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Thales supplies new signalling system
London transportation authorities improve control over and monitoring of vast underground rail system by installing improved signalling control from Thales
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Hundreds of U.K. critical infrastructure facilities at flood risk
A study triggered by last summer’s deadly U.K. floods concludes that hundreds of U.K. power substations and water treatment plants are at risk from flooding, thus compounding and exacerbating the consequences of natural disasters
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Microbes mine trapped energy
Microbes naturally convert oil to methane over tens of millions of years; scientists find that this time scale could be shortened to a few hundred days in the laboratory by feeding the oil-based microbes with special nutrients
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Smarter electric grid could be key to saving power, II
Power providers and technology companies are making the electric grid smarter; it will stop being merely a passive supplier of juice; installing smart controls in homes would allow consumers to decide how much energy they need at what price
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Smarter electric grid key to saving power, I
Power providers and technology companies are making the electric grid smarter; it will stop being merely a passive supplier of juice; installing smart controls in homes would allow consumers to decide how much energy they need at what price
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Malicious hardware may be next hacker tool
Next threat on the computer security front: Malicious hardware; malicious hardware is more problematic because it is more difficult to detect; China is already using an early, and simple, version of malicious hardware in its massive military and industrial espionage campaign against Western countries and companies
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Senate Democrats criticize political involvement in toxic chemical decisions
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) says extensive involvement by EPA managers, White House budget officials, and other agencies has eroded the independence of EPA scientists charged with determining the health risks posed by chemicals
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Cybersecurity agenda for the next president
Cybersecurity is not a technical issue, but a matter of culture, education, and self-interest; government cannot regulate information technology security, and industry cannot do the job by itself
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Lessons from Kazakhstan about safe water
A key UN Millennium Development Goal (MDG) is to halve the number of people without access to safe drinking water and sanitation by 2015; research shows, however, that the MDG definition is too narrow and can be misleading
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Scientists search for clues to Reno earthquake
The shaking in Reno is unusual because the intensity of the quakes has increased over the past few weeks; generally, earthquakes tend to occur and are followed by smaller aftershocks
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Security companies criticize Defcon virus contest
Hackers’ event, Defcon, will hold a contest to see who can develop the best virus to beat antivirus software; prizes range from “Most elegant obfuscation” to “Most deserving of beer”; antivirus vendors upset
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Reno urged to prepare for worse as earthquakes continue
Scientists call on Reno residents to brace themselves for more earthquakes; more than 100 aftershocks were recorded on the western edge of the city after a magnitude 4.7 quake hit Friday night
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Partnership to produce sugarcane-based diesel
High corn prices have driven California-based biofuel specialist Amyris to join with a Brazilian company to produce sugarcane-based diesel
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Straw power planned
With more and more companies turning to biofuels as an alternative to fossil fuels, a debate has erupted over the food-energy trade-off involved; a Welsh company bypasses this debate by planning to generate energy from straw
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U.K. government split over mobile threat
U.K. agencies divided over the scope and imminence of wireless systems which control the nation’s critical infrastructure
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The long view
Water Wars: A Historic Agreement Between Mexico and US Is Ramping Up Border Tension
As climate change drives rising temperatures and changes in rainfall, Mexico and the US are in the middle of a conflict over water, putting an additional strain on their relationship. Partly due to constant droughts, Mexico has struggled to maintain its water deliveries for much of the last 25 years, deliveries to which it is obligated by a 1944 water-sharing agreement between the two countries.
Trump Is Fast-Tracking New Coal Mines — Even When They Don’t Make Economic Sense
In Appalachian Tennessee, mines shut down and couldn’t pay their debts. Now a new one is opening under the guise of an “energy emergency.”
Smaller Nuclear Reactors Spark Renewed Interest in a Once-Shunned Energy Source
In the past two years, half the states have taken action to promote nuclear power, from creating nuclear task forces to integrating nuclear into long-term energy plans.
Keeping the Lights on with Nuclear Waste: Radiochemistry Transforms Nuclear Waste into Strategic Materials
How UNLV radiochemistry is pioneering the future of energy in the Southwest by salvaging strategic materials from nuclear dumps –and making it safe.
Model Predicts Long-Term Effects of Nuclear Waste on Underground Disposal Systems
The simulations matched results from an underground lab experiment in Switzerland, suggesting modeling could be used to validate the safety of nuclear disposal sites.