing's new UAV idea

    Boeing has applied for a patent for a UAV that can stay aloft for 10 days or more at 60,000 feet, and for as long as 30 days at lower altitudes, all while carrying payloads of up to 450 kilograms

  • Making older buildings safer during earthquakes

    Buildings being built now in earthquake-prone regions are designed better to withstand tremors; trouble is, for a long while yet, most of the buildings in which people live and work were built before new earthquake-related design concepts and new materials were available; UC San Diego researchers look for ways to make these buildings safer

  • DSL routers vulnerable to malware attacks

    New reports says DSL modems are susceptible to attacks more typically associated with Web sites: Hackers can insert malware onto the victim’s computer or recruit the computer as a bot for a botnet

  • Day of 4G technology -- mobile WiMax -- nears

    Clearwire and Sprint Nextel completes transaction to combine their next-generation wireless Internet businesses; companies announce $3.2 billion investment to launch 4G mobile Internet company

  • Video games as a training tool for first responders

    The U.S. video game market is booming — consumer spending for console and handheld games will reach $11.7 billion in 2012, a noticeable increase over the $8.6 billion in 2007 the firm recorded; within this market there is a small niche dedicated to training and education

  • BAE moves into radiation detection

    Natural diamonds have been used for UV detection since the 1920s, but high purity single crystal diamond with excellent bulk uniformity is a new development, opening new markets for the technology

  • Germany reconsiders millimeter wave scanners

    Last month the European Parliament banned the use of millimeter wave scanner at European airports because the scanners’ sensitivity allow security personnel to see anatomically correct nude images of passengers; Germany wants to revisit the issue

  • EU considers allowing police to place Trojans on suspects' computers

    Remote searches of suspects’ computers could become a mainstay of cybercrime investigations under a new EU strategy announced last week

  • First full-power firing of airborne laser anti-missile system

    Boeing has, for the first time, fired airborne laser anti-missile system; ground tests, then in-flight tests; will soon follow; the fate of the program is less clear as Congress has been reluctant to fund it

  • Making facial recognition technology more effective

    Facial recognition technology holds the promise of identifying individuals in a crowd — and from distance; in real-world environments, however, the task becomes difficult, if not impossible, when the systems acquire poor facial images; NIST researchers offer a solution