FedScoop August 14, 2020 According to a report from the data analytics firm Govini, in a sample of more than 1,000 prime defense contractors’ supply chains there are several dozen Chinese suppliers from the IT, software, and telecommunications equipment industries. Federal government, including the DOD, has been required by law to remove certain Chinese-owned technology firms from it its supply chains as of Aug. 13. The risks of foreign — and Chinese, in particular — goods in the defense supply chain is greatest in the IT and software industries…read more.
Tag Archives: National security
Agriculture – a climate villain? Maybe not!
Science Daily July 7, 2020 The UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) agriculture has affirmed that one of the main sources of greenhouse gases. According to the researchers in Sweden agriculture produces a significant amount of negative greenhouse gases, and it is important to reduce this in a sustainable manner. Carbon dioxide is caught by crops that, in turn, produce oxygen and at the same time binds carbon in roots and shoots. One part of this C transforms into soil organic C. But the main part transforms into harvested crops, that is, cereals like wheat and other carbohydrate products […]
The Locust Plague in East Africa Is Sending Us a Message, And It’s Not Good News
Science Alert July 3, 2020 Swarming in the trillions, voracious insects are destroying precious pastures and crops in what is considered the worst regional locust plague in decades, from Kenya through Ethiopia and Yemen, reaching as far as parts of northern India. According to researchers in Kenya and Germany the first major swarms emerged late last year, after unusually warm and wet weather, and they numbered in the hundreds of billions. Come April, the next generation hit the skies, this time in the trillions. The third generation is expected to take off this July in even larger numbers. Treating huge […]
A Devastating US ‘Dust Bowl’ Is Twice as Likely Now Than During The Great Depression
Science Alert May 19, 2020 During 1930s Dust Bowl drought across North America’s Great Plains caused widespread crop failures, large dust storms and considerable out-migration. This coincided with the central United States experiencing its hottest summers of the twentieth century in 1934 and 1936, with over 40 heatwave days and maximum temperatures surpassing 44 °C at some locations. According to an international team of researchers (Australia, UK, Sweden) heatwave activity in similarly rare events would be much larger under today’s atmospheric green house gas forcing the return period of a 1-in-100-year heatwave summer (as observed in 1936) would be reduced to […]
K-State Infectious Disease Scientist Offers Road Map for Future COVID-19 Research
Global Biodefense May 23, 2020 Because of the rapid change of knowledge related to coronavirus, it is important to stress the importance of studying the ways that COVID-19 could spread between humans and animals. The scientists say that research should focus in several areas, including the potential for companion animals, such as cats and dogs, to carry the virus , the economic and food security effects if the virus can spread among livestock and poultry and national security areas, especially among service animals such as dogs that detect narcotics or explosives because COVID-19 is known to affect smell and cause […]
Long-term data show hurricanes are getting stronger
Science Daily May 18, 2020 Previous work by a team of researchers at NOAA identified trends in hurricane intensification across a 28-year data set. To increase confidence in the results, the researchers extended the study to include global hurricane data from 1979-2017. Using analytical techniques that rely on infrared temperature measurements from geostationary satellites to estimate hurricane intensity, they were able to create a more uniform data set to identify trends. They demonstrated that hurricanes are moving more slowly across land due to changes in Earth’s climate. This has resulted in greater flood risks as storms hover over cities and […]
Landmark recommendations on development of artificial intelligence and the future of global health
Science Daily May 19, 2020 In this review article, a team of researchers in the US (Columbia University, Johns Hopkins University) suggests that AI-driven health interventions fit into four categories relevant to global health researchers: (1) diagnosis, (2) patient morbidity or mortality risk assessment, (3) disease outbreak prediction and surveillance, and (4) health policy and planning. However, much of the AI-driven intervention research in global health does not describe ethical, regulatory, or practical considerations required for widespread use or deployment at scale. Despite the field remaining nascent, AI-driven health interventions could lead to improved health outcomes in Low and Middle […]
Potentially fatal combinations of humidity and heat are emerging across the globe
Science Daily May 8, 2020 Humans’ ability to efficiently shed heat has enabled us to range over every continent, but a wet-bulb temperature (TW) of 35°C marks our upper physiological limit, and much lower values have serious health and productivity impacts. An international team of researchers (USA – Caltech. Columbia University, UK) found that a comprehensive evaluation of weather station data shows that some coastal subtropical locations have already reported a TW of 35°C and that extreme humid heat overall has more than doubled in frequency since 1979. The most extreme humid heat is highly localized in both space and […]
Russia Conducts Direct-Ascent Anti Satellite Weapon from Plesetsk
Defense Update April 22, 2020 Russia has been engaged in direct ascent anti-satellite (DA-ASAT) anti-satellite weapon tests in the past months. On April 15, a missile launch from the Plesetsk test site on the arctic circle. Russian media sources reports said the missile tested called ‘Nudol’ has reached over 7,000 m/sec, thus positioned in the ‘hypersonic‘ category. Prior to the test, large airspace along the missile’s flight path was closed, with an area typical for a two-staged missile. Other tests of anti-satellite weapon systems were previously conducted under the “Sistema A-235 / RTTS-181M Nudol” program which has been tested at […]
Aquaculture at the crossroads of global warming and antimicrobial resistance
Science Daily April 20, 2020 Fish farmers use large quantities of antimicrobials to treat or prevent disease on their farms. However, when used inappropriately, antimicrobials are ineffective and foster the development of resistant bacteria. An international team of researchers (France, Germany) conducted a double meta-analysis to explore how global warming and antimicrobial resistance impact aquaculture. They calculated a Multi-Antibiotic Resistance index (MAR) of aquaculture-related bacteria for 40 countries. They showed that aquaculture MAR indices correlate with MAR indices from human clinical bacteria, temperature and countries’ climate vulnerability and infected aquatic animals present higher mortalities at warmer temperatures. They raise the […]