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Melting ice menaces Russia's critical infrastructure
Russian scientists say that the hard permafrost covering the ground year-round across Russia’s far north will melt by 2030; government officials say that if this happens, critical infrastructure, including key airfields, oil storage facilities, and strategic oil reservoirs, could all be destroyed
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Shape-shifting, self-powered skyscraper
Architect unveils design for a moving, shape-shifting skyscraper; each floor would rotate independently; tower would be self-powered, generating its own electricity, as well as power for other nearby buildings
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Purifying farm-yard waste water
Scottish researchers develop a method for turning farm-yard waster into water fit to bathe in; new method also prevents loss of contaminants to rivers and lakes, where they may be detrimental to animal or human health
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Breakthrough: Universal detection system
Livermore researchers work on developing a universal detection system — a system that can monitor the air for virtually all of the major threat agents that could be used by terrorists: biological, chemical, explosives, and radiological — along with illicit drugs
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Robot car competition winner on display
Stanley, a robotic, driver-less car developed by Stanford University and Volkswagen, won the DARPA Grand Challenge in the Mojave Desert in the fall of 2005; it is now on display — appropriately, at the Tech Museum of Innovation in San Jose
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Robot sub recharger
Autonomous underwater vehicles perform more and more missions for both scientific research and security; charging their batteries, though, has always been a problem; a new patent application offers a solution
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Weight-sensitive aircraft seats
New plane or helicopter seats will rely on active suspension to sense the forces on the seat and change its levels of cushioning; the seat uses a magnetorheological fluid damper
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Smith Detection shows peroxide vapor detector
Peroxide is used in many household chemicals — and by terrorists; Smith Detection shows a hand-held detector which allows for fast detection of IEDs; military and airline industry are primary markets
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U.S. federal agencies ready for IPv6 D-Day (which is today)
Agencies expect to meet 30 June deadline; future of IPv6 awaits new president; IPv4 — the current version of the Internet — is running out of address space; IPv6 provides many more addresses — 2 to the 128th power
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Airless tires may be a lifesaver in military combat
A Wisconsin company and Badgers researchers develop an airless tire that can withstand extreme punishment, even those meted out in military combat zones
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Acoustic cloak silences nuisance noise
Spanish researchers prove metamaterials can be designed to produce an acoustic cloak — a cloak that can make objects impervious to sound waves
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U.S. intelligence agencies: Climate change threatens national security
Climate change could threaten U.S. security in the next twenty years by causing political instability, mass movements of refugees, terrorism, or conflicts over water and other resources in specific countries
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Super-sensitive explosives detector
Innovative explosives detector can detect explosives at distances exceeding 20 yards; the technology is a variation of photoacoustic spectroscopy but overcomes a number of problems associated with this technique
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New biological, chemical decontamination solution
An airborne and surface decontamination system delivers a decontaminant mist that results in rapid surface area contact and full non-line-of-sight coverage
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Food inspection technology improves food safety
New inspection X-ray technology developed by European researchers is helping to ensure that the only thing in people’s dinners is the food itself
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The long view
A Shining Star in a Contentious Legacy: Could Marty Makary Be the Saving Grace of a Divisive Presidency?
While much of the Trump administration has sparked controversy, the FDA’s consumer-first reforms may be remembered as its brightest legacy. From AI-driven drug reviews to bans on artificial dyes, the FDA’s agenda resonates with the public in ways few Trump-era policies have.
Risk Assessment with Machine Learning
Researchers utilize geological survey data and machine learning algorithms for accurately predicting liquefaction risk in earthquake-prone areas.
Foundation for U.S. Breakthroughs Feels Shakier to Researchers
With each dollar of its grants, the National Institutes of Health —the world’s largest funder of biomedical research —generates, on average, $2.56 worth of economic activity across all 50 states. NIH grants also support more than 400,000 U.S. jobs, and have been a central force in establishing the country’s dominance in medical research. Waves of funding cuts and grant terminations under the second Trump administration are a threat to the U.S. status as driver of scientific progress, and to the nation’s economy.
The True Cost of Abandoning Science
“We now face a choice: to remain at the vanguard of scientific inquiry through sound investment, or to cede our leadership and watch others answer the big questions that have confounded humanity for millennia —and reap the rewards.”
Bookshelf: Smartphones Shape War in Hyperconnected World
The smartphone is helping to shape the conduct and representation of contemporary war. A new book argues that as an operative device, the smartphone is now “being used as a central weapon of war.”
New Approach Detects Adversarial Attacks in Multimodal AI Systems
New vulnerabilities have emerged with the rapid advancement and adoption of multimodal foundational AI models, significantly expanding the potential for cybersecurity attacks. Topological signatures key to revealing attacks, identifying origins of threats.