Uranium exists on the moon, according to new data from a Japanese spacecraft. The revelation suggests that nuclear power plants could be built on the moon, or even that Earth's satellite could serve as a mining source for uranium needed back home. [More]
The latest multi-core processors and some smart software allow techniques used by physicists and engineers to simulate the real world in extreme detail, creating virtual worlds governed by real physics, rather than the simplified versions used today. [More]
U.S. and Russia Differ on a Treaty for Cyberspace — John Markoff, Andrew E. Kramer —New York Times — Jun 27, 2009
The United States and Russia are locked in a fundamental dispute over how to counter the growing threat of cyberwar attacks that could wreak havoc on computer systems and the Internet with Russia pushing for a ban on cyberwar tools and the U.S. arguing for treating the problem as a law enforcement issue. [More]
There is enough space in the world to produce the extra food needed to feed a growing population and contrary to expectation, most of it can be grown in Africa, say two international reports published this week. [More]
Michio Kaku surveys the growing number nations planning competing missions to the moon (including Japan, China, India, and the U.S.) and argues that the growing lunar competition should motivate a re-examination of the 1967 Outer Space Treaty "before national rivalries and tensions heat up as we approach 2020." [More]
Time for a Missile Test Ban — Bharath Gopalaswamy and Jrgen Scheffran —Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists — Jun 23, 2009
The authors suggest that a ban on ballistic missile tests could "enhance global security by increasing decision-making time, removing the threat of accidental missile launch, and having an immediate positive impact on the most volatile areas of emerging international arms competition." [More]
Galactic Colonization Limited By The Inability To Expand Exponentially — Miranda Marquit —PhysOrg.com — Jun 22, 2009
For more than 50 years, many have taken the so-called Fermi Paradox to indicate that the existence of intelligent alien civilizations is an impossibility. However, a recent re-examination of the paradox points out that, rather than discounting the spread of an intelligent civilization, the Fermi Paradox merely points out that advanced civilizations with exponential growth are unlikely to exist. [More]
White House to Abandon Homeland Security Spy-Satellite Program — Siobhan Gorman —Wall Street Journal — Jun 22, 2009
The Obama administration plans to kill a controversial Bush administration spy satellite program that would have provided federal, state and local officials with extensive access to spy-satellite imagery but no eavesdropping capabilities to assist with emergency response and other domestic-security needs, such as identifying where ports or border areas are vulnerable to terrorism. [More]
If it were in a position to do so, Al Qaeda would use Pakistan's nuclear weapons in its fight against the United States, a top leader of the group said in remarks aired on Sunday. [More]
Takashi Yokota reviews some of the economic and political reasons why, even with the growing threat of a nuclear North Korea, Japan is unlikely to pursue their own nuclear arsenal. [More]