Virtual reality helps net last Auschwitz criminals
Munich, Germany (AFP) Oct 05, 2016 -
Slipping on a virtual reality headset, the indelible images come into view: the steel rails, the imposing brick gatehouse, the rows of identical barracks, the gas chambers, the crematoria.
Thanks to the work of the Bavarian state crime office (LKA) in Munich, German prosecutors and police investigating the last living Nazi war criminals can now immerse themselves in a highly precise 3D model ...
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U.S. orders non-standard ammunition for allies
Dulles, Va. (UPI) Oct 05, 2016 -
Non-U.S. standard ammunition has been ordered by the U.S. government from Orbital ATK for supply to undisclosed international allies.
The orders were issued in September and this month under an indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract and total about $126 million.
"Orbital ATK has long been a reliable source of affordable, high-quality ammunition to the U.S. Armed Forces ...
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New targeting system to double range of Russia's Pantsir: Report
Moscow (UPI) Oct 6, 2016 -
Russia's next-generation Pantsir-SM air defense system will be able to hit targets 24 miles away, twice the range of its S1 predecessor, Russian media reported Thursday.
The upgraded combined surface-to-air missile and anti-aircraft artillery system will be equipped with a multi-functional targeting system, Alexander Khomyakov, CEO and chief designer of Rostec affiliate Instrument Desig ...
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45 nations sign declaration on export, use of armed and strike-enabled drones
Washington (UPI) Oct 6, 2016 -
The United States and 44 other countries issued a joint declaration Thursday regarding the responsible export of armed and strike-enabled drones, the State Department announced.
With an increasing number of countries employing drones for a range of missions, and while many states already have restrictions in place, this week's declaration aimed to formally recognize certain principles r ...
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Iran interested in connecting with NASA
Tehran (MNA) Oct 06, 2016 -
The head of Iran's space agency says the country wishes to start cooperation with NASA since it is an international body and not just an American one.
Mohsen Bahrami made the announcement on Tuesday, saying "the level of our space cooperation has increased following the signing of Iran's nuclear deal, and we have inked MoUs with a number of space agencies in other countries."
"We are ...
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N. Korea embassy official defects in Beijing: report
Seoul (AFP) Oct 5, 2016 -
A ranking North Korean embassy official in Beijing has defected, South Korea's Yonhap news agency said Wednesday, while a separate report suggested two embassy staff had sought asylum with the Japanese mission there.
If confirmed, it would mark the latest in a recent series of high-profile North Korean defections that some observers see as a sign of growing instability within the leadership ...
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15 years on, the Afghan war still defies US timelines
Washington (AFP) Oct 7, 2016 -
Fifteen years after the US invasion of Afghanistan, President Barack Obama and the American military have dug in for a long campaign that defies rigid timelines and easy barometers of victory.
On October 7, 2001, in response to the 9/11 attacks, President George W. Bush launched Operation Enduring Freedom to dislodge the Taliban and capture or kill Al-Qaeda militants they were harboring.
...
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Military Support for Innovation Is a Matter of Culture
McLean VA (SPX) Oct 07, 2016 -
When Defense Sec. Ashton Carter reached out to Silicon Valley a year ago, the move was lauded as a Washington paean to innovation. Instead, it was only the first step toward a cultural-change goal.
"If we form a hypothesis and build an experiment, you have to be willing to be wrong," said Gen. Paul Selva, Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, to the Center for Strategic and Internati ...
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Sanchez' Mission: Implement Science and Technology Goals for Space Command
McLean VA (SPX) Oct 07, 2016 -
As part of a continuing exchange between the military and the commercial space industry working together, Space Command leader Gen. John Hyten outlined his science and technology goals in a February memo to his staff that was made public.
"I call [the memo] our crystal ball so industry and academia have a little bit better idea of what we think our technology challenges over the next 10 to ...
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Activity at N. Korea nuclear site fuels test fears
Seoul (AFP) Oct 7, 2016 -
Analysis of recent satellite images of North Korea's nuclear test site shows activity at all three of its tunnel complexes, fuelling speculation of another test ahead of a key political anniversary next week.
North Korea has already conducted two nuclear tests this year - in January and September - and experts say it is capable of carrying out a third as soon as the order is given.
Pas ...
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Color-changing smart material sensor to alert user to get out of sun
Los Angeles CA (SPX) Oct 04, 2016 -
According to the American Cancer Society approximately 5.4 million basal and squamous cell skin cancers are diagnosed each year. Yet, the sun does contribute to the production of Vitamin D, which is necessary for bone health, and perhaps even useful in preventing some cancers. So how does one know how much sun exposure is enough?
Andrea M Armani, the Fluor Early Career Chair and Associate ...
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Rice explores cement's crystalline nature to boost concrete performance
Houston TX (SPX) Oct 04, 2016 -
Rice University scientists working to develop a deeper understanding of the world's most widely used man-made material, concrete, have detailed previously unexplored aspects that affect the energy required to make it and the greenhouse gases released.
The Rice laboratory of materials scientist Rouzbeh Shahsavari developed techniques to not only analyze but also see dislocations in dicalciu ...
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Advancing lithium-air batteries with development of novel catalyst
Pennington NJ (SPX) Oct 04, 2016 -
Lithium-air batteries are viewed by many as a potential next-generation technology in energy storage. With the highest theoretical energy density of all battery devices, Li-air could revolutionize everything from electric vehicles to large-scale grid storage. However, the relatively young technology has a few barriers to overcome before it can be applied.
