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Day of ultra-clean engine nears
One of the major obstacles facing the development of ultra-clean car engines is the need for permanent-magnet electric motors to operate well at temperatures up to 200 degrees Celsius; Iowa researchers offer a way to create such magnets
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Tiny sensors detect toxic gasses
MIT researchers developed a small detector the size of a match box which will detect minute quantities of hazardous gases, including toxic industrial chemicals and chemical warfare agents, much more quickly than current devices
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Helmet sensors measure munition impact
Worried about ever-more-powerful IEDs, the Army is providing soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division with helmets equipped with sensors which measure the energy wave generated by an “event” and the acceleration or jolt that follows
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FIRST LEGO League Ohio State championship tournament
FIRST LEGO will hold its annual robotic tournament this weekend on the campus of Ohio’s Wright State University; 48 teams of 9-14 year-olds will compete on research projects, teamwork, robot design, robot programming, and robot performance
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Breakthrough: Acoustic cloak theoretically possible
Invisibility cloak — deflecting microwaves around a cloaked object and restoring them on the other side, as if they had passed through empty space — has already been demonstrated; Duke researcher now shows that an acoustic cloak is theoretically feasible: Sound waves would travel seamlessly around the cloaked object and emerge on the other side without distortion; submarines could be hidden from sonar
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DARPA selects Goodrich for next-generation night vision technology
Company to develop next-generation night vision sensor technology for helmet-mounted and micro vehicle applications based on its indium gallium arsenide-night vision (InGaAs-NV) SWIR sensors
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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”
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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
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More headlines
The long view
Are We Ready for a ‘DeepSeek for Bioweapons’?
Anthropic’s Claude 4 is a warning sign: AI that can help build bioweapons is coming, and could be widely available soon. Steven Adler writes that we need to be prepared for the consequences: “like a freely downloadable ‘DeepSeek for bioweapons,’ available across the internet, loadable to the computer of any amateur scientist who wishes to cause mass harm. With Anthropic’s Claude Opus 4 having finally triggered this level of safety risk, the clock is now ticking.”
A Brief History of Federal Funding for Basic Science
Biomedical science in the United States is at a crossroads. For 75 years, the federal government has partnered with academic institutions, fueling discoveries that have transformed medicine and saved lives. Recent moves by the Trump administration — including funding cuts and proposed changes to how research support is allocated — now threaten this legacy.
Bookshelf: Preserving the U.S. Technological Republic
The United States since its founding has always been a technological republic, one whose place in the world has been made possible and advanced by its capacity for innovation. But our present advantage cannot be taken for granted.
Autonomous Weapon Systems: No Human-in-the-Loop Required, and Other Myths Dispelled
“The United States has a strong policy on autonomy in weapon systems that simultaneously enables their development and deployment and ensures they could be used in an effective manner, meaning the systems work as intended, with the same minimal risk of accidents or errors that all weapon systems have,” Michael Horowitz writes.
Ukraine Drone Strikes on Russian Airbase Reveal Any Country Is Vulnerable to the Same Kind of Attack
Air defense systems are built on the assumption that threats come from above and from beyond national borders. But Ukraine’s coordinated drone strike on 1 June on five airbases deep inside Russian territory exposed what happens when states are attacked from below and from within. In low-level airspace, visibility drops, responsibility fragments, and detection tools lose their edge. Drones arrive unannounced, response times lag, coordination breaks.
Shots to the Dome—Why We Can’t Model US Missile Defense on Israel’s “Iron Dome”
Starting an arms race where the costs are stacked against you at a time when debt-to-GDP is approaching an all-time high seems reckless. All in all, the idea behind Golden Dome is still quite undercooked.