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Mitchell Zakin revived the chemistry discipline at DARPA
Mitch Zakin —who says, “I joined DARPA because it is unfettered by conventional wisdom” — will leave the agency in 2010; he has been working on developing “the infochemistry project,” which combines the powers of chemistry and information technology
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DARPA seeking to improve bio-threat detectors
The agency is requesting proposals for a device that would enable faster, more accurate detection of a broad range of biological agents; DARPA hopes to create a biosensor that would identify viral and bacterial threats, and do so using a natural first-line of defense: human antibodies
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Landslide detector to be developed
Researchers are working in developing an early-warning acoustic sensor for the detection of landslides; current devices available for the early detection of slope failures are costly and technically limited
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Carbon fibers improve blast, impact resistance of conventional reinforced concrete
Researchers find that adding longer carbon fibers to conventional reinforced concrete significantly improves a structure’s ability to withstand blasts, hurricanes, and other natural disasters
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Robust hierarchical metropolitan quantum cryptography network
The security of a majority of classical cryptography is based on the complexity of the cipher algorithms and the development of distributed computing and specific hacking chips; this may no longer be sufficient, as quantum computing has become a serious threat to classical cryptography; the solution: quantum encryption
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The personal spy: the smartphone in your pocket may be spying on you, II
The advances in smartphone technology could well be exploited in much the same way that e-mail and the Internet can be used to “phish” for personal information such as bank details
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Unusual-looking truck to protect U.K. soldiers
The U.K. armed forces may be better equipped to cope with IEDs threats in the future, not least through a a truck with an unusual V-shaped hull and a design philosophy that takes protecting the crew as its starting point
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The personal spy: the smartphone in your pocket may be spying on you, I
The advances in smartphone technology could well be exploited in much the same way that e-mail and the Internet can be used to “phish” for personal information such as bank details
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Through the wall, clearly: Radio waves "see" through walls
A network of radio transmitters can track people moving behind solid walls; the system could help police, firefighters, and others nab intruders, and rescue hostages, fire victims, and elderly people who fall in their homes. It also might help retail marketing and border control
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Surveillance gear-equipped beetles to be the U.S. military's latest weapon
A team of scientists has implanted miniature neural and muscle stimulation systems into beetles to enable their flight to be remotely controlled; beetles can be equipped with surveillance gear and fly over enemy positions
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iRobot shows morphing blob robot
Massachusetts-based robotics specialist shows a blob robot which moves forward by inflating and deflating, or “jamming”; the jamming techniques allows the robot to transition from a liquid-like to a solid-like state; the goal is to build a robot that can squeeze through tiny openings smaller than its own dimensions, which could be valuable in a variety of military, surveillance, and search-and-rescue missions
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Backscatter technology: the future of airport security scanning?
Manchester Airport is testing backscatter scanning technology from Rapiscan; the Rapiscan system works by bouncing X-rays off an individual’s skin to produce an outline image of the person’s body
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The Internet to be made more useful for the U.S. military
DARPA awarded Lockheed Martin a $31 million contract to lead a team which will redesign the Internet to make it more suitable for military use
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New compartment design protects vehicle crew in battle
By putting the backs of the crew toward the center of the crew compartment, the new design concept moves the crew away from the outside walls to reduce the likelihood of injury from side blasts, provides better visibility for the crew to monitor their surroundings, and allows blast-resistant seats to be frame mounted
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Uganda to conduct Marburg and Ebola vaccine trials
Ebola and Marburg are viral infections that have a high mortality, killing 90 percent of victims; no effective treatment exists for these highly infectious diseases, which cause extensive internal bleeding and rapid death
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The long view
New Technology is Keeping the Skies Safe
DHS S&T Baggage, Cargo, and People Screening (BCP) Program develops state-of-the-art screening solutions to help secure airspace, communities, and borders
Factories First: Winning the Drone War Before It Starts
Wars are won by factories before they are won on the battlefield,Martin C. Feldmann writes, noting that the United States lacks the manufacturing depth for the coming drone age. Rectifying this situation “will take far more than procurement tweaks,” Feldmann writes. “It demands a national-level, wartime-scale industrial mobilization.”
How Artificial General Intelligence Could Affect the Rise and Fall of Nations
Visions for potential AGI futures: A new report from RAND aims to stimulate thinking among policymakers about possible impacts of the development of artificial general intelligence (AGI) on geopolitics and the world order.
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.