Science and technology strategy
The U.S. Department of State launched a new artificial intelligence resource center, "AI. State”
According to Meritalk on June 28, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and U.S. State Department Chief Data and Artificial Intelligence Officer Matthew Graves announced on the same day that the agency would launch a new online artificial intelligence resource center "AI. State”。 The platform will serve as "the central hub for all AI matters within the department" and will include all generative AI tools, tip libraries, and use cases within the U.S. Department of State. Previously, the U.S. State Department has launched two artificial intelligence tools, including Northstar, which helps diplomats translate media articles, and StateChat, an internal chatbot.
U.S. Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program Releases Emerging Technology Priority Framework
According to the U.S. Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP) on June 28, FedRAMP released the "Emerging Technology Priority Framework". This framework provides a prioritized management program for emerging technologies in the FedRAMP authorization process. FedRAMP will prioritize generative AI, particularly in areas such as chat, debugging tools, JavaScript-based image generation, and more. FedRAMP was established in 2011 to provide a risk management approach for government procurement of cloud services and to ensure the safe adoption and use of cloud technologies in the federal government.
Information
The CIA uses artificial intelligence for data classification and open-source information collection
According to MeriTalk on June 27, Lakshmi Raman, director of artificial intelligence innovation at the CIA, said at the Amazon Web Technology (AWS) summit that the CIA is widely applying artificial intelligence technology to classify data and collect open-source information. Specifically, the CIA is using AI technology to perform tasks such as translation, transcription, and more to help analysts filter data. At the same time, the CIA is also strengthening the auxiliary role of AI in its work involving the collection and processing of publicly available information.
The U.S. Defense Innovation Agency seeks solutions to address deepfake risks
According to DefenseScoop on June 26, the U.S. Department of Defense Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) is seeking solutions to deal with the growing threat of deepfakes. Deepfake technology uses artificial intelligence to create fake audio and video content that can lead to deception, fraud, and the spread of false information. DIU wanted to address these challenges by rapidly deploying deepfake detection tools. The U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has been developing tools since 2019. Although deepfakes have been used to target political candidates during elections, DIU's actions were not driven by a specific election cycle. DIU said it will prioritize submissions that meet detailed criteria and solution characteristics, and follow its "responsible" AI guidelines and open systems architecture approach.
The European Union further scrutinizes Microsoft's collaboration with OpenAI
According to TechXplore on June 28, the European Union will investigate and further review the impact of Microsoft's cooperation with OpenAI on the competition in the artificial intelligence market. After an initial review, the European Commission concluded that Microsoft's $13 billion investment does not imply full control of OpenAI. The next phase of the EU investigation will require Microsoft to provide more information about the agreement between the two companies to understand whether certain exclusivity clauses will have a negative impact on competition. In addition, the EU is also watching the agreement reached between South Korea's Samsung and the US company Google.
The U.S. Department of State launches a new Artificial Intelligence Resource Center
On June 28, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Chief Data and Artificial Intelligence Officer (CDAO) Matthew Graviss announced that the U.S. Department of State will launch a new online AI resource center, according to MeriTalk.com. Blinken said the center will serve as a central hub for the U.S. Department of State's AI affairs, providing centralized access to the State Department's internal AI tools, tip libraries and AI use cases, including the Northstar translation tool, the DCT AI assistant and the StateChat chatbot tool, among others. The tools are designed to help increase the productivity of your staff.
The Joint Staff of the US Department of Defense is considering the creation of a chief digital and artificial intelligence office
According to the DefenseScoop website on June 27, the U.S. Department of Defense Joint Staff is considering the establishment of a chief digital and artificial intelligence office (CDAO) to help the agency apply artificial intelligence capabilities. The U.S. Department of Defense Joint Staff established an AI Task Force in February 2024. According to Lt. Gen. Todd Isaacson, director of the Joint Staff's Command, Control, Communications, Computer and Network Bureau, the task force recently completed a 90-day sprint to test use cases for AI applications and assess the long-term organizational structure needed to maintain AI capabilities within the U.S. Department of Defense's Joint Staff. To this end, the US Department of Defense Joint Staff wants to create an internal chief digital and artificial intelligence office. This reflects the U.S. Department of Defense's ongoing exploration of the use of AI in workflows such as day-to-day administrative tasks, data management, and operations.
