• From Bioweapons to Super Soldiers: How the U.K. Is Joining the Genomic Technology Arms Race

    Universal Soldier and Captain America are just a few Hollywood movies that have explored the concept of the super soldier. Despite its sci-fi nature, several countries are looking to explore the potential of such prospects. In the U.S., DARPA is exploring genetically editing soldiers to turn them into “antibody factories,” making them resistant to chemical or biological attacks. The U.K., too, is joining the genome technology warfare race.

  • Defending Against Chemical, Biological Threats from Inside and Out

    Chemical and biological (CB) threats have become increasingly ubiquitous and diverse, presenting significant risks to soldiers in theater and stability operators during pandemic outbreaks. PPE can be bulky, heavy, and cumbersome, often severely limiting user mobility and performance. A DARPA program aims to develop technology that reduces the need for burdensome protective equipment while increasing individual protection against CB threats.

  • Unlocking Unique Chemical Signatures in Tires

    Skid marks left by cars are often analyzed for their impression patterns, but they often don’t provide enough information to identify a specific vehicle. A new approach could provide law enforcement new tools to track down those who flee a crime scene.

  • New Biosensor Detect Toxins and More

    A new device is not quite the Star Trek “tricorder” medical scanner, but it’s a step in the right direction. The Portable EnGineered Analytic Sensor with aUtomated Sampling (PEGASUS) is a miniaturized waveguide-based optical sensor that can detect toxins, bacterial signatures, viral signatures, biothreats, white powders and more, from samples such as blood, water, CSF, food, and animal samples.

  • Technique Enhances Robot Battlefield Operations

    Army researchers developed a technique that allows robots to remain resilient when faced with intermittent communication losses on the battlefield. The technique, called α-shape, provides an efficient method for resolving goal conflicts between multiple robots that may want to visit the same area during missions including unmanned search and rescue, robotic reconnaissance, perimeter surveillance and robotic detection of physical phenomena, such as radiation and underwater concentration of lifeforms.

  • The Sino-American Race for Technology Leadership

    The reaction in Washington – one of alarm and outrage — to reports that China trawls America’s open innovation ecosystem stealing prized technologies got that much right. AI and quantum computing, to name just two of them, could change the balance of global power. In identifying economic competitiveness, innovation, and democratic principles as core pillars of national security, the Trump team was on the right track, but instead of offering a coherent strategic response, the Trump administration opted for export and foreign investment control laws with broad and vague reach. “This approach was counterproductive to American innovation leadership. It also failed to address the reality that acquisition of U.S. technology is not the only challenge from China or even, arguably, the most important,” Ferial Ara Saeed writes.

  • Smartphone-Powered Emergency Alert System

    Computer science researchers have created and tested a new, Bluetooth-based system for disseminating emergency messages in an urban environment. The researchers say they wanted to fix inefficiencies in how emergency or hazard messages are disseminated. The messages are usually sent to the public through broadcast media or physical signs. 

  • Students Collaborate to Solve Homeland Security Challenges

    In the parlance of homeland security, soft targets are places that are easily accessible to the general public and relatively unprotected. Last month, innovative students from Arizona State University and the University of Nevada, Las Vegas competed in “Hardening Soft Targets” – a DHS-sponsored 3-day event in which students worked directly with experts from DHS, the Phoenix Police Department, industry leaders, and academics.

  • New Tool Could Guide Floodwater Management and Combat Ongoing Drought

    Using a new computer framework, scientists are able to project future floodwaters under a changing climate. The approach could help California water managers plan for and redirect floodwaters toward groundwater aquifers, alleviating both flood and drought risks.

  • A Growing Problem of “Deepfake Geography”: How AI Falsifies Satellite Images

    There is a growing problem with “location spoofing” – the manipulation of satellite images so that fake images look like genuine images of real places. With the more sophisticated AI technologies available today, researchers warn that such “deepfake geography” could become a growing problem.

  • How Much Regulation of the Tech Industry Is Too Much?

    As prominent figures, including former President Donald Trump, are banned from social media platforms for posting disinformation or inflammatory remarks, technology regulation has become a hot topic of debate. “We are living in times where technology has fundamentally changed almost all aspects of our lives,” says UCLA’s Terry Kramer. “It is within this context that we must carefully balance and enable the advantages of technology, which can improve our lives, improve our connectedness, lower the cost of critical goods and services, and improve health care against forces that can create negative externalities. Developing a critical understanding of the trade-offs is essential.”

  • Machine Learning Algorithm May Be Key to Timely, Inexpensive Cyberdefense

    Zero-day attacks can overwhelm traditional defenses, costing organizations money and resources. A machine learning algorithm may give organizations a powerful and cost-effective tool for defending against attacks on vulnerable computer networks and cyber-infrastructure, often called zero-day attacks, according to researchers.

  • A More Robust Model for Assessing Bridge Repairs

    As President Biden’s $2 trillion American Jobs Plan places the nation’s infrastructure in the spotlight, new research from the University of Georgia suggests states can save money and extend the life of their bridges by taking a fresh approach to how they prioritize maintenance.

  • Macro Cyber Resilience

    The prefixes of ‘macro’ and ‘micro’ have been applied to concepts like economics, or even to activities like photography. They are easy ideas to understand in large versus small scales. However, this term is not usually used to define cyber perspectives, an increasingly important area for security applications.

  • Combining News Media and AI to Rapidly Identify Flooded Buildings

    Artificial intelligence (AI) has sped up the process of detecting flooded buildings immediately after a large-scale flood, allowing emergency personnel to direct their efforts efficiently. Now, researchers have created a machine learning (ML) model that uses news media photos to identify flooded buildings accurately within 24 hours of the disaster.