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American Superconductor's New York grid work moves forward
Massachusetts-based American Superconductor signed a contract to to develop and install new electrical power-grid technology in New York City which would enable Con Edison better to handle power surges and interruptions caused by accidents, weather or terrorist attacks; after government agencies’ squabble, and congressional examination of the contract, DHS tells company to go forward
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Analysis // Ben Frankel: China is new driver of world's innovation, economy
China is becoming the driver of the world’s science, technology, and economy; the U.S.’s persistent failure to encourage and support the training of scientists and engineers in sufficient numbers, at the same time that post-9/11 immigration barriers prevent non-American scientists and engineers from filling the gap, has caused the United States to fall further behind China; if the EU were considered one entity instead of 27 separate countries, it, too, would surpass the United States
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First commercial hot-dry-rock geothermal power plant to start operation
Hot fractured dry rock technology was invented to draw energy from deep underground areas where geothermal heat is abundant, but no water exists to carry the heat to the surface; Aussie company this week to begin operation of the world’s first commercial dry rock geothermal power plant
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MapSnapper allows queries of points of interest on maps
Southampton University researchers develop MapSnapper; solution allows cell phone users to take pictures of map sections and have the pictures come back to them with points of interest added; these points of interest can then be queried further; solution could help phone screen advertising — and first responders rushing to the scene of a disaster
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Breakthrough: Researchers identify weakness in anthrax bacteria
MIT researchers find that nitric oxide (NO) is a critical part of Bacillus anthracis’s defense against the human immune response launched by cells infected with the bacterium; anthrax bacteria that cannot produce NO succumb to the immune system’s attack
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Magnetic fingerprinting to contribute to air traffic safety
European researchers develop an innovative system which monitors tiny fluctuations in the Earth’s magnetic field caused by a passing plane; system increases airport safety even in the worst weather conditions
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MIT awards more than $1.6 million to fund research projects
MIT Energy Initiative unveils first seed grant winners for energy research; innovative research projects include harnessing microbes, developing new materials, curbing pollution, harvesting wasted watts, and much more
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Pentagon seeks electropulse blast-ray weapon
The U.S. Air Force is seeking electromagnetic pulse weapon for the purpose of targeting an enemy communications, data, or power grid networks and overloading their circuits with disruptive RF-induced spikes; earlier efforts to develop such a weapon have failed, but the Pentagon believes a terawatt RF zap weapon is feasible
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Purdue researchers turn cell phones into radiation detectors
Boilermaker scientists equip cell phones with radiation sensors able to detect even light residues of radioactive material; many cell phones already contain global positioning locators, so the detector-equipped network of phones would serve as a national radiation tracking system
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Harvesting rain-drop energy
The search for clean and renewable energy led French researchers to experiment with harvesting the energy of falling rain drops; they show it is possible to convert the energy into electricity that can be used to power sensors and other devices
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Quality of new warhead triggers questioned
As the U.S. nuclear weapons age, their triggers need to be replaced; trouble is, owing to the moratorium on nuclear testing, designers of the new triggers have to rely on simulation and other methods to test the triggers; nuclear watch groups say some scientists at Los Alamos lab have doubts about the new devices
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Renault/Nissan to turn Israel into electric car haven
Car makers, with the help of $1 billion investment from Project Better Place, will wire Israel with 500,000 charging points and 150 battery-swap stations where motorists can exchange their depleted batteries for recharged ones within about five minutes
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Plasma propulsion drives tiny drones
The military, law enforcement, and industry turn to ever-smaller surveillance and inspection devices — some the size of insects; trouble is, these miniature drones have a tendency to break down because of the many moving parts required to make them fly; OSU researchers find a solution: Plasma micro thruster
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Animation shows how cities will cope with devastating earthquakes
How do we know what damage will be sustained by a city located in an earthquake-prone region? Purdue University researchers have an ambitious idea: Create a mini satellite city to cope with the aftermath of such a catastrophe; Boilermakers have created a 3D fly-through animation showing what the city would look like
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Idaho geothermal power plant goes online
U.S. Geothermal launches first geothermal power plant in Idaho; plant uses innovative binary cycle technology in which the geothermal fluid is pumped through a heat exchanger to vaporize isopentane, an organic compound that vaporizes at lower temperatures than water
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More headlines
The long view
Autonomous Vehicle Technology Vulnerable to Road Object Spoofing and Vanishing Attacks
Researchers have demonstrated the potentially hazardous vulnerabilities associated with the technology called LiDAR, or Light Detection and Ranging, many autonomous vehicles use to navigate streets, roads and highways. The researchers have shown how to use lasers to fool LiDAR into “seeing” objects that are not present and missing those that are – deficiencies that can cause unwarranted and unsafe braking or collisions.
Tantalizing Method to Study Cyberdeterrence
Tantalus is unlike most war games because it is experimental instead of experiential — the immersive game differs by overlapping scientific rigor and quantitative assessment methods with the experimental sciences, and experimental war gaming provides insightful data for real-world cyberattacks.
Prototype Self-Service Screening System Unveiled
TSA and DHS S&T unveiled a prototype checkpoint technology, the self-service screening system, at Harry Reid International Airport (LAS) in Las Vegas, NV. The aim is to provide a near self-sufficient passenger screening process while enabling passengers to directly receive on-person alarm information and allow for the passenger self-resolution of those alarms.
Falling Space Debris: How High Is the Risk I'll Get Hit?
An International Space Station battery fell back to Earth and, luckily, splashed down harmlessly in the Atlantic. Should we have worried? Space debris reenters our atmosphere every week.
Testing Cutting-Edge Counter-Drone Technology
Drones have many positive applications, bad actors can use them for nefarious purposes. Two recent field demonstrations brought government, academia, and industry together to evaluate innovative counter-unmanned aircraft systems.
Strengthening the Grid’s ‘Backbone’ with Hydropower
Argonne-led studies investigate how hydropower could help add more clean energy to the grid, how it generates value as grids add more renewable energy, and how liner technology can improve hydropower efficiency.