The 305-metre Arecibo radio telescope in Puerto Rico, one of the most scientifically productive facilities in astronomical history, is permanently out of commission. After the recent collapse of a second of its supporting cables, engineers say they are unable to repair the structure safely. [node:read-more:link]
An Ottawa nurse has tested positive for the novel coronavirus just a few days after having received his second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. As one of Ottawa’s front-line health-care workers, he had received his first dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine on Dec 18th and second dose exactly three weeks later, on Jan 8th. [node:read-more:link]
More than four decades after the U.S. and the Soviet Union brought back lunar material for analysis, China has launched its robotic Chang'e-5 spacecraft to the Moon on schedule. The goal is to return more and larger samples to Earth in mid-December. [node:read-more:link]
For an organization which has consumed and generate vast amount of data for decades as it oversees and audits the full array of federal activities, the U.S. Government Accountability Office has only recently hired its first Chief Data Scientist. Taka Ariga, who joined last month and also is Director of the Innovation Laboratory, has a mandate to advance the use of analytics and emerging technologies to improve how data are used. He is a former senior manager of forensic data analytics in Ernst & Young’s Washington office. [node:read-more:link]
Starship, the multi-use launcher Space X says will eventually be used for interplanetary flights stands more than 70 metres tall, is 9.1m in diameter and has a lift capacity of some 91 tonnes. It has been formally unveiled by Elon Musk, the company’s chief executive, who says the lifter also could be used to deploy hundreds of small communications satellites simultaneously. [node:read-more:link]
Four Canadian universities have received Department of National funding for proposals under the Innovation for Defence Excellence and Security (IDEaS) program. The initial support focuses on emerging and advanced materials, including advanced manufacturing methods, for defence and security applications. [node:read-more:link]
The Government of Canada creates an expert panel on measuring Canada’s progress in building its resilience to climate change. The panel will also support the federal government in better communicating to Canadians how we are preparing for and adapting to the current and future impacts of climate change. [node:read-more:link]
Seaspan Ferries Corporation officially welcomed two new, state-of-the-art dual-fuelled/hybrid vessels to its fleet today during a double commissioning ceremony held at Seaspan's Tilbury Terminal. [node:read-more:link]
Two years ago, the Communist Party of China set 2030 as the deadline for catching up with the U.S. in the artificial intelligence field by 2030. Next year marks a milestone for making significant gains in fundamental research and becoming a favoured destination for new talent, potentially at the expense of the U.S. [node:read-more:link]
Amazon and Deloitte will spearhead a search for new space technologies at an inaugural event held in South Australia in September. Organizers will be looking for solutions to real industrial and environmental problems, particularly in the areas of Defence & Security, Energy, Health, Transportation, Smart Cities and Connectivity. [node:read-more:link]
Lockheed Martin Canada has partnered with Toronto-based RANK Software to create innovative cyber security solutions for future Canadian and international defence programs to enable security analysts to rapidly discover network threats and intrusions. [node:read-more:link]
When photographs of every California state legislator was run through a facial-recognition program which matches facial images to a database of 25,000 criminals, 26 evidently were flagged as criminals. The American Civil Liberties Union of California ran the test as it presses for legislation to ban the technology in police body cameras. [node:read-more:link]
Protecting our Enforcers; the complexities of personal protection. [node:read-more:link]
A number of Neuroimaging applications have been identified as being of particular interest to the national security sectors. [node:read-more:link]
A research arm of the U.S. military is exploring the possibility of deploying insects to make plants more resilient by altering their genes. Some experts say the work may be seen as a potential biological weapon. [node:read-more:link]