creature
Researchers in the United States have developed novel epigene-editing therapies
According to the news on July 1, the Broad Institute and the Whitehead Institute in the United States have developed a compact epigenetic silencer CHARM, which is delivered through an adeno-associated viral vector and can effectively turn off the genes encoding the prion protein in the entire brain of mice without changing the DNA sequence. CHARM represents a brand-new, epigenetic-based treatment modality that can be widely applied to a range of diseases caused by the toxic accumulation of unwanted proteins.
The European Commission approves chikungunya vaccine and funds new mosquito control programme
According to the official website of the European Commission on June 28, the European Commission approved the first vaccine against chikungunya virus, a disease transmitted by infected mosquitoes. To further curb the risk of mosquito-borne disease spread in Europe, the European Commission announced a €500,000 allocation from EU4Health to launch a pilot project to help eradicate Aedes aegypti mosquitoes in Cyprus.
energy
The Biden administration announced $2.7 billion from the Invest in America Agenda to boost the local nuclear fuel supply chain
According to the U.S. Department of Energy on June 27, the Biden administration announced that it would allocate $2.7 billion from the "Invest in America Agenda" program to promote the construction of the domestic nuclear fuel supply chain, and the U.S. Department of Energy issued a request for proposals to purchase low-enriched uranium (LEU) from domestic sources. The initiative aims to promote the safe and responsible development of U.S. uranium enrichment capabilities, promote the diversification of the nuclear fuel market, provide a reliable supply of commercial nuclear fuel, support the recovery of related U.S. industries, reduce exposure to Russian nuclear fuel, improve energy security, and maintain its position as a global leader in nuclear energy. The U.S. Department of Energy will solicit more than 2 contracts for a period of 10 years. The funding will support new enrichment facilities or projects that expand the capacity of existing enrichment facilities, and the U.S. Department of Energy plans to sell LEU to utilities operating U.S. reactors to support clean energy generation and cut dependence on Russian imports.
The Biden administration in the United States announced $18.5 million to support clean energy projects in 24 state and local governments
According to the U.S. Department of Energy on June 28, the Biden administration announced that it will allocate $18.5 million to the Energy Efficiency and Savings Block Grant Program (EECBG) through the "Invest in America Agenda" to support clean energy projects in 24 state and local governments, and promote state and local governments to improve energy efficiency, reduce climate pollution and reduce overall energy consumption. This funding is the seventh in the EECBG program, which has provided nearly $150 million to 175 communities since October 2023. Specifically, California will advance the decarbonization of public and private buildings across the state through the new Local Government Building Decarbonization Challenge (LGBDC) ($4.52 million); Cobb County, Georgia to Purchase Equipment to Support Construction of Material Recovery Center (CHaRM) ($557,000), Dan County, Wisconsin, will launch a building electrification campaign to incentivize home electrification ($267,000), New Hampshire will develop a municipal solar grant program for small and disadvantaged local governments to purchase and install solar photovoltaic panels for municipal facilities ($1.64 million), Prince George's County, Maryland will develop a residential rooftop solar incentive program, as well as benchmarking 40 county buildings and investment-grade energy assessments for key facilities ($680,000), and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, will develop four activities to reduce energy use and greenhouse gas emissions, including designing a "Cool Roof Plan," developing a comprehensive strategy to enhance the city's building decarbonized workforce, strengthening building energy management for more than 200 buildings in the Philadelphia School District ($1.317 million), and more.
German companies are collaborating to extract lithium chloride directly from geothermal water and plan to use it in electric vehicles and energy storage
According to E Small Data on June 28, German utility company EnBW and lithium specialist company LevertonHELM have cooperated to produce battery-grade lithium at the Bruchsal geothermal site in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. EnBW and LevertonHELM have released reports that lithium chloride solutions have been extracted from geothermal water at the Bruchsal geothermal power plant using direct lithium extraction (DLE) technology and have successfully produced lithium carbonate with a purity greater than 99.95%. The goal is to advance sustainable lithium production and develop local resources for electric vehicles and energy storage, the two sides said.
