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Boeing chooses Qinetiq for Vulture program
Vulture is a pseudo-satellite system aiming to provide operational advantages in terms of persistent intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and communications
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Security research
Imperial College London launches the Institute for Security Science and Technology; new outfit will research techniques for preventing identity theft to safeguarding transport infrastructure, energy supplies, and communication networks
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TSA testing shoe scanning technology
he Transportation Security Administration is testing show scanning machines from L2 Communications; this is a step toward eventually allowing passengers to keep their shoes on when they go through the security checkpoint
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Breakthrough: First commercial quantum cryptography chip
The future of (at least theoretically) completely secure communication nears as Siemens and two European research centers claim to have developed the first quantum cryptography chip for commercial use
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New device puts an end to luggage hell
Two Israelis develop an electronic tag which allows passengers “talk” with luggage as it arrives on thebaggage carousel; device can also be used to track kids and family members in a mall
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Army's Future Combat System on fast track
The U.S. Army may be stretched, but it is moving ahead at fast pace on its futuristic Future Combat System; also, the Army’s Brigade Combat Team modularity will be 70 percent complete by the end of 2008 — the largest organizational transformation since the Second World War
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U.K. UAV competition
The U.K. Ministry of Defence is holding its Grand Challenge, which calls for the design of a platform with a high degree of autonomy that can detect, identify, monitor, and report a comprehensive range of military threats in an urban environment
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U.K. says country is a good place for scientific research
U.K. government body releases a reference work showing major research infrastructures, including light sources, research ships, innovative laboratories, and social data sets
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Midwest floods to create record dead zone in Gulf of Mexico
Each year, an influx of nutrients — mainly nitrogen — which come from fertilizers flushed out of the Mississippi basin creates dead zones in the Gulf of Mexico — zones where there is not enough oxygen to sustain life; the summer’s Midwest floods flush record levels of nutrients into the Gulf, creating a dead zone the size of New Jersey
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New way to purify water
Water-attracting materials seem to repel impurities, thus leaving a layer of pure water near their surface; making tubes from these particle-excluding materials would allow for a new way to purify water — if, for now, in relatively small quantities
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New, quick method for identifying food-borne diseases
European researchers have developed a system which prepares samples and performs DNA tests on the salmonella and campylobacter bacteria in a portable and cost-effective chip
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Better picture of what lies beneath the Earth's surface
A tool which measures minute changes in the planet’s gravity field from the air allows a cheaper alternative to seismic surveying
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NASA's UAV helps fight California wild fires
Fire crews are fighting more than 1,700 blazes that have blackened 829,000 acres of California this fire season; they need all the help they can get — and NASA extends such help by lending the state a modified Predator UAV
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Evidence of acid rain supports meteorite theory of Tunguska catastrophe
There are many theories about the source of the mysterious 1908 explosion in Siberia, an explosion which leveled more than 80 million trees over an area of more than 2,000 square kilometers; presence of acid rain lends support to one of them
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New Jersey's Stevens Tech to lead research on port security
Hoboken is poised to become a center for research into port security
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The long view
Nuclear Has Changed. Will the U.S. Change with It?
Fueled by artificial intelligence, cloud service providers, and ambitious new climate regulations, U.S. demand for carbon-free electricity is on the rise. In response, analysts and lawmakers are taking a fresh look at a controversial energy source: nuclear power.
Huge Areas May Face Possibly Fatal Heat Waves if Warming Continues
A new assessment warns that if Earth’s average temperature reaches 2 degrees C over the preindustrial average, widespread areas may become too hot during extreme heat events for many people to survive without artificial cooling.
Exploring the New Nuclear Energy Landscape
In the last few years, the U.S. has seen a resurgence of interest in nuclear energy and its potential for helping meet the nation’s growing demands for clean electricity and energy security. Meanwhile, nuclear energy technologies themselves have advanced, opening up new possibilities for their use.