The U.S. government is researching whether the best defense against a chemical, biological or radiological attack might one day be right in everyone's hands - or on their ears.
Scientists work to turn mobile phones into a distributed network capable of measuring pollution levels -- and possibly detecting nuclear or biological weapons before they can be launched.
Concerns about bioterrorism and infectious diseases have prompted Boston and a growing number of other cities to start electronic tracking systems to quickly detect outbreaks. By compiling data from emergency rooms, poison control centers and other sources, ``syndromic surveillance'' can both serve as an early warning system and help eliminate false alarms, health officials say.
A device for rapidly detecting biological terrorism agents that is both fast and inexpensive could take six years or more to develop, according to two U.S. government technology experts at a biosecurity conference.
Researchers have developed a new sensor network for chemical weapons that uses neural networks to learn over time.
Against the backdrop of the war on terrorism, an expanding group of government researchers is at work on a nationwide sensor network that someday could provide a real-time early-warning system for a wide array of chemical, biological and nuclear threats across the United States.
Taking a biological approach toward detecting biological weapons, scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have genetically engineered white blood cells from mice to light up when they come into contact with deadly bacteria or viruses.
Using technology known as multi-modal sensor arrays, researchers from the University of Wyoming have developed small, swarming robots that have been programmed to detect and disable chemical targets in the war on terrorism.
In preparation for a terrorist attack, federal scientists have installed sensors to map wind currents in downtown Washington, Arlington and Silver Spring, the first deployment of a high-tech network to help predict the airborne path of a chemical, biological or radioactive release.
The U.S. has doubled financing for counterterrorism research, including improved detectors, in each of the last two years. While the research has generated promising advances, accurate systems are slow, bulky, expensive and prone to "false positives," finding danger where none exists.