Scientists have peered back in time with a new analytical technique to see atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide more than 2 million years into the past. The findings indicate that a long-term decline in the levels of that greenhouse gas isnt to blame for a geologically recent shift in the frequency of ice ages, scientists say. [More]
North Korea has several thousand tonnes of chemical weapons it can mount on missiles that could be used on a rapid strike against the South, said a report released by the International Crisis Group (ICG). [More]
Technology has always distanced the soldiers who use weapons from the people who get hit. But robotics engineer Ron Arkin at the Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, is working to imagine wars in which weapons make their own decisions about wielding lethal force. [More]
Cyber-sympathizers from around the world have joined forces online to help Iranian protestors dodge censorship, get out news of violent clashes and avoid real-world capture following Iran's disputed election. [More]
U.S. may be Within North Korea's Missile Range in 3 Years — Julian E. Barnes —Los Angeles Times — Jun 15, 2009
North Korea may be capable of hitting West Coast cities with its missiles within three years, according to Marine Gen. James Cartwright, the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, but is unlikely to be able to deliver a nuclear warhead in that time frame. [More]
The development of mechanical soldiers and remote-controlled tanks and planes is changing war for ever - but the moral consequences have often been overlooked. [More]
Peter Singer examines how advances in unmanned military vehicles are making it easier for "leaders at the highest level of command not only to peer into, but even to take control of, the lowest-level operations" to detrimental strategic effect. [More]
The US military has abruptly ended an informal arrangement that allowed scientists access to data on incoming meteors from classified surveillance satellites. The change is a blow to the astronomers and planetary scientists who used the information to track space rocks, especially those that burn up over the oceans or in other remote locations. [More]
Researchers at the Israel Institute of Technology, in Haifa, say that they've created the sonic equivalent of a black hole in a Bose-Einstein Condensate which should allow the eventual discovery of Hawking radiation. [More]
Using the gravitational microlensing technique, a new study claims to have have detected a planet near Andromeda, our nearest large galactic neighbour. [More]