The Homeland Defense (HD) Digest is a curated bi-weekly news summary from worldwide sources, showing headlines of innovative, emerging technologies in HDIAC's eight focus areas.

HDIAC ANNOUNCEMENTS:

HDIAC Webinar Recording – DTRA and Future Directions for Nuclear Detection R&D - HDIAC

Responding to today's nuclear threat environment requires a commitment to developing technologies that enable effective deterrence, detection, survivability, and dominance in the nuclear domain. This presentation provides an overview of the evolving mission of the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) in nuclear technology research and development. The current nuclear threat environment and DTRA's resulting top priorities will be discussed. The presentation will also review relevant new technologies and their applications to the warfighter.

HDIAC Podcast – The Intersection of Energy Security and Resilience - HDIAC

Dr. Tonya Neaves interviews Dr. J.P. Auffret and Dr. Paul Houser regarding changes in the energy supply chain and implications for national security. The discussion includes an overview of the critical importance of reliable energy, the push toward renewables, emerging threats to the power grid, challenges specific to the Washington, DC region, and considerations for building stronger energy resiliency.

HDIAC Podcast – Geopolitics of Climate Change: Why India and China Matter for US National Security – Part 1 of 2 - HDIAC

In the first installment of a two-part series on the Geopolitics of Climate Change, Ambassador Rich Kauzlarich interviews Dr. Andrew Light, discussing the evolution of climate change diplomacy alongside the emergence of climate vulnerability through the lens of global security. The conversation overviews emerging climate threats to U.S. interests overseas, the future of the global energy economy, and considerations for global cooperation.

RECENT HEADLINES:

Argonne’s Advanced X-Rays Are Beaming the Way to Smarter Helmets - Nextgov

An ongoing collaboration with scientists from the Army Research Laboratory and Northwestern University could improve the protection of human skulls.

Big step in producing carbon-neutral fuel: Silver diphosphide - ScienceDaily

A new chemical process does in the lab what trees do in nature -- it converts carbon dioxide into usable chemicals or fuels.

Bill Would Cover Cost of Service Dogs for Veterans with PTSD - Military.com

Lawmakers and veterans advocacy groups are ready for change after waiting nearly a decade for the Department of Veterans Affairs to change its policy on not reimbursing service dogs for veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.

Is Your Car Vulnerable to Cyberattacks? - Homeland Security News Wire

The emergence of smart cars has opened the door to limitless possibilities for technology and innovation - but also to threats beyond the car itself. New research is the first to apply criminal justice theory to smart vehicles, revealing cracks in the current system leading to potential cyber risks.

Half of America will be obese within 10 years, study says, unless we work together - CNN

If America does not collectively adopt healthier eating habits, over half of the nation will be obese within 10 years.

Samoa Extends Measles Emergency - Homeland Security News Wire

Samoa's government has extended a state of emergency related to its measles outbreak as illnesses and deaths continue to climb, and health groups released status reports on measles activity in two other parts of the world - the Americas and Europe.

New aqueous lithium-ion battery improves safety without sacrificing performance - ScienceDaily

As the lithium-ion batteries that power most phones, laptops, and electric vehicles become increasingly fast-charging and high-performing, they also grow increasingly expensive and flammable. Engineers have now demonstrated how they could -- by using aqueous electrolytes instead of the typical organic electrolytes -- assemble a substantially safer, cost-efficient battery that still performs well.

FDA approves first-ever vaccine for prevention of Ebola virus - CNN

The US Food and Drug administration has approved for the first time in the United States a vaccine for the prevention of the deadly Ebola virus, the agency announced Thursday.

NIST Study Evaluates Effects of Race, Age, Sex on Face Recognition Software - NIST

How accurately do face recognition software tools identify people of varied sex, age and racial background? According to a new study by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the answer depends on the algorithm at the heart of the system, the application that uses it and the data it's fed - but the majority of face recognition algorithms exhibit demographic differentials.

Improving efficiency, effectiveness of security X-ray technology - ScienceDaily

The smuggling of contraband is a threat in airport security and risks have increased in modern times with the uptick in parcel delivery, but security inspection methods have not seen any significant improvements. Researchers propose a technique for efficient detection of contraband items. Typically, airport security uses X-ray imaging to quickly scan baggage, but this suffers limitations. To address this, luggage with suspicious X-ray results undergoes supplementary screening using energy-dispersive X-ray diffraction.

Army Proposes New Training to Replace Combat Lifesaver Course - Military.com

The course, called Tier 2 Tactical Combat Casualty Care, would replace the Army's standard combat lifesaver training and would take into account lessons learned during the almost 20 years of combat in Iraq and Afghanistan. If approved, the weeklong curriculum would be standardized across all services and feature updates emphasizing the medical skills that tend to be most in demand on today's battlefields. Among them: tourniquet and bandage application and removing airway blockages, officials said in a release.

Not Just Peanuts: Sudan Looks to Nuclear Technology to Double Farmers’ Income, Grow Exports - IAEA

Sudanese farmers in areas prone to drought now have a drought-tolerant peanut variety, which will improve their livelihoods and increase the country's exports. This new variety has shown up to 27% improvement in yields while needing less water and has the potential to double farmers' income. It was developed through nuclear techniques with the support of the IAEA, in cooperation with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).

Digital identity predictions for 2020: biometrics, deepfakes, cybersecurity and decentralized ID - BiometricUpdate

Many companies in the biometric, digital identity, and cybersecurity space have shared predictions for 2020 with Biometric Update, touching on many of the key themes of the past year, and reflecting the wealth of opportunity, as well as the anxieties at play in the industry. Those predictions most closely thematically related to biometrics and our top news stories are collected below.

Powder, not gas: A safer, more effective way to create a star on Earth - ScienceDaily

Scientists have found that sprinkling a type of powder into fusion plasma could aid in harnessing the ultra-hot gas within a tokamak facility to produce heat to create electricity without producing greenhouse gases or long-term radioactive waste.

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