A new study published in the Journ ...
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Diamond proves useful material for growing graphene
Lemont IL (SPX) Oct 04, 2016 -
Graphene is the stuff of the future. For years, researchers and technologists have been predicting the utility of the one-atom-thick sheets of pure carbon in everything from advanced touch screens and semiconductors to long-lasting batteries and next-generation solar cells.
But graphene's unique intrinsic properties - supreme electrical and thermal conductivities and remarkable electron mo ...
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Australian Navy gets first upgraded SM-2 missile
Canberra, Australia (UPI) Oct 4, 2016 -
The Royal Australian Navy has received its first upgraded Standard Missile-2 for the Hobart-class air warfare destroyers the country is building.
The Raytheon-made missile is used for defense against aircraft and anti-ship missiles out to 90 nautical miles and up to a maximum altitude of 65,000 feet.
Australia's first air warfare destroyer, the Hobart, is scheduled for delivery t ...
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Turning to the brain to reboot computing
Albuquerque NM (SPX) Oct 04, 2016 -
Computation is stuck in a rut. The integrated circuits that powered the past 50 years of technological revolution are reaching their physical limits. This predicament has computer scientists scrambling for new ideas: new devices built using novel physics, new ways of organizing units within computers and even algorithms that use new or existing systems more efficiently. To help coordinate new id ...
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Researchers discover more efficient way to split water, produce hydrogen
Houston TX (SPX) Oct 04, 2016 -
Hydrogen is often considered a fuel for the future, in the form of fuel cells to power electric motors or burned in internal combustion engines. But finding a practical, inexpensive and nontoxic way to produce large amounts of hydrogen gas - especially by splitting water into its component parts, hydrogen and oxygen - has been a challenge.
A team of researchers from the University of Houst ...
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BAE, Boeing receive Trident missile contracts
Washington (UPI) Oct 4, 2016 -
BAE Systems Technology Solutions and Services and Boeing have each received U.S. Navy contracts for work on the Trident II missile system.
BAE's $56 million, cost-plus-incentive-fee, cost-plus-fixed-fee deal will provide systems engineering and integration services in support of the weapon system, as well as the SSGN attack weapon system and nuclear weapon surety.
It includes opt ...
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Russia sends S-300 missile system to Syria port
Aleppo, Syria (AFP) Oct 5, 2016 -
Russia said Tuesday it has sent an advanced missile system to the Syrian port of Tartus, as tensions escalate between Moscow and Washington over the five-year conflict.
The announcement came after Washington said it was suspending talks with Moscow aimed at reviving a ceasefire deal over Russia's support for the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
On the ground, Assad's forces ad ...
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QinetiQ, Milrem debut Titan unmanned ground vehicle
Washington (UPI) Oct 4, 2016 -
QinetiQ North America and Milrem debuted their Titan unmanned ground vehicle this week at the 2016 Association of the United States Army event. The first-of-its-kind, modular, hybrid vehicle was co-developed by the two companies, QinetiQ said in a statement. The Titan unites Milrem's Tracked Hybrid Modular Infantry System, or THeMIS, a vehicle made for military applications, with ...
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Recent atmospheric behavior disrupts earth's most regular climate cycles
Exeter, UK (SPX) Oct 04, 2016 -
A team of scientists has discovered an unexpected disruption in one of the most repeatable atmospheric patterns. The normal flow of air high up in the atmosphere over the equator, known as the quasi-biennial oscillation, was seen to break down earlier this year.
These stratospheric winds are found high above the tropics, their direction and strength changes in a regular two- to three-year ...
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A terrible rift
St. Louis, MO (SPX) Oct 04, 2016 -
When Doug Wiens approached Minnesota farmers to ask permission to install a seismometer on their land, he often got a puzzled look. "You could tell they were thinking 'Why are you putting a seismometer here?,' " said Wiens, professor of earth and planetary sciences in Arts and Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis. "'We don't have earthquakes and we don't have volcanoes. Do you know som ...
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Space for Shenzhou 11
Sydney, Australia (SPX) Oct 04, 2016 -
China's state media are quiet right now about the upcoming Shenzhou 11 mission. This spacecraft will carry two astronauts to the Tiangong 2 space laboratory, which seems to have passed all of its on-orbit tests and is ready to support a crew.
We stand right now between the end of the launch and checkout phase for Shenzhou 11, which launched last month, and the build-up to the next mission. ...
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Students team up with NASA for space coms and navigation
Greenbelt MD (SPX) Oct 04, 2016 -
Millions of students across the country take on internships every year, but not all have the chance to be part of an innovative team pushing the boundaries of space communications. Summer interns with the Explorations and Space Communications Projects Division (ESC) at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, tackled projects critical to human and robotic spaceflight.
Thi ...
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Ice cores reveal slow decline in oxygen over past 800K years
Princeton NJ (SPX) Oct 05, 2016 -
Princeton University researchers have compiled 30 years of data to construct the first ice core-based record of atmospheric oxygen concentrations spanning the past 800,000 years, according to a paper in the journal Science.
The record shows that atmospheric oxygen has declined 0.7 percent relative to current atmospheric-oxygen concentrations, a reasonable pace by geological standards, the ...
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