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.

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Welcome to the HDIAC - HDIAC

Stephen Redifer, Director of the Homeland Defense and Security Information Analysis Center (HDIAC) welcomes you to your community of practice. The mission of the HDIAC BCO is to provide users with focused expert technical consulting and unbiased STI through in-depth analysis and the creation of specialized information products in support of the HDIAC's eight vital technical focus areas: Homeland Defense and Security (HD), Critical Infrastructure Protection (CIP), Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD), Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear Defense (CBRN), Biometrics (BIO), Medical (MED), Cultural Studies (CS), and Alternative Energy (AE).

RECENT HEADLINES:

Wrangling Big Data into Real-time, Actionable Intelligence - Sandia National Laboratories

Social media, cameras, sensors and more generate huge amounts of data that can overwhelm analysts sifting through it all for meaningful, actionable information to provide decision-makers such as political leaders and field commanders responding to security threats.

Scientists Create an Artificial Leaf That Creates Clean Gas, Could Replace Petrol - Interesting Engineering

All that is needed for this 'leaf' to create the clean gas, called syngas, is sunlight, carbon dioxide, and water. It's simple, and it's sustainable. Even though it requires sunlight, unlike many solar panels, this artificial leaf can still function on cloudy days. Furthermore, unlike the current industrial processes to create syngas, which releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, this leaf does not.

Croissant Making Inspires Renewable Energy Solution - Science Daily

Croissants are made by pressing and folding dough to create a layered pastry. The researchers applied this technique to a dielectric capacitor, which is a device that stores energy like a battery.

Distribution and Origin of Highly Radioactive Microparticles in Fukushima Revealed - University of Helsinki

New method allows scientists to create a quantitative map of radioactive cesium-rich microparticle distribution in soils collected around the damaged Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. This could help inform clean-up efforts in Fukushima region.

Protecting Smart Machines From Smart Attacks - Princeton University Department of Electrical Engineering

Machines' ability to learn by processing data gleaned from sensors underlies automated vehicles, medical devices and a host of other emerging technologies. But that learning ability leaves systems vulnerable to hackers in unexpected ways, researchers at Princeton University have found.

Synthetic Cells Make Long-distance Calls - Rice University Department of Biosciences

Rice University synthetic biologists design transcriptional circuits that allow single-cell microbes to form networks that spur collective action, even in large communities. The work could lead to engineered microbes that treat conditions in gut microbiomes or communicate with bioelectronics.

US Air Force Developing Human Molecular Biosignature Sensors and More - Biometric Update

Research into "human signatures" for the purpose of developing technologies that can "sense and exploit human bio-signatures at both the molecular- and macro-level" is one of the goals of the US Air Force's long-term Human-Centered Intelligence, Surveillance & Reconnaissance (ISR) Leveraged Science and Technology (S&T) Program that's being carried out by the Human Effectiveness Directorate (RH) of the US Air Force Research Laboratory's (AFRL) 711th Human Performance Wing (711 HPW).

National Update on Measles Cases and Outbreaks – United States, January 1-October 1, 2019 - Centers for Disease Control

During January 1-October 1, 2019, a total of 1,249 measles cases and 22 measles outbreaks were reported in the United States. This represents the most U.S. cases reported in a single year since 1992, and the second highest number of reported outbreaks annually since measles was declared eliminated in the United States in 2000.

Connecting Emergency Medical Professionals - Machine Design

"Call for Code was formed to inspire and empower the 24 million developers around the world to create tech solutions to solve some of the toughest social challenges we face," said creator David Clark. "Last year's Call for Code Global Challenge was the largest engagement of developers in history, and this year it has nearly doubled in size." Competition winners will have their solutions further developed and deployed by IBM's unique Code and Response initiative-the company's $25 million program dedicated to the creation and deployment of solutions powered by open-source technology to tackle the world's biggest challenges.

Tiny Droplets Allow Bacteria to Survive Daytime Dryness on Leaves - eLife Sciences

Microscopic droplets on the surface of leaves give refuge to bacteria that otherwise may not survive during the dry daytime, according to a new study published today in eLife. Understanding this bacterial survival strategy for dry conditions may enable scientists to develop practices that support healthy plant microbiomes in agricultural and natural settings.

Inside the Fuel Cell: Imaging Method Promises Industrial Insight - Science Daily

Hydrogen-containing substances are important for many industries, but scientists have struggled to obtain detailed images to understand the element's behavior. Researchers now demonstrate the quantification of hydrogen for different states of water -- i.e., liquid, frozen and supercooled -- for applications to eco-friendly fuel cells.

FaceTec 3D Face Authentication to Secure Mobile Voting with New Partnership - Biometric Update

Biometric mobile voting may be closer to reality in the U.S. and other jurisdictions, with a new partnership announced between FaceTec and Hybrid Mobile Voting System maker Neuvote to secure remote ballots with ZoOm 3D face authentication. The companies plan to restore fundamental trust in democracy with their solution, according to the announcement, which it says is rooted in the security and resilience of the voting infrastructure used.

The Homeland Defense and Security Information Analysis Center (HDIAC) is a Department of Defense (DoD) Information Analysis Center (IAC) sponsored by the Defense Technical Information Center (DTIC). The HD Digest provides links to third party Websites. The HDIAC is not responsible for the availability of, and content provided on, third party Websites. You should refer to the policies posted by other Websites regarding their privacy and other topics before you use them. The HDIAC is not responsible for third party content accessible through the HDIAC HD Digest, including opinions, advice, statements, advertisements and endorsements, and you bear all risks associated with the use of such content.