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Hybrid trucks could save fuel and the environment
Sales of small- to medium-size hybrid passenger cars are growing fast, but hybrid technology for trucks is about a decade behind; U.S. Congress wants to change that
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Extreme weather events may unleash perfect storm of infectious disease
Climatic conditions can alter normal host-pathogen relationships; diseases that are tolerated individually may converge and cause mass die-offs of livestock or wildlife
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Floridians believe global warming will have dangerous impacts on the state
Florida Residents want government to do more to address climate change; new survey of Floridians finds that most are convinced that global warming is happening now and that more should be done by key leaders to help Florida deal with climate change
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French company's bid for Digimarc raises U.S. security concern
L-1 Identity Solutions’ Robert LaPenta says allowing French company Safran, which is 30 percent owned by the French government, to acquire U.S. ID card maker Digimarc would compromise security of U.S. citizens’ personal information
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New CCTV cameras can see and hear
Researchers teach intelligent CCTV to “hear” as well as see; the CCTV’s artificial intelligence software is being taught to recognize sounds associated with crimes, including breaking glass, shouted obscenities, and car alarms going off
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New X-ray technology order of magnitude brighter
The electron pulse enters an undulator and generates an X-ray which is reflected back into the undulator entrance by crystals and connects with the next electron bunch and again travels back along the undulator
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GM, Carnegie Mellon collaborate on autonomous driving
General Motors and Carnegie Mellon University have collaborated on an autonomous vehicle which was entered in DARPA 2007 Urban Challenge competition; the now commit to expanding their collaboration with the aim of accelerating the emerging field of autonomous driving
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Intelligent binoculars
Northrop Grumman develops binoculars which connects to scalp electrodes in the soldiers’ helmets; the electrodes record how soldiers’ brains react to various objects as they look through the goggles, then train the binoculars in what constitutes a threat
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Pipe inspecting robot
Robot able to climb vertically in gas, water, and oil pipes, detecting leaks and monitoring conditions as it moves along
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Worries about CDC pathogen handling
In a new $214 million infectious disease laboratory at the Center for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, scientists are conducting experiments on bioterror bacteria in a room with a containment door sealed with duct tape
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Canada puts brakes on electric vehicles
There is a growing demand in environment-conscious Canada for electric cars, but the Canadian government says that the vehicles made of lightweight metals and plastics are not safe to drive on Canada’s open roads
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Plane wings made of glass
Researchers learn more about the atomic structure of glass, offering the possibility of constructing plane wings — and other things — with glass rather than metal, thus avoiding the danger of metal fatigue
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Unmanned Ground Systems Summit: Early Bird Special
Unmanned systems perform more and more missions that used to be performed by humans; the Pentagon plans to spend about $4 billion on robots by 2010; IDGA holds ground robots summit in D.C. this August
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First conviction under the Economic Espionage Act of 1996
Chinese-born software engineer sentenced for stealing industrial and military secrets on behalf of the PRC; first conviction under a 1996 law for misappropriating a trade secret with the intent to benefit a foreign government
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Genetically modified mosquitoes to fight malaria
Malaria kills three million people around the arodl each year; current methods of combatting the disease do not work; scientists examine the potential of genetically modifies mosquitoes for stopping the killer disease
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The long view
Are We Ready for a ‘DeepSeek for Bioweapons’?
Anthropic’s Claude 4 is a warning sign: AI that can help build bioweapons is coming, and could be widely available soon. Steven Adler writes that we need to be prepared for the consequences: “like a freely downloadable ‘DeepSeek for bioweapons,’ available across the internet, loadable to the computer of any amateur scientist who wishes to cause mass harm. With Anthropic’s Claude Opus 4 having finally triggered this level of safety risk, the clock is now ticking.”
A Brief History of Federal Funding for Basic Science
Biomedical science in the United States is at a crossroads. For 75 years, the federal government has partnered with academic institutions, fueling discoveries that have transformed medicine and saved lives. Recent moves by the Trump administration — including funding cuts and proposed changes to how research support is allocated — now threaten this legacy.
Bookshelf: Preserving the U.S. Technological Republic
The United States since its founding has always been a technological republic, one whose place in the world has been made possible and advanced by its capacity for innovation. But our present advantage cannot be taken for granted.
Autonomous Weapon Systems: No Human-in-the-Loop Required, and Other Myths Dispelled
“The United States has a strong policy on autonomy in weapon systems that simultaneously enables their development and deployment and ensures they could be used in an effective manner, meaning the systems work as intended, with the same minimal risk of accidents or errors that all weapon systems have,” Michael Horowitz writes.
Ukraine Drone Strikes on Russian Airbase Reveal Any Country Is Vulnerable to the Same Kind of Attack
Air defense systems are built on the assumption that threats come from above and from beyond national borders. But Ukraine’s coordinated drone strike on 1 June on five airbases deep inside Russian territory exposed what happens when states are attacked from below and from within. In low-level airspace, visibility drops, responsibility fragments, and detection tools lose their edge. Drones arrive unannounced, response times lag, coordination breaks.
Shots to the Dome—Why We Can’t Model US Missile Defense on Israel’s “Iron Dome”
Starting an arms race where the costs are stacked against you at a time when debt-to-GDP is approaching an all-time high seems reckless. All in all, the idea behind Golden Dome is still quite undercooked.