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Blumenthal: Impact statement regarding Plum Island seriously flawed
Connecticut’s attorney general: “[DHS’s] draft environmental impact statement is profoundly flawed — factually deficient, and legally insufficient — mis-assessing the monstrous risks of siting a proposed national bio- and agro-defense facility on Plum Island”
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New York officials want Plum Island to remain a Level-3 BioLab
DHS is considering upgrading the Plum Island BioLab from Level-3 to Level-4 so it could conduct research into the deadliest diseases; the department argues that Plum Island’s relative isolation would make an accidental pathogen release less costly relatively to such release from a mainland-based lab; New York officials strongly disagree
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Scarcity of science, technology students worries military IT officials
Pentagon information technology officials: The dearth of Americans being trained in science and technology is one of the greatest threats to the U.S. military’s future
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Raytheon in $111 million War on Terror contract
U.S. Army orders additional “fire and forget” missile systems from Raytheon
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New chemical radar among national security innovations in ACS podcast
The American Chemical Society wants to do its share to bolster societal safety — and a new series of an the organization-sponsored podcasts describe an array of technologies to help assure personal safety and national security
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Anti-invisibility cloak would render invisible objects visible again
A perfect invisibility cloak guides rays so effectively that none reaches the cloaked object within, keeping it in total darkness — a disadvantage if invisibility cloaks are ever to be used to shield tanks, steer microwaves in space, or hide humans; scientists find a solution
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Scientists use bacteria to pinpoint chloride toxins
Chloride toxins are carcinogens and dangerous to the environment; they may contaminate food, or used to poison people intentionally (as was the case with Ukrainian president Viktor Yuschenko in 2004; the Russian secret service is suspected of trying to kill him); scientists are using the sensor with which bacteria detect chloride compounds to devise an early detection system
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Boeing awarded laser weapon contract
Boeing wins $36 million contract to continue development of a truck-mounted laser weapon aiming to destroy flying projectiles — from rockets to artillery shells to mortar rounds
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China quake forces rethink over hazard maps
Following the Sichuan earthquake, in which more than 65,000 people died, researchers say that similar regions may also be in danger and that seismic hazard maps should be redrawn
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Environment-friendly spook: Solar-powered UAV breaks endurance record
Qinetiq’s Zephyr high-altitude long-endurance (HALE) aircraft flies for 82 hours and 37 minutes
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Modified helicopters help in search and rescue missions
Researchers in Hong Kong develop a helicopter installed with a video camera and linked to the Global Positioning System (GPS), and which flies on its own on a preset course; helicopter used to survey the Sichuan earthquake area; researchers in U.K. work on a similar concept — but one which envisions using a swarm of self-coordinating helicopters
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Robot allows chemists to conduct experiments remotely
Many chemical lab experiments involve explosions, noxious fumes, burns, stains, and all manner of unpleasantness; new robot allows chemists to conduct experiments remotely
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New analysis of earthquake zone raises questions
Oregon State University researchers offer a new analysis of an earthquake fault line that extends some 200 miles off the southern and central Oregon coast that they say is more active than the San Andreas Fault in California
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New detection method for food toxins found
Japanese researchers develop new technique to detect toxins in food; the method involves artificially produced human enzymes that act as sensors for toxins in food samples
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Aussie student has answer to save Earth from asteroid attack
The bomb dropped on Hiroshima had an explosive yield of 12.5 kiloton; asteroid Apophis, which is now hurtling toward Earth and which will come uncomfortably close to our planet in 2029, packs a punch of 1,375,000 kilotons; competitions are being held to find the best way to stop it in its tracks
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The long view
Technology Evolves the Tactics: Preparing for the Rise of Terrorist AI Harms
Terrorist groups, like the societies they emerge from, adapt to new technologies. As AI capabilities evolve, so too do the tactics of extremist actors. While the full effects may take years to observe, as the technologies continue to develop, we are starting to see them directly alter extremism tradecraft.
Bookshelf: A Tale of American Lawyers and Chinese Engineers
The U.S. and China have fundamental differences, a new book argues. China would be an “engineering state” whereas the U.S. is a “lawyerly society.” Most Chinese Communist Party leaders have been engineers focused on building mega projects such as highways, bridges, fast trains. and airports. In recent decades the U.S. has become a “lawyerly society” as the country’s elite, dominated by lawyers, focused on procedure and process rather than getting things done.
Europe’s Banks Quietly Mobilize for Economic Warfare
For years, banks treated defense as a reputational issue, as well as an environmental, social and governance risk, often lumping it with tobacco or fossil fuels as something to be managed at arm’s length. That era is ending. Russia’s war in Ukraine, China’s coercive trade tactics and the United States’ pressure on Europe to shoulder more of its defense burden have exposed the limits of moralistic restraint. Financial mobilization is the new norm.
A New Generation of Industries Emerges in Texas as Feds Push to Mine More Rare Minerals
The U.S. doesn’t produce the minerals and metals needed for renewable energy, microchips or military technology. Major oil companies are drilling in East Texas again, but not for oil. This time, they’re after lithium for batteries and other rare elements.
U.S. and Australia Deepen Critical-Minerals Engagement to Counter China
Engagement between Australia and the United States on critical minerals has matured from technical cooperation into a strategic partnership, aligning resource security with clean energy and defense priorities.
Bookshelf: Critical Mineral Dilemmas
Whoever controls the production and processing of lithium, copper and other critical minerals could dominate the 21st century economy, much as producers of fossil fuels defined the 20th century, writes Ernest Scheyder in a new book.