Genomics entrepreneur Craig Venter has created a synthetic cell that contains the smallest genome of any known, independent organism. Functioning with 473 genes, the cell is a milestone in his team’s 20-year quest to reduce life to its bare essentials and, by extension, to design life from scratch. Venter, who has co-founded a company that …
By 2020, the Air Force is likely to have operational hypersonic missile prototypes ready for a program of record and testing to develop an operational unit, said Maj. Gen. Thomas Masiello, the commander of the Air Force Research Laboratory. By the 2030s, the technology could have expanded beyond delivering warheads at speeds faster than sound …
The Pentagon’s next five-year budget proposal seeks over $13 billion in funding for a new submarine to carry nuclear ballistic missiles, plus orders for more Boeing Co (BA.N) and Lockheed Martin Corp (LMT.N) fighter jets. The Pentagon’s plan will also underscore the need to fund all three legs of the U.S. strategic deterrent “triad” – …
Scientists from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and IBM have a new “self-assembly” methods that researchers aim to harness for making useful devices. Foreseeable applications include integrating lasers, sensors, wave guides and other optical components into so-called lab-on-a-chip devices now used for disease diagnosis, screening experimental materials and drugs, DNA forensics and …
A team of Chinese researchers have made a breakthrough in stealth plane technology that could be so significant even local military sources say it should be kept out of the public realm. The team released the technical and design details of an “invisibility circuit” they claim has the potential to help aircraft trick the best …
Russia is using French missile technology to develop a new, ultra-high speed nuclear attack missile, the House Armed Services Committee disclosed this week. According to the document, which is labeled “unclassified,” the graphic reveals how the French defense company MBDA Missile Systems and ONERA, the French national aerospace research center, are working with Raduga, a …
In October, Elon Musk said that fully autonomous cars are about 3 years away, a prediction he made several times in the past year or so. But just two months later Elon Musk updated his prediction to just 2 years. Elon Musk said the self driving cars will have lower probability of an accident than …
Malaria is one of the world’s leading health problems. More than 40 percent of the world’s population live in areas where there is a risk of contracting the disease. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 300 million to 500 million cases of malaria occur each year, and nearly 1 million people die …
The developing world will be going from almost no power to some kind of power. If we do not have something cheaper than coal then they will use coal because they do not have money for anything else. We have to have 100 GW per year at least to seriously compete with coal. Brian WangBrian …
AE Systems plc and Reaction Engines Limited (‘Reaction Engines’) announced a strategic investment by BAE Systems and a working collaboration to accelerate Reaction Engines’ development of SABRETM – a new aerospace engine class that combines both jet and rocket technologies with the potential to revolutionise hypersonic flight and the economics of space access. The transaction …
Canada’s Prime Minister Elect Justin Trudeau vowed in September during the election campaign to open a fresh competition to replace Canada’s aging fighter jets, rather than continuing with the F-35 program. Justin Trudeau has also pledged to put a stop to his country’s role in bombing Islamic State targets in strife-torn Syria, where the Australian …
