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More than 5,000 U.S. patents are now state secrets
The U.S. military and intelligence agencies can impose a gagging order on any U.S. patent; 128 have been imposed so far during the first ten months of 2007, bringing the total number of secret U.S. patents to 5,002
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Miniscule solar cells would enable ultramicroscopic technology
Harvard team develops solar cells 200 hundred times thinner than a human hair; source of power for ultramicroscopic technology now available; team leaders says one of the first application would be in monitoring bioterrorism
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Water is key to the hydrogen economy
The hydrogen economy is one way to reduce dependence on fossil fuels and move toward cleaner technology; trouble is, the hydrogen economy requires a lot of water; investors supporting innovative water production technologies will benefit
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New wind turbines harvest energy from swirling wakes around buildings
Young Cal Tech researchers shows that just as fish use their bodies to get an energy boost from surrounding vortices, we can design devices which would harvest energy from swirling wakes surrounding buildings
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Irish company claims wave power success
A quarter-scale prototype wave energy converter is successfully harnessing electricity from Atlantic Ocean waves off the west coast of Ireland
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Laser Avenger shows counter-IED capabilities
Boeing adds laser capabilities to its Avenger system, and demonstrates its effectiveness against IEDs and UXOs
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NEC develops world's first portable DNA analyzer
The size of an attaché-case, the portable DNA analyzer can be carried to the crime scene; it completes the five-step DNA analysis process in about 25 minutes
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A drone able to carry out a long range flight of more than ten hours
South Korean researchrs build a UAV which uses hydrogen fuel cell to stay a loft for more than ten hours; drone relies on sodium borohydride rather than compressed hydrogen gas
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Raytheon brings heat-ray Silent Guardian to market
The interest in non-lethal weapons grow, and Raytheon brings its Silent Guardian to market — a system which emits a beam of millimeter-wave energy to induce an “intolerable heating sensation”
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Man dies after stunned by a Taser gun
Taser stun guns are again in the news, as a man dies at Vancouver airport after being stunned by a gun for unruly behavior
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Opponnents say Social Security is not the way to track illegal immigrants
Opponents of DHS’s tightening of no-match rule say this is not a good way to control illegal immigration; AFL-CIO estimates that 600,000 of its workers could be vulnerable to firing
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A first: Quantum cryptography secures ballots in Swiss election
Quantum cryptograhpy finds real-world application in guaranteeing integrity of 21 October ballot in the canton of Geneva
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Quantum communication nearer as entanglement swapping realized
Security and computing experts cannot wait for quantum communcation to be mastered; good thing, then, that Swiss researchers show, for the first time, photon pairs entanglement swapping
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Exceedingly strong composite plastic for personal, vehicle protection
University of Michigan scientists, emulating the molecular structure found in seashells, create a composite plastic which is as strong as steel but lighter and transparent; ideal for personal and vehicle protection
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Formula One technologies help U.K. military
BAE collaborates with Motorsport Industry Association for the purpose of using suitable motor sports tehcnologies for making military vehicles more secure and durable
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More headlines
The long view
Canada’s Biosecurity Scandal: The Risks of Foreign Interference in Life Sciences
In July 2019, world-renowned biological researchers Xiangguo Qiu and Keding Cheng were quietly walked out of the Canadian government’s National Microbiology Lab (NML). The original allegation against them was that Qiu had authorized a shipment to China of some of the deadliest viruses on the planet, including Ebola and Nipah. Then the story seemed to go away—until now.
A New Way to Detect Radiation Involving Cheap Ceramics
The radiation detectors used today for applications like inspecting cargo ships for smuggled nuclear materials are expensive and cannot operate in harsh environments, among other disadvantages. Work by MIT engineers could lead to plethora of new applications, including better detectors for nuclear materials at ports.
Action Needed to Improve U.S. Smallpox Readiness and Diagnostics, Vaccines, and Therapeutics: Report
A new report says that action is needed to enhance U.S. readiness for smallpox and related diseases, as well as to improve diagnostics, vaccines, and therapeutics that could be used in case of an outbreak. The COVID-19 pandemic revealed weaknesses in the ability of U.S. public health and health care systems to adapt and respond to an unfamiliar pathogen, as did challenges during the recent mpox outbreak to rapidly making diagnostics, vaccines, and therapeutics available at scale.
Tantalizing Method to Study Cyberdeterrence
Tantalus is unlike most war games because it is experimental instead of experiential — the immersive game differs by overlapping scientific rigor and quantitative assessment methods with the experimental sciences, and experimental war gaming provides insightful data for real-world cyberattacks.
The Flooding Will Come “No Matter What”
Another great American migration is now underway, this time forced by the warming that is altering how and where people can live. For now, it’s just a trickle. But in the corners of the country’s most vulnerable landscapes —on the shores of its sinking bayous and on the eroding bluffs of its coastal defenses —populations are already in disarray. The complex, contradictory, and heartbreaking process of American climate migration is underway.
Companies Ignoring Climate Risks Get Punished by Markets: Study
Companies that proactively manage climate risks boost their valuations, while those with a passive stance are discounted in the equity market, according to new research.