World

NNSA And IAEA Hold 20th International Training Course On Nuclear Material Accounting And Control

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NNSA News:

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) are hosting 35 representatives from 30 countries at Oak Ridge National Laboratory for two weeks through May 8 in Oak Ridge, Tenn., for the 20th International Training Course (ITC) on State Systems of Accounting for and Control of Nuclear Material (SSACs).  

NNSA and the IAEA co-sponsor the ITC to educate and train technical experts from around the world on how to properly account for nuclear materials used in their home countries. The first SSAC ITC in the Read More

Pollen And Clouds: April Flowers Bring May showers?

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A tree that holds pollen grains, which a new study finds might seed clouds. The new research shows that when the pollen gets wet from these trees, it breaks down into smaller particles that can hold condensation for cloud formation. Photo by Joseph Xu/Michigan Engineering Communications & Marketing

AGU News:

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The main job of pollen is to help seed the next generation of trees and plants, but a new study shows that the grains might also seed clouds.
 
The unexpected findings demonstrate that these wind-carried capsules of genetic material might have an effect on the
Read More

A Look On The Brighter Side Of Global Warming

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Scientist Chick Keller speaks at a symposium on climate change held at St. John’s College in Santa Fe. Photo by Roger Snodgrass
 
Audience members listen to speakers at the symposium on climate change. Photo by Roger Snodgrass
 
By ROGER SNODGRASS

The threat of catastrophic global warming is still very much upon us, but according to some knowledgeable speakers on the eve of Earth Day 2015, there are a few new grounds for encouragement despite the prevailing gloom.

“I don’t think there is any serious debate about the science anymore,” said former U.S. Sen. Jeff Bingaman, a Democrat Read More

LANL/Partners Identify Clues Through Body Chemistry

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The LANL and SMT collaborators (left to right): Donald Shields, Aaron Anderson, Paul Smith, Nicholas Hengartner, Dr. Donald Becker, Harshini Mukundan (co-PI), Laurie Samitaur Smith, Frederick Smith, Dung Vu (co-PI) and Robert Dye. Absent from the team photo are Srinivas Iyer, Michael Everhart Erickson and Timothy Sanchez. Courtesy/LANL

LANL News:

A new detection approach originally developed for tuberculosis diagnostics is being adapted as a tool for determining traumatic brain injury, one of the challenges facing the medical community as it works to treat military and sports figures Read More

Background-checks Database Breach Heightens Blackmail Risk

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Security breach image. Courtesy/missionmode

HSNW News:

Newly released documents show how hackers infiltrated servers used by US Investigations Services (USIS), a federal contractor that conducts background checks for DHS.

In a House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing last week, Representative Elijah Cummings, D-Maryland said more than 27,000 personnel seeking security clearances likely were affected by the USIS breach. Similar hacks also affected servers at the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), which holds information on security clearance investigations. Read More

‘Cyber WHO’ Needed To Bolster World’s Inadequate Cyber Governance Framework

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There is an urgent need to act to stem cyber risks, including threats that originate across borders. Better global governance would be a significant step toward efforts to mitigate risks. Courtesy/ZIG

HSNW News:

A new report on cyber governance commissioned by Zurich Insurance Group highlights challenges to digital security and identifies new opportunities for business.

It calls for the establishment of guiding principles to build resilience and the establishment of supranational governance bodies such as a Cyber Stability Board and a “Cyber WHO.”

Zurich Insurance Group and Read More

AIA Lecture: South Korea – The Rise To Globalism May 3

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Dr. Charles Armstrong

AIA News:

The Albuquerque International Association (AIA) will host a public lecture by Dr. Charles Armstrong titled “South Korea: Rise to Globalism” at 3 p.m. Sunday, May 3 at UNM Continuing Education Auditorium, 1634 University Blvd NE.

Dr. Armstrong is the Korea Foundation Professor of Korean Studies in the Social Sciences in the Department of History at Columbia University.

Until the close of the twentieth century, Korea had never in its modern history been a major economic or political force in the East Asian region, much less the world at large. Yet despite the continued Read More

Santa Fe CIR: Talk On Mexico By Roderic Ai Camp

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Roderic Ai Camp

CIR News:

The Santa Fe Council on International Relations presents a World Affairs Discussion Event at 5:30 p.m. Friday, May 8 at the Santa Fe Woman’s Club, 1616 Old Pecos Trail.

The topic is The Democratic Paradox in Mexico: Increasing Governability and Declining Trust in Democratic Institutions.

The speaker is Roderic Ai Camp, Philip McKenna Professor of the Pacific Rim at Claremont Mckenna College and founding member of the Advisory Board, Mexico Institute, Woodrow Wilson Center for International Scholars, Smithsonian Institution.

Professor Camp’s presentation will Read More

U.S. Rep. Ben Ray Luján Statement On Earth Day

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Ben Ray Luján

U.S. CONGRESSIONAL News:

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Rep. Ben Ray Luján of New Mexico’s Third District released the following statement in celebration of Earth Day.

“For 45 years, Earth Day has brought together communities and individuals from around the world to advocate for a cleaner, healthier and sustainable future. Since the first Earth Day in 1970, we have seen important progress – making our air and water cleaner, combating acid raid, and growing our use of renewable energy.  We must continue to build on these successes, and to address the pressing issue of climate change Read More

Getting Better All The Time: JILA Strontium Atomic Clock Sets New Records

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JILA’s strontium lattice atomic clock now performs better than ever because scientists literally “take the temperature” of the atoms’ environment. Two specialized thermometers, calibrated by NIST researchers and visible in the center of the photo, are inserted into the vacuum chamber containing a cloud of ultracold strontium atoms confined by lasers. Photo by Marti/JILA

NIST News:

In another advance at the far frontiers of timekeeping by National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) researchers, the latest modification of a record-setting strontium Read More