China probes top air force official for graft
Beijing (AFP) July 11, 2016 -
China is probing a retired top air force general on suspicion of graft, media said, the latest high-ranking official brought low by the country's much-publicised anti-corruption campaign.
Tian Xiusi, formerly the air force's political commissar, was "placed under investigation for serious disciplinary violations", www.81cn.com, an official news site affiliated with the People's Liberation Ar ...
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Space Debris Solutions - Revisited
Bethesda MD (SPX) Jul 11, 2016 -
The topic of "space debris" continues to be covered in the technical and popular media. Several articles report that a solution is just beyond the horizon. As concern within the space community increases, would-be inventors and entrepreneurs are claiming significant advances in sensing and tracking smaller and smaller debris objects with the implication that a solution is close at hand. It appea ...
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N. Korea test-fires submarine-launched missile: Seoul
Seoul (AFP) July 9, 2016 -
North Korea on Saturday test-fired what appeared to be a submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM), Seoul's defence ministry said, a day after the US and South Korea decided to deploy an advanced missile defence system in the South.
The launch was apparently successful but the missile failed in the early stage of flight, the South Korean defence ministry said in a statement.
North Kore ...
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Canada vows Baltic battalion to counter 'troublemaker' Russia
Riga (AFP) July 11, 2016 -
Canada vowed Monday to keep a soon-to-be deployed battalion in Baltic state Latvia for as long as Russia remains a "troublemaker" in the region.
Ottawa's pledge refers to NATO's planned deployment of four battalions of around 1,000 troops each in Poland and the Baltic states as a tripwire against fresh Russian adventurism in its Soviet-era backyard.
The alliance formally endorsed the mov ...
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China urged to #CHexit from South China Sea
Manila (AFP) July 11, 2016 -
It is time for China to do a #CHexit from the South China Sea, social media users and activists in the Philippines said Monday on the eve of a crucial tribunal ruling.
Inspired by the Brexit term coined for Britain's vote to leave the European Union, the catchy new reference for China has quickly gained currency on Facebook, Twitter and protest placards ahead of Tuesday's verdict on Beijing' ...
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Beijing: Asia-Europe summit no place for S. China Sea
Beijing (AFP) July 11, 2016 -
An Asia-Europe summit later this week is no place for talking about the South China Sea, Beijing said Monday on the eve of an international tribunal ruling in the dispute.
The biennial meeting, known as ASEM, will take place in Mongolia just days after the Permanent Court of Arbitration rules on a case brought by the Philippines over the strategically critical region - proceedings boycotted ...
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Germany plans to assume greater security role
Berlin (AFP) July 11, 2016 -
"Economic giant, political dwarf" - that is how the world long viewed post-World War II Germany, the European export power reluctant to use military muscle in global conflicts.
It is an image that Europe's most populous country wants to shed as it gradually assumes a bigger defence role, within the frameworks of NATO and the European Union.
That ambition, the outcome of a debate that be ...
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N. Korea threatens action over US anti-missile system
Seoul (AFP) July 11, 2016 -
North Korea threatened Monday to take "physical action" after Washington and Seoul announced they would deploy a sophisticated US anti-missile defence system to counter the growing menace from Pyongyang.
Seoul and Washington had on Friday revealed their decision to deploy the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system in the South following recent North Korean missile and nuclear tes ...
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Lockheed Martin gets $559 million for Lot 10 F-35s
Washington (UPI) Jul 8, 2016 -
Lockheed Martin has received a $559 million U.S. Navy contract for low rate initial production of Lot 10 F-35 Lightning II fighters.
The cost-plus-incentive-fee, fixed-priced-incentive-firm contract covers Joint Strike Fighter non-air vehicle spares, support equipment, autonomic logistics information system hardware and software upgrades, supply chain management, full mission simulators ...
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India May Buy Russian Microcircuits for Its Space Program
Moscow (Sputnik) Jul 11, 2016 -
Russia's Angstrem microelectronics manufacturer is in talks on supplying some 10,000 radiation-resistant circuits for India's space program, local media said Tuesday.
Angstrem has contacted a private Indian company working as a subcontractor for the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), offering to supply $200,000 worth of electronic circuits, the company told the Izvestia newspaper. ...
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On the path toward molecular robots
Sapporo, Japan (SPX) Jul 11, 2016 -
Researchers are working on mimicking cellular systems to develop molecular motors that can move or even deliver drugs to target tissues. Engineering such motors may ultimately lead to molecular robots that can execute more complex tasks. To this end, researchers must find ways to convert motion at the molecular level to motion at the macroscopic level. They also must find ways to cause chemical ...
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Mathematical framework prioritizes key patterns to accelerate scientific discovery
Washington DC (SPX) Jul 11, 2016 -
Networks are mathematical representations to explore and understand diverse, complex systems-everything from military logistics and global finance to air traffic, social media, and the biological processes within our bodies.
In each of those systems, a hierarchy of recurring, meaningful internal patterns-such as molecules and proteins interacting inside cells, and capacitors and resistors ...
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Researchers harness DNA as the engine of super-efficient nanomachine
Hamilton, Canada (SPX) Jul 11, 2016 -
Researchers at McMaster University have established a way to harness DNA as the engine of a microscopic "machine" they can turn on to detect trace amounts of substances that range from viruses and bacteria to cocaine and metals.
