• Detecting Manipulations in Microchips

    Attackers have the ability not only to manipulate software, but also to tamper with the hardware. A team from Bochum is devising methods to detect such tampering.

  • Investigators May Be Able to Use Household Dust as a Forensic Tool

    A new study found it is possible to retrieve forensically relevant information from human DNA in household dust. After sampling indoor dust from 13 households, the researchers were able to detect DNA from household residents over 90% of the time, and DNA from non-occupants 50% of the time. The work could be a way to help investigators find leads in difficult cases.

  • New Algorithm Keeps Drones from Colliding in Midair

    By Adam Zewe

    Researchers create a trajectory-planning system that enables drones working together in the same airspace to always choose a safe path forward.

  • Kites Aim to Tap Unused High-Altitude Wind Power

    By Tim Schauenberg

    There is a growing interest in harvesting what are known as high-altitude winds. At a height of 200 meters (656 feet) and more, winds tend to blow stronger and more steadily than those closer to the ground. High-altitude winds remain a huge untapped source of renewable energy, but a race to the sky is well underway.

  • Channeling NEXTGEN TV to Help Responders Answer the Call

    A natural disaster strikes, vehicles collide on a snowy highway, a 5-alarm fire blazes through the night. For first responders, every second counts. DHS S&T is collaborating on a new effort to arm agencies with a digital alerting system that taps into NEXTGEN public TV broadcasting technologies to deliver emergency dispatches faster.

  • Preventing Fires and Explosions

    Lines in natural gas grids have to be maintained and serviced regularly. This entails using flares to vent the natural gas. With FlareSimulator, research scientists at the Fraunhofer Institute for Factory Operation and Automation IFF have developed an assistive tool that calculates the correct distance of flares to houses, trees and other nearby objects. This makes it easy to maintain minimum distances and prevent potential hazards and explosions.

  • New Method Helps Locate Deposits of Critical Metals

    The global shift to a carbon-free energy system is set to drive a huge increase in the demand for rare or limited earth minerals. This presents an urgent need to locate new sustainable sources of these elements. New technique could help locate new deposits of critical metals needed to enable the green-energy transition.

  • An Early Warning System for Landslides Protects Sitka, Alaska

    By Doug Irving

    A hard rain was rattling against the rooftops of Sitka, Alaska, as day broke on August 18, 2015. Just before 10 a.m., a hillside gave way. A river of mud, rocks, and broken trees surged down the slope and crashed through the subdivision.

  • Perfectly Secure Digital Communications

    Researchers have achieved a breakthrough in secure communications by developing an algorithm that conceals sensitive information so effectively that it is impossible to detect that anything has been hidden.

  • “Switchable” High Explosives Mitigate Risk of Accidental Detonation

    New explosives materials ensure safe transport and storage. The “switchable” high explosives that won’t detonate unless activated by being filled with an inert fluid, such as water.

  • If the Price Is Right: Fusion's Future in the U.S. Could Come Down to Dollars and Cents

    By Colton Poore

    Fusion energy is often hailed as a limitless source of clean energy, but new research suggests that may only be true if the price is right. The researchers say that the engineering challenges of fusion energy are only part of the problem — the other part lies in economics.

  • New “Cosmic Concrete” Is Twice as Strong as Regular Concrete

    Building infrastructure in space is currently prohibitively expensive and difficult to achieve. Future space construction will need to rely on simple materials that are easily available to astronaut. Scientists have created a new material, dubbed “StarCrete,” which is made from extra-terrestrial dust, potato starch, and a pinch of salt. It could be used to build homes on Mars.

  • Ignition Experiment Advances Nuclear Stockpile Stewardship Mission

    When scientists at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) achieved fusion ignition at the National Ignition Facility (NIF) on Dec. 5, 2022 — an extraordinary scientific breakthrough that was decades in the making — the primary mission and driving goal behind the experiment that day was stockpile stewardship science.

  • Solar Thermal Tower Key Component of National Energy Goals

    By Kelly Sullivan

    Sandia hosted a Feb. 16 groundbreaking ceremony to begin the construction of a new solar tower at the National Solar Thermal Test Facility. The project is part of DOE’s effort to develop concentrating solar power technology that may provide clean, utility-scale electricity.

  • California’s Best New Source of Water? Reuse.

    By Caroline M. Reinhart

    While expensive solutions like new reservoirs and seawater desalination grab attention, California communities are quietly building up their capacity to clean stormwater and wastewater for reuse for irrigation, industry and, yes, drinking water too.