-
Exceedingly strong composite plastic for personal, vehicle protection
University of Michigan scientists, emulating the molecular structure found in seashells, create a composite plastic which is as strong as steel but lighter and transparent; ideal for personal and vehicle protection
-
-
Formula One technologies help U.K. military
BAE collaborates with Motorsport Industry Association for the purpose of using suitable motor sports tehcnologies for making military vehicles more secure and durable
-
-
Questions raised about certification of new nuclear warhead design
The Bush administrattion wants to replace cold war-era nuclear warheads with a newly designed Reliable Replacement Warhead (RRW); trouble is, a 1992 U.S.-Russia treaty imposed a moratorium on all nuclear tests, so the new design cannot be tested
-
-
Liquid explosives detection technology is almost here
After the plot to blow up trans-Atlantic airlines with liquid explosives was uncovered in London in August 2006, pressure has grown to find new ways to detect liquids in baggage and on airline passengers and figure out what they are
-
-
First true invisibility cloak created
University of Maryland researchers develop first true invisibility cloak; it is still small — well, at 10 micrometres in diameter, very small — and works only in two dimensions, but shows that true invisibility is practicable
-
-
Army researchers develop IED-detecting radar
Researchers at the Army Research Lab develop new low-frequency, ultra-wideband radar which detects IEDs, senses through walls, and supports robotic ground vehicles
-
-
Stanford researchers offer revolutionary design for computer chips
Moore’s law stipulates that the number of transistors squeezed onto a computer chip can be doubled about every two years; the law was threteaned by the damaging heat generated by the chips as their transistors become more densely packed; new design solves problem; “What we managed to do is basically get rid of the magnetic field,” says lead researcher
-
-
NASA engineers develop FISMA compliance tool
NASA engineers are good at developing complex space exploration systems, but they were frustrated by the demanding FISMA compliance and reporting requirements; so they developed an automated tool to take care of it
-
-
Argneitna warms up to UAVs
Argentina plans to increase use of UAVs for various homeland security and law enforcement missions
-
-
DuPont to invest $500 million to expand Kevlar production
Growing demand for personal and vehicle protection conveniences company to increase Kevlar production capacity by 25 perent
-
-
Mechanical mole seeks out disaster survivors under collapsed buildings
Robots already roll, walk, slither, and even “swarm” to locate or help survivors, so why not dig and burrow? University of Manchester rsearchers build a digging robot which imitates the common European mole
-
-
InRob Tech leverages military technology in civilian markets
A remote-control and robotics specialist uses technologies developed for defense and homeland security for civilian market applications
-
-
Elephant trap for truck-bombs
A truck bomb killed 241 soliders in Beirut in 1983, and they continue to reap their grim harvest in Iraq and Afghanistan; a designer suggests an elephant-trap design as proetction
-
-
Herding swarming robots
Individual autonomous machines are now in wide use on land, in the air, and at sea for defense and homeland security missions; using several of these robots together, in a coordinated fashion, is difficult; an MIT researcher offers a way to use “swarming” robots which talk to each other
-
-
Bottle makes dirty water drinkable; ideal for post diaster relief
A bottle which purifies even the dirtiest water — it uses filter which cuts out anything longer than 15 nanometres, which means that viruses are filtered out — is ideal for post-disaster relief, soldiers in the field
-
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.