• U.K. looking for ways to deal with IEDs

    Eighteen U.K. troops have been killed in Afghanistan in July, raising the overall toll in the conflict to 187 British deaths; many of these soldiers were killed by IEDs; the government is looking for a solution

  • U.S. gives $47 million for smart grid trials

    The Department of Energy is directing $47 million of the stimulus package to speed up work on several smart grid technology test sites

  • New distance record for quantum encryption

    Quantum encryption (or quantum key distribution [QKD]) holds the promise of unbreakable communication encryption; the technology has a weakness, though: the short distance of key distribution; researchers break distribution distance record by distributing keys over a distance of 250 kilometers (it may not look like much, but back in 1992 the record was 32 centimeters)

  • Breakthrough: Radiation protection drug developed

    American and Israeli researchers developed a drug which offers protection from radioactive radiation; the drug uses proteins produced in bacteria found in the intestines to protect cells against radiation; the FDA is expected to approve the drug within a year or two

  • Hair examination can help in tracing terrorists

    U.K. researchers devise a test which uses laser to determine the recent whereabouts of an individual by analyzing hair strands

  • U.S. military considered developing "gay-bomb" and "'who me?' bomb"

    Fifteen years ago the U.S. military planned to use stink bombs, chemicals that cause bad breath, and a so-called “gay-bomb” that would make enemy soldiers irresistible to one another — all as part of a range of non-lethal, but disruptive and morale-damaging weapons

  • Middle East peace may be closer as Israel successfully tests Iron Dome

    Peace between Israel and the Palestinians depends on Israel feeling secure enough to make deep territorial concessions to the Palestinians in the West Bank; Israel has been reluctant to make such concessions because of the security risks they entail; the successful tests of Iron Dome, a defensive system against short-range rockets, may ease Israel’s security concerns, making concessions more likely

  • Glass fibers can make a building sturdier

    Conventional means to reinforce concrete involve the use of steel bars; the use of fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) is emerging as a valuable option, owing to its natural resistance to corrosion, its high strength, light weight, transparency to electrical and magnetic fields and ease of manufacturing and installment

  • Scientists work on creating robot-insects

    Researchers in the field of insect-machine hybrids believe the day is not far when police could release a swarm of robot-moths to sniff out a distant drug stash, and rescue robot-bees would dodge through earthquake rubble to find survivors

  • USAF wants to use dye used by purple bacteria to power UAVs

    Purple bacteria use pigment that can convert solar energy to electricity; the USAF wants to use a synthetic version of the pigment to keep UAVs in the air for longer periods

  • Inkjet printer technology to be used in biosensors

    Researchers describe a method for printing a toxin-detecting biosensor on paper using a FujiFilm Dimatix Materials Printer; the method relies on a “lateral flow” sensing approach similar to that used in a home pregnancy test strip

  • DARPA wants "plant-based production system" to help combat flu

    DARPA says that “Recent advances funded by DARPA and others have demonstrated the viability of plant-based protein expression technologies for the production and purification of cGMP-compliant medical countermeasures…”

  • DHS to start trials of emergency radio

    DHS is launching a trial of a software-defined radio handset from Thales which is designed to operate on all the frequencies used by the emergency services

  • Robo-bats with metal muscles for surveillance

    Researchers envision micro-aerial vehicles (MAVs) which mimic nature’s small flyers — and develop robotic bats that offer increased maneuverability and performance

  • Breakthrough: Face recognition computers can see through disguise

    Powerful face recognition techniques have so far required powerful computers; researchers have applied a one-dimensional filter to the two-dimensional data from conventional analyses, allowing them to reduce significantly the amount of computer power required without compromising accuracy