"It's a completely new platform that can be adapted to many kinds of uses," says John Brennan, director of McMaster's Biointerfaces Insitute and co-author of a pap ...
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Researchers demonstrate tunable wetting and adhesion of graphene
Champaign IL (SPX) Jul 11, 2016 -
Researchers from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have demonstrated doping-induced tunable wetting and adhesion of graphene, revealing new and unique opportunities for advanced coating materials and transducers.
"Our study suggests for the first time that the doping-induced modulation of the charge carrier density in graphene influences its wettability and adhesion," explaine ...
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New plastic material begins to oscillate spontaneously in sunlight
Eindhoven, Netherlands (SPX) Jul 08, 2016 -
Materials that move all by themselves under the influence of light - this phenomenon has been known for a number of years. However, since the source tends to be ultraviolet light, the required intensity can damage the material.
The challenge was to find a material that behaves in this way in visible light, preferably unprocessed sunlight.
The researchers from Eindhoven and Berlin hav ...
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Raytheon gets $291M Sidewinder missile contract mod
Washington (UPI) Jul 5, 2016 -
Raytheon Missile Systems has been awarded a $291 million modification to a fixed-price-incentive-firm U.S. Navy contract covering the procurement of 660 AIM-9X Block II Lot 16 Sidewinder missiles.
The missiles will go to the Navy, Air Force, Army and the governments of Japan, Norway and Taiwan.
The contract modification also provides for the procurement of 252 Block II Captive A ...
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State Dept. approves $140M Sea Sparrow missile sale to Chile
Washington (UPI) Jul 6, 2016 -
The U.S. State Department has approved a proposed $140 million foreign military sale of Evolved Seasparrow Missiles to Chile.
The proposed sale entails equipment, training and support and was delivered to Congress on July 1, a Defense Security Cooperation Agency announcement released Tuesday states.
Chile has requested 33 Evolved Sea Sparrow Missiles, six Evolved Sea Sparrow Tele ...
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State Dept. approves SM-2 missile sale to S. Korea
Washington (UPI) Jul 6, 2016 -
The U.S. State Department has approved the proposed sale of 17 SM-2 Block IIIB missiles and missile containers to South Korea for $65 million, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency announced Tuesday.
Congress was notified of the proposed sale on Friday, the agency said in a statement.
The sale would also involve personnel training and training equipment, publications and techni ...
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US to deploy missiles in S.Korea as North riled
Seoul (AFP) July 8, 2016 -
The United States is to deploy an advanced missile defence system in South Korea, the two allies said Friday, as North Korea warned US sanctions against its leader amounted to a "declaration of war".
News of the unprecedented measures targeting Kim Jong-Un came as North Korea marked 22 years since the death of its founding president Kim Il-Sung, grandfather of the current "Supreme Leader". ...
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China protests over US deploying missile system in S.Korea
Beijing (AFP) July 8, 2016 -
China lodged protests with US and South Korean ambassadors Friday over their countries' decision to deploy an American missile defence system to counter threats from North Korea, a move Beijing said would damage regional security.
The deployment of the THAAD (Terminal High Altitude Area Defence) system announced by Washington and Seoul would "will severely undermine regional strategic securi ...
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British MPs to vote on nuclear deterrent this month
Warsaw (AFP) July 9, 2016 -
Britain's parliament will vote this month on renewing the Trident nuclear weapons programme, Prime Minister David Cameron said Saturday as he sought to reassure NATO allies alarmed by Brexit.
Cameron's announcement at a NATO summit in Warsaw comes as the alliance grapples with the implications for its unity after key member Britain shocked the world by voting to leave the European Union.
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2016 Will Be One Second Longer
Washington DC (SPX) Jul 11, 2016 -
On December 31, 2016, a "leap second" will be added to the world's clocks at 23 hours, 59 minutes 59 seconds Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). This corresponds to 6:59:59 pm Eastern Standard Time, when the extra second will be inserted at the U.S. Naval Observatory's Master Clock Facility in Washington, DC.
Historically, time was based on the mean rotation of the Earth relative to celestia ...
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Accelerating research into dark energy
London UK (SPX) Jul 11, 2016 -
A quick method for making accurate, virtual universes to help understand the effects of dark matter and dark energy has been developed by UCL and CEFCA scientists. Making up 95% of our universe, these substances have profound effects on the birth and lives of galaxies and stars and yet almost nothing is known about their physical nature.
The new approach, published in Monthly Notices of th ...
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Ukraine, US Plan to Launch Jointly-Developed Space Rocket in Coming Months
Kiev (Sputnik) Jul 11, 2016 -
Ukraine and the United States are planning to launch a jointly-developed rocket in the coming months, as part of the two countries' space cooperation, Ambassador of Ukraine to the United States Valeriy Chaly said Monday.
On May 30, head of the State Space Agency of Ukraine Lyubomyr Sabadosh said that Ukraine proposed to the United States joint development and production of rocket engines t ...
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Alma finds a swirling, cool jet that reveals a growing, supermassive black hole
Gothenburg, Sweden (SPX) Jul 11, 2016 -
A Chalmers-led team of astronomers have used the Alma telescope to make the surprising discovery of a jet of cool, dense gas in the centre of a galaxy located 70 million light years from Earth. The jet, with its unusual, swirling structure, gives new clues to a long-standing astronomical mystery - how supermassive black holes grow.
A team of astronomers led by Susanne Aalto, professor of r ...
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