• State Department argues vicinity RFID technology would bolster border security

    State will use vicinity RFID technology in new passport cards; technology allows cards to be read from about twenty feet; privacy advocates and champions of alternative technologies charge the decision poses serious risks to privacy

  • Accreditation program for labs which test body armor

    In the last three decades, the lives of more than 3,000 officers were saved by body armor; many, though, lost their lives or were injured when they were wearing ineffective body armor; NIST, Justice create program for accrediting labs which test and certify body armor

  • Consumer security market grows

    The fastest growing segment within the $155 billion consumer electronics industry is consumer security; heightened worries about terrorism, natural disasters, and sophisticated criminals drive this growth, and the growth, in turn, leads many government- and corporate-security companies to consider entering this market

  • Preventing bicycle theft -- and public safety

    A graduate engineering student at Leeds University develops a clever video analytic tool to help cut down the number of bicycles being stolen in the U.K. every year (currently, 500,000 bicycles); tool can also be used for other public safety missions

  • Superconductivity can occur without phonons

    Breakthrough: Superconductivity is a phenomenon by which materials conduct electricity without resistance, usually at extremely cold temperatures; researchers posit that in materials that are on the verge of exhibiting magnetic order, electron attraction leading to superconductivity can occur without phonons

  • New London center to develop stronger ceramic materials

    Imperial College London launches Structural Ceramic Center; center will research and develop dramatically stronger and more durable structural ceramics made of inorganic materials such as oxides, carbides, and nitrides; new materials will be used in vehicle and body armor, reusable space craft, and pebble beds in nuclear reactors

  • Lobster's eyes inspire hand-held detection device

    The crustacean’s impressive ability to see through dark, cloudy, deep sea water is guiding scientists in developing a ray that could be used by border agents, airport screeners, and the Coast Guard

  • Budget cuts threaten Fermilab's viability

    Fermilab’s 2008 budget will be 17 percent smaller than the 2007 budget; 200 of its 1,900 scientists will be laid off next month; NOνA’s neutrino experiment, Tevatron collider, other programs to be halted; one scientist says: “Effectively, Fermilab is put on a glide-path to shut down after 2011”

  • iRobot wins $286 million Army robot contract

    iRobot signs contract to supply the U.S. Army with 3,000 of the company’s PackBot military robot platform; contract marks Army’s intention of increasing role and missions of robots in battle

  • Adding bellyflaps to blended-wing aircraft increase their manoeuvrability

    Blended-wing aircraft generate less drag, are quieter, and use far less fuel; they are also less maneuverable because the aerodynamic surfaces that control an aircraft’s pitch are located closer to the aircraft’s center of gravity than those on a conventional aircraft; the solution, adding bellyflaps

  • New, quick test for dehydration

    In-the-field exertions by soldiers and first responders may cause dehydration, the result of fluid loss of only a few percent of body weight; Philips offers a transducer which measures how much the skin deforms when sucked — a clear indication of dehydration

  • Robotic device to help first responders

    UC San Diego graduate engineering student designs Gizmo — a robotic device which can be sent to dangerous areas to collect and transmit information that emergency personnel need

  • Existing biotechnology would save energy, cut CO2 by 100 percent

    A major — and surprisingly overlooked — contribution to reducing greenhouse gasses: New analysis shows that use of existing biotechnology in the production of bulk chemicals could reduce consumption of nonrenewable energy and carbon emissions by 100 percent

  • Innovative nozzle protects firefighters against flashover

    Firefighters face not only the immediate fire, but also the risk of flashover — this is when fumes seeping out of walls and furniture get so hot they spontaneously ignite; innovative nozzle from an Austrian company addresses this risk

  • Shape-memory rubber developed

    University of Rochester researchers develop shape-memory rubber which allows designers to make products as diverse as biomedical implants, conformal face-masks, self-sealing sutures, and “smart” labels; material made from shape-memory polymers, once stretched into a new shape, stay in that form until heated, at which time they revert to their initial shape