• Super-sensitive spray-on explosive detector

    A new explosive detection system: A spray detects the presence of just a billionth of a gram of explosive, and shows the difference between nitrate esters, such as trinitroglycerin, and nitroaromatic explosives, such as TNT

  • Nanotechnology-based biosensor

    NASA develops nanotechnology-based biosensor that can detect trace amounts of specific bacteria, viruses, and parasites; New York-based Early Warning, Inc. will initially market the sensor to water treatment facilities, food and beverage companies, industrial plants, hospitals, and airlines

  • Boston biolab: Panel urges review of possible lab threats

    As community opposition to the almost-complete Boston University biolab continues, a panel of experts says neighborhood’s concerns — and safety — should not be excluded from consideration of final approval for lab opening

  • CDC biolab not ready after 2 1/2 years

    A new CDC biosafety lab was supposed to open in the fall of 2005; it is still not open, and legislators begin to wonder why; they note that at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, it took less than seven months for its BSL-4 lab to become operational after construction was finished

  • Boeing Hummingbird breaks heavy UAV endurance record

    Boeing’s unmanned rotorcraft breaks endurance record: it flies for nearly 19 hours, carrying a 300-pound internal payload at altitudes up to 15,000 feet, and landing with more than 90 minutes worth of fuel in reserve

  • "Fibrous" steel withstands extremely cold temperatures

    Steel is very strong, except that in cold temperatures it becomes brittle; new method of making steel withstand cold temperatures could make steel structures in Arctic areas, like ships or oil rigs, cheaper to construct

  • Boeing fires high-energy laser aboard advanced tactical laser aircraft

    Boeing’s air-borne laser will destroy, damage, or disable targets with little to no collateral damage, supporting missions on the battlefield and in urban operations

  • Grasshopper robot breaks high-jump record

    Researchers develop small - very small: it is 5 centimeters tall and weighs just 7 grams — hopping robot; swarms of such hopping robots could spread out to explore disaster areas, or even the surfaces of other planets

  • Fighting crime in Mexico, gadget at a time

    Security companies are flocking to Mexico’s capital to sell some high-tech peace of mind

  • Self-repairing aircraft may revolutionize aviation safety

    A new technique which mimics healing processes found in nature could enable damaged aircraft to mend themselves automatically — even during a flight

  • Developing biofuel for commercial aircraft

    The airline industry seeks to develop non-food biofuel which will offer aircraft cheaper fuel without affecting global food supplies

  • DARPA celebrates 50 year anniversary

    DARPA was created in 1958 following the Soviet surprise launch of Sputnik; President Dwight Eisenhower defined the new agency’s mission in three words: “prevent technological surprises”; according to current DARPA director Tony Tether, over the years DARPA has modified its mission by adding to “prevent technological surprises” an important component: “create them”

  • DARPA: Hits, misses, and projects to watch

    Over the years DARPA has funded thousands of research projects; some were hugely successful, others were howlers; all evinced an intellectual restlessness, deep curiosity, and a willingness to fail while trying - all characteristics not typically associated with a government agency

  • Robotic suit could usher in super soldier - and super first responder -- era

    “Exoskeleton” suit senses every movement the wearer makes and almost instantly amplifying it; suit multiplies the strength and endurance of the wearer by as many as twenty times; in tests, people who normally press 200 pounds found themselves pressing 500 pounds

  • Australian budget tackles environment concerns

    New government budget show government’s intent to tackle Australia’s growing water problems; critics charge that the government has not gone far enough to save the Murray-Darling Basin; the huge river system is drying up under the pressure of Australia’s epic drought and excessive water extraction for irrigation