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Thales opens European security center
More than 25 percent of Thales’s revenues come from its security systems, which totalled approximately €3.4 billion in 2007; the French giant launches a security research center dedicated to homeland security
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Technology start-ups, investment, and the financial crisis
The U.S. financial crisis need not spell doom for technology start-ups, says Kevin Maney; one of the main reasons: “The cost of starting a tech company has dropped precipitously, thanks to cheaper/better/faster technology”
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U Kentucky researchers demonstrate milk transportation safety system
Wildcats researchers develop a milk tracking system which will dramatically improve the safety of bulk milk transport
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UAVs-mounted aircraft defense system demonstrated
Until now there have been two leading approaches to protecting civilian aircraft from shoulder-fired missiles: One approach proposed placing the defensive systems on the planes to be protected, the other advocated surrounding airports with a protective umbrella; a third approach has now been demonstrated: Mounting defensive systems on UAVs loitering high in the sky
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"Guilt" detector to catching smugglers
Researchers are looking to increase security at border crossings by developing a computer system that can detect guilt
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Portable imaging system helps response to natural disasters
Yellow Jackets researchers develop an imaging system which can be affixed to a helicopter to create a detailed picture of an area devastated by a hurricane or other natural disaster
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IT security hinders innovation
New IDC reports says businesses are struggling to find the right balance between security and innovation; information security concerns have caused 80 percent of companies surveyed to back away from new innovation opportunities
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Better coastal defenses against large waves
Coastal defenses have to withstand great forces and there is always a risk of water overtopping or penetrating these structures; Liverpool University’s mathematician says we need new concepts for coastal defenses
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More on the danger of GPS spoofing
The military version of GPS includes security features such as encryption, but civilian signals are transmitted in the clear, unencrypted; a suitcase-size transmitting device can easily fool a GPS receiver; the power grid may be disrupted, and ankle-bracelet-wearing criminals walk about freely
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Northrop Grumman delivers first, if under-powered, raygun to U.S. military
The U.S. military wants a beam weapon capable of at least 100 KW to shoot down incoming artillery shells or missiles; Northrop’s Vesta II can offer only 15 KW — capable of disrupting cellphone towers, car engines, and unexploded munitions; it is a start
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DARPA seeks ultrasonic tourniquets
New device, placed on the arm or a leg of an injured soldier or first responder will use ultrasound scanning to pinpoint internal bleeding, before focusing “high-power energy” on the bleed sites
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UCLA group discovers largest Mersenne prime yet
Bruins researchers discover the 46th — and largest yet — Mersenne Prime; the 13 million-digit prime number is a long-sought milestone, and its discovery makes the researchers eligible for a $100,000 prize
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Invisibility cloak as a protection against tsunamis
Rather than fortifying sea platforms and coastal towns to withstand tsunamis, it may be possible to use invisibility cloaks to make off-shore platforms, islands, and even cities “invisible” to waves
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Northrop tests Guardian anti-missile system
On 8-9 September, Northrop Grumman successfully tested the Guardian anti-missile system; from heights exceeding 50,000 feet, the system successfully detected, tracked, and directed a laser to intercept a target missile
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Breakthrough: "Math dyslexia," not intelignece, makes people bad at math
Generations of students who struggled with mathematics in school accepted — and their teachers and parents accepted — that they were just “not good at math”; new research show that the cause was more likely “dyscalculia” — a syndrome which is similar to dyslexia
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The long view
New Technology is Keeping the Skies Safe
DHS S&T Baggage, Cargo, and People Screening (BCP) Program develops state-of-the-art screening solutions to help secure airspace, communities, and borders
Factories First: Winning the Drone War Before It Starts
Wars are won by factories before they are won on the battlefield,Martin C. Feldmann writes, noting that the United States lacks the manufacturing depth for the coming drone age. Rectifying this situation “will take far more than procurement tweaks,” Feldmann writes. “It demands a national-level, wartime-scale industrial mobilization.”
How Artificial General Intelligence Could Affect the Rise and Fall of Nations
Visions for potential AGI futures: A new report from RAND aims to stimulate thinking among policymakers about possible impacts of the development of artificial general intelligence (AGI) on geopolitics and the world order.
Smaller Nuclear Reactors Spark Renewed Interest in a Once-Shunned Energy Source
In the past two years, half the states have taken action to promote nuclear power, from creating nuclear task forces to integrating nuclear into long-term energy plans.
Keeping the Lights on with Nuclear Waste: Radiochemistry Transforms Nuclear Waste into Strategic Materials
How UNLV radiochemistry is pioneering the future of energy in the Southwest by salvaging strategic materials from nuclear dumps –and making it safe.
Model Predicts Long-Term Effects of Nuclear Waste on Underground Disposal Systems
The simulations matched results from an underground lab experiment in Switzerland, suggesting modeling could be used to validate the safety of nuclear disposal sites.