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DARPA: Hits, misses, and projects to watch
Over the years DARPA has funded thousands of research projects; some were hugely successful, others were howlers; all evinced an intellectual restlessness, deep curiosity, and a willingness to fail while trying - all characteristics not typically associated with a government agency
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Robotic suit could usher in super soldier - and super first responder -- era
“Exoskeleton” suit senses every movement the wearer makes and almost instantly amplifying it; suit multiplies the strength and endurance of the wearer by as many as twenty times; in tests, people who normally press 200 pounds found themselves pressing 500 pounds
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Australian budget tackles environment concerns
New government budget show government’s intent to tackle Australia’s growing water problems; critics charge that the government has not gone far enough to save the Murray-Darling Basin; the huge river system is drying up under the pressure of Australia’s epic drought and excessive water extraction for irrigation
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San Francisco aggressively to promote use of electric vehicles
The City on the Bay to help build charging infrastructure throughout the city and the suburbs to make use of electrical vehicles viable
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Stephen Hawking looking for Africa's hidden talent
New initiative aims to promote the study of math and science in Africa; £75 million from private donors will be used to create Africa’s first postgraduate centers for advanced maths and physics; fifteen such centers will be open
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Past patients to provide fast flu vaccine to new patients
Currently it takes at least six months to produce a flu vaccine after a new strain appears; researchers find that a faster way would be to treat people with antibodies produced by earlier patients
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Scientists debate link between climate change and storm ferocity
Cyclone Nargis, just before it smashed into Myanmar, suddenly changed gear from a Category One to a Category Four cyclone just before it made landfall; similar changes were noted in other recent tropical storms; are changes linked to global warming?
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New cell-based sensors sniff out danger
New sensors will incorporate living olfactory cells on microchips; sensors would detect presence of IEDs –- but may also be used to sense the presence of pathogens, the presence of harmful bacteria in ground beef or spinach, and detect the local origin of specialty foods like cheeses or wines
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Flying saucers, tiny helicopters compete in British war game
The U.K. Ministry of defense held its first Grand Challenge technology competition last week; six finalists receive $600,000 each to develop their concepts into machines; finalists will meet for mock battle in August
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U.S. wireless landascpe about to change
Clearwire, Sprint Nextel to form $14.55 billion wireless company which will deploy WiMAX networks across the United States; WiMAX’s speed dwarfs current wireless technologies, holding the potential of rendering cable and phone line Internet obsolete
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Lockheed Martin’s Joint Air-To-Surface Standoff Missile (JASSM)
The Iranian nuclear weapons program is moving full-speed ahead — the December 2007 NIE strangely opined that Iran had “halted” its nuclear weapon program, but Secretary of Defense Robert Gates says Iran is “hell-bent” on acquiring nuclear weapons – and Lockheed Martin successfully tests the JASSM which aims not only to destroy high-value hardened targets, but also evade the sophisticated air-defense systems the Russians are building for Iran
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IEEE-USA to host Boston-Area Homeland Security Conference
A business panel with local and national experts on technology commercialization is to be the main feature of the 2008 IEEE International Conference on Technologies for Homeland Security
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Plasma-powered flying saucer for surveillance
Passing a current of magnetic field through a conducting fluid generates force; a new patent application shows how this phenomenon — magnetohydridynamics — may be used as a form of propulsion
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HP CEO: Dwindling tech talent hurt U.S.
Mark Hurd, CEO of Hewlett-Packard, laments declining technical competence in the United States; only 40 percent of HP’s 40,000 engineers are now based in the United States
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Unassuming fungi lock depleted uranium out of harm's way
Common fungi, found in most back gardens, could help clean up battlefields contaminated with depleted uranium
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The long view
U.S.-China Tech Rivalry: The Geopolitics of Semiconductors
The United States and China are locked in a high‑stakes contest for dominance in computing power. In response to US sanctions and export controls, China has ramped domestic chip design and manufacturing, aiming to create an all‑Chinese semiconductor supply chain that reduces dependence on foreign technologies.
Breakthrough Development Could Significantly Boost 5G Network Security
With its greater network capacity and ability to rapidly transmit huge amounts of information from one device to another, 5G is a critical component of intelligent systems and services - including those for healthcare and financial services.
Computer Scientists Boost U.S. Cybersecurity
As cyber threats grow more sophisticated by the day, researchers are making computing safer thanks to federally funded research that targets some of the internet’s most pressing security challenges.
Critical Action Needed to Address Growing Biosecurity Risks
A new report warns that biosecurity risks are increasing. Emerging technologies and other trends are making biological threats more numerous, frequent, and consequential. The report outlines how emerging biotechnology must itself be used to secure biology, akin to how software is required to secure software.
Funding Cuts, Policy Shifts, and the Erosion of U.S. Scientific and Public Health Capacity
The U.S. continues to face mounting threats to its health, scientific enterprise, and national security. A recent report warns that proposed FY 2026 budget cuts to the National Science Foundation (NSF) could reduce its funding by more than half – from $9 billion in FY 2025 to under $4 billion. If passed by Congress, these cuts would result in an estimated ~$11 billion in economic losses.
Walk-Through Screening System Enhances Security at Airports Nationwide
A new security screener that people can simply walk past may soon be coming to an airport near you. Last year, U.S. airports nationwide began adopting HEXWAVE to satisfy a new Transportation Security Administration (TSA) mandate for enhanced employee screening to detect metallic and nonmetallic threats.