• RFID technology ever more pervasive, pt. I

    RFID tags are everywhere — on boxed goods, in some computer printers, car keys and tires, on shampoo bottles and department store clothing tags; they are also in library books, contactless payment cards, passports, and travel documents; they introduce efficiency and security to the supply chain, but also allow companies and organizations to track the behavior and shopping patterns of individuals

  • IOTV Body Armor, Improved Outer Tactical Vest

    Soldiers have complained that the standard body armor is too heavy, too hot, and too cumbersome; the Army is now deploying new body armor: It is three pounds lighter, provides more coverage in the small of the back, sits higher around the armpit area, and sits lower on the torso

  • Funding for developing nuclear clean-up tool

    As nuclear power draws renewed interest — what with the rising price of oil and growing worries about global warming — there is more interest in tools and solutions to help deal with nuclear waste and nuclear clean-up

  • American Superconductor's New York grid work moves forward

    Massachusetts-based American Superconductor signed a contract to to develop and install new electrical power-grid technology in New York City which would enable Con Edison better to handle power surges and interruptions caused by accidents, weather or terrorist attacks; after government agencies’ squabble, and congressional examination of the contract, DHS tells company to go forward

  • Analysis // Ben Frankel: China is new driver of world's innovation, economy

    China is becoming the driver of the world’s science, technology, and economy; the U.S.’s persistent failure to encourage and support the training of scientists and engineers in sufficient numbers, at the same time that post-9/11 immigration barriers prevent non-American scientists and engineers from filling the gap, has caused the United States to fall further behind China; if the EU were considered one entity instead of 27 separate countries, it, too, would surpass the United States

  • First commercial hot-dry-rock geothermal power plant to start operation

    Hot fractured dry rock technology was invented to draw energy from deep underground areas where geothermal heat is abundant, but no water exists to carry the heat to the surface; Aussie company this week to begin operation of the world’s first commercial dry rock geothermal power plant

  • MapSnapper allows queries of points of interest on maps

    Southampton University researchers develop MapSnapper; solution allows cell phone users to take pictures of map sections and have the pictures come back to them with points of interest added; these points of interest can then be queried further; solution could help phone screen advertising — and first responders rushing to the scene of a disaster

  • Breakthrough: Researchers identify weakness in anthrax bacteria

    MIT researchers find that nitric oxide (NO) is a critical part of Bacillus anthracis’s defense against the human immune response launched by cells infected with the bacterium; anthrax bacteria that cannot produce NO succumb to the immune system’s attack

  • Magnetic fingerprinting to contribute to air traffic safety

    European researchers develop an innovative system which monitors tiny fluctuations in the Earth’s magnetic field caused by a passing plane; system increases airport safety even in the worst weather conditions

  • MIT awards more than $1.6 million to fund research projects

    MIT Energy Initiative unveils first seed grant winners for energy research; innovative research projects include harnessing microbes, developing new materials, curbing pollution, harvesting wasted watts, and much more

  • Pentagon seeks electropulse blast-ray weapon

    The U.S. Air Force is seeking electromagnetic pulse weapon for the purpose of targeting an enemy communications, data, or power grid networks and overloading their circuits with disruptive RF-induced spikes; earlier efforts to develop such a weapon have failed, but the Pentagon believes a terawatt RF zap weapon is feasible

  • Purdue researchers turn cell phones into radiation detectors

    Boilermaker scientists equip cell phones with radiation sensors able to detect even light residues of radioactive material; many cell phones already contain global positioning locators, so the detector-equipped network of phones would serve as a national radiation tracking system

  • Harvesting rain-drop energy

    The search for clean and renewable energy led French researchers to experiment with harvesting the energy of falling rain drops; they show it is possible to convert the energy into electricity that can be used to power sensors and other devices

  • Quality of new warhead triggers questioned

    As the U.S. nuclear weapons age, their triggers need to be replaced; trouble is, owing to the moratorium on nuclear testing, designers of the new triggers have to rely on simulation and other methods to test the triggers; nuclear watch groups say some scientists at Los Alamos lab have doubts about the new devices

  • Renault/Nissan to turn Israel into electric car haven

    Car makers, with the help of $1 billion investment from Project Better Place, will wire Israel with 500,000 charging points and 150 battery-swap stations where motorists can exchange their depleted batteries for recharged ones within about five minutes