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Photoluminescent method detects explosives at a distance By R. Colin Johnson EE Times October 18, 2004 (9:31 AM EDT) Portland, Ore. — Experience in photoluminescent spectroscopy has helped university researchers bring to light a method by which explosives can be detected at a distance. In contrast, to detect the presence of explosives today, airport and other screeners must swab an object like a suitcase or clothing, use a dog to sniff it, or blast puffs of air across a filter that traps airborne explosive particles. The advantages of the photoluminescence-based explosive detection method are that it can be remotely applied...

Shimla, Sept. 4. (PTI): India has become the second country after United States to introduce 'brain finger printing' for detection of white collar crimes, M S Rao, Chief Scientist and Director of National Forensic Science Laboratory, said today. Under the technique, if the memory cells of an accused do not tally with his oral uttering during the investigations, the lie can be detected, he said here. Crime committed by an accused remains confined to the memory 'like the hard disc of a computer' and can be detected, he added. Rao, who was here in connection with an international seminar on...

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla., Feb. 13 /U.S. Newswire/ -- A Defense Support Program (DSP) satellite, scheduled to be launched on Saturday, Feb. 14, from Florida's Cape Canaveral Air Station, will include sophisticated nuclear test detection sensors from the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA). NNSA's advanced nuclear detonation detection payload, a primary detection system for nuclear explosions in the upper atmosphere and space, will be the satellite's secondary payload. These space-based sensors, developed by NNSA's Office of Nonproliferation Research and Engineering, are used to monitor the Limited Test Ban Treaty of 1963, and to deter proliferant nations from conducting nuclear tests. NNSA...

Hopkins scientists link protein to colon cancer High CRP levels could be 'good early marker' By David Kohn Sun Staff Originally published February 4, 2004 Scientists at the Johns Hopkins University say they've found that a protein used to predict heart disease may also be a warning sign for colon cancer, a disease that afflicts 150,000 Americans and kills 50,000 annually. High levels of C-reactive protein, or CRP, in a patient's blood "could become a very good early marker" for predicting the colon disorder, said Northwestern University cancer specialist Dr. Boris Pasche. The findings also bolster the theory that inflammation...

By Rick Scavetta, Stars and StripesEuropean edition, Sunday, January 4, 2004 Rick Scavetta / S&S Pfc. William Stribling, 19, of Brooklyn, N.Y., operates the remote control arm on a Buffalo, the Army's latest equipment to counter the threat of roadside bombs in Iraq. Rick Scavetta / S&S The Meerkat, a South African-designed mine detection vehicle, is used by U.S. Army engineers in Iraq to sweep for roadside bombs along convoy routes. Rick Scavetta / S&S A Buffalo crew uses a remote control arm to search for improvised explosive devices on Highway 1 south of Samarra, Iraq, as a supply convoy...

Americans suffering from breast and prostate cancer should soon be benefitting from an Israeli detection technique that avoids the pain and risk associated with biopsies, reports the Weizmann Institute of Science, located in Rechovot. Thanks to the Israeli development, doctors will be able to distinguish between malignant tumors and benign lumps by scanning instead of cutting. The diagnostic imaging technique, called 3TP, has recently been approved for use by the US Food & Drug Administration and is slated for implementation as early as next year. Prof. Hadassa Degani and her research group at the Institute developed the technique based on...

ESA Studies Missions to Safeguard the Earth PRESS RELEASE Thursday, March 27, 2003 Early on the morning of 30 June 1908, the vast forest of western Siberia was illuminated by a strange apparition: an alien object streaking across the cloudless sky. White hot from its headlong plunge into the Earth's atmosphere, the intruder exploded about 8 km above the ground, flattening trees over an area of 2000 square kilometres. Despite the huge detonation, equivalent to a 10 megaton nuclear warhead (about 500 times the energy of the Hiroshima atomic bomb), there were few if any casualties in the sparsely...

Parts Of British Columbia In The Midst Of A 'Silent Earthquake' Seattle - Mar 19, 2003 At this moment, parts of Washington and British Columbia are having an earthquake, but it is a slow-moving temblor that can't be felt and won't cause any injuries or damage. Still, by the end of the event, which already has lasted more than two weeks, it is likely to have released about as much energy as the Nisqually earthquake did in February 2001. The movement is occurring deep beneath the Strait of Juan de Fuca and parts of Vancouver Island in the area...

ABERDEEN, Md. (AP) - A company that has worked extensively with the U.S. military on biodefense projects opened a center Monday dedicated to developing devices to detect chemical and biological weapons. The $22 million laboratory and office complex is less than 5 miles from the Army's Aberdeen Proving Ground, where any biodefense devices would be tested. The new center, built by Columbus, Ohio-based Battelle, will focus on creating devices that can detect chemical and biological weapons in the air, on the ground and inside buildings. The 16 new laboratories are classified as Level 3, the second-highest level of security, safeguards...

Planetary Society Selects 150 Radio Sources For Arecibo Follow Up San Francisco - Mar 12, 2003 After nearly four years of searching for extraterrestrial intelligence, the SETI@home project will now take a closer look at its most promising candidate radio sources. The "Stellar Countdown" will use Puerto Rico's Arecibo radio telescope on March 18-20, 2003 to re-observe up to 150 of the most interesting radio sources found out of the billions detected since the distributed computing project began in May 1999. The Planetary Society is the founding and principal sponsor of SETI@home, which is based at the University of...

<p>Adrian Ponce's job as a Caltech chemist is preventing spacecraft from contaminating distant planets with dangerous microbes from Earth.</p> <p>But now he has turned his technology to develop what he calls an "anthrax smoke detector" that would quickly signal whenever terrorists have loosed a cloud of potentially deadly bacterial spores into buildings, stadiums or subways.</p>

<p>WASHINGTON (AP) --  More than half the explosive-detection machines now at airports are not being fully used to screen checked baggage, even as the government plans to buy hundreds more of the minivan-sized equipment, the Transportation Department said Thursday.</p> <p>Inspector General Kenneth Mead said the machines should screen at least 1,250 bags a day, but only 12 of 138 machines are reaching that level. Transportation Security Administration head John Magaw acknowledged the problem and said it would be fixed as trained federal baggage screeners replace private employees.</p>

from the May 29, 2002 edition - http://www.csmonitor.com/2002/0529/p01s03-wome.html A few tips on how the experts spot a terroristIsraeli security specialists say US system looks for the weapons while Israeli system looks for the terrorist.By Ben Lynfield | Special to The Christian Science Monitor JERUSALEM - For years, a T-shirt has been on sale in downtown Jerusalem that reads: "Don't worry America, Israel is behind you." It is a slogan whose time has come – at least for the Israeli government, which is translating American post-Sept. 11 security concerns into closer ties with the US, and for Israeli businessmen, who...

Oregon Bulge Hints at Volcano's Reawakening13 May 2002: A 4-inch bulge spotted by satellite along with other data indicate that an ancient, dormant volcano in Oregon's Cascade Range may be awakening after thousands of sleepy years, according to research that will be presented Wednesday at a meeting of the Geological Society of America. Though no signs point to an imminent eruption of the South Sister volcano, near Bend, geoscientists are watching the mountain more closely. The swelling of the ground proceeds at about 1 inch per year, and researchers have measured the chemistry of the surrounding air and nearby...