• Self-healing wire to bolster avaiation safety

    In 1996 an explosion downed TWA flight 800 off the shore of Long Island, killing all 230 passengers and crew; University of Dayton researcher who identified a plausible cause of the explosion has developed a self-healing wire designed such explosions in the future

  • Military use of robots increases

    The U.S. military goal is to have approximately 30 percent of the army be robotic forces by somewhere around 2020; it is well on its way

  • Bullet-tagging technology to help combat crime

    U.K. researchers develop new bullet-tagging technology: tags are applied to gun cartridges by being embedded in cartridge coatings made from polylactic acid, sucrose ester, and tetrahydrofuran; the tags attach themselves to the hands or gloves of anyone handling the cartridge, but a portion of the tag remains on the cartridge even after it has been fired, making it possible to make a definite link between a cartridge fired during a crime and whoever handled it

  • China establishes itself as a physics powerhouse

    Published journal articles in nanoscience, with at least one co-author based in China, have seen a 10-fold increase since the beginning of the millennium, rising to more than 10,500 in 2007; China has already overtaken the United Kingdom and Germany in the number of physics papers published and is beginning to nip at the heels of the United States; the verdict on the quality of many of these papers is still out

  • NIST tighten rules after plutonium spill in lab

    On 9 June about 1/4 gram of powdered plutonium spilled from a vial at a NIST lab in Boulder, Colorado; an investigative committee found that a failure in the safety management system was exacerbated by a “casual and informal research environment that appears to have valued research results above safety considerations”

  • Harris shows new multiband software-defined radio

    New Unity XG-100 provides direct interoperability to federal, state, and local public safety agencies across multiple frequency bands

  • Day of optical communications nears

    New technique to compress light could open doors for optical communications; scientists at the University of California-Berkeley have devised a way to squeeze light into tighter spaces than ever thought possible, opening doors to new technology in the fields of optical communications, miniature lasers, and optical computers

  • GM opens new powertrain development center

    GM, looking to bring more fuel-efficient cars to market more quickly, opens state-of-the-art powertrain development lab

  • "Gravity tractor" could deflect asteroids, protect Earth

    Spacecrafts have a weak gravitational pull; new NASA study says that if an asteroid was menacing Earth and was more than one orbit away from the potential impact, then deploying such a space craft — in effect, a gravity tractor — near the approaching asteroid would deflect the threatening object and save Earth

  • New simulation tool for handling hazardous situations

    Irish, Israeli companies develop new simulation tool which immerse trainees in a scene which has been designed for them; new tool will help first responders and law enforcement familiarize themselves with situations before they occur

  • 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

  • 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

  • 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

  • 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

  • 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