Quino Energy's aqueous organic flow battery in the United States has made a breakthrough in the commercialization process
According to the Zhongguancun Energy Storage Industry Technology Alliance on June 27, Quino Energy announced that its 10KW/100KWh aqueous organic flow battery prototype has been put into use. The battery is based on Quino Energy's 6KW/24KWh and 1.5KW/6KWh energy storage systems. Quino Energy's manufacturing process now produces tonnage of active material using a stack process developed by Electrosynthesis in Buffalo, New York. It is reported that Quino Energy's 100KWh system can provide a home with its entire power needs for more than three days, which is roughly equivalent to the energy storage capacity of seven fully charged Tesla Powerwalls combined. The U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Technologies (DOE AMMTO) said Quino Energy's technology is able to get to market and scale up quickly thanks to its low-cost, high-performance quinone chemistry and universal backward compatibility with vanadium flow battery hardware, a next-generation energy storage technology that reduces manufacturing costs, eliminates the need for critical materials, and will support more innovative application research and development.
ocean
South Korea and the United States are collaborating on the application of AI in the fields of ship safety and carbon emission reduction
According to the news of the International Shipping Network on June 30, South Korea's HD Hyundai Group, South Korea's Pan Ocean Shipping and the American Bureau of Shipping jointly signed the "Ship Safety Management and Carbon Emission Reduction AI Solution Business Agreement". According to the agreement, in terms of ship safety, HD will adopt an autonomous navigation ship assistance system solution consisting of HD Hyundai's automated control system (HiCBM) and ship integrated safety management system (HiCAMS), which can diagnose the status of machinery and accessories on board in real time without human intervention; In terms of carbon reduction, HD will adopt HD's modern carbon emission monitoring solution "Ocean Wise", which can build a ship performance prediction model in a virtual space to monitor and predict carbon emissions caused by route paths, weather and current changes.
The International Maritime Organization's ban on the use of heavy fuel oil in Arctic waters comes into force
According to the BBC's official website on July 1, the ban on the use of heavy fuel oil in Arctic waters adopted by the International Maritime Organization in 2021 came into effect. Compared with light oil, heavy oil is difficult to remove once a leak occurs due to its viscous, strong adsorption and difficult volatile characteristics. The ban does not allow ships to use heavy fuel in Arctic waters, but it is not a "one-size-fits-all" ban and provides exemptions for specific circumstances, such as ships engaged in ship safety, search and rescue operations; Ships engaged in marine oil spill preparedness and response; Ships flying the flag of countries bordering Arctic waters. The move has been criticized by environmental groups, which say the ban will allow many ships to escape regulation and continue to sail with heavy oil in the Arctic.
The Canadian Navy began to build a new fleet
According to the official website of the Canadian government on June 28, Canada began to build three "River" class destroyers and will form a new fleet. The River-class destroyers are based on Type 26 destroyers built by the United Kingdom and Australia, and will be equipped with advanced radar and weapons with detection capabilities. It is understood that Canada plans to build 15 destroyers, which is the largest and most complex shipbuilding project in Canada since World War II, and the project will equip the Royal Canadian Navy with the most advanced warships and become the main component of Canada's maritime combat forces. The first ship of the fleet is expected to be delivered in the early 2030s, the entry into service in 2035, and the last ship is expected to be delivered in 2050.
The U.S. Navy began developing a conventional rapid strike system designed to have a sea-based hypersonic strike capability
According to the Naval Technology Network on June 27, the American company Lockheed Martin has received a new contract modification for the development of the US Navy's conventional rapid strike system (CPS). The system will be deployed on the Navy's Zumwalt-class destroyers and Virginia-class submarines, combining "conventional rapid strike" supersonic missiles with stealth and maneuverable ships, making it impossible for adversaries to predict the source of attacks on radar, and will give the United States a sea-based hypersonic strike capability. It is understood that the development of the conventional rapid strike system is currently progressing slowly, and it has previously experienced two test failures in 2021 and 2022.
aviation
The U.S. Navy and the U.S. Army have completed end-to-end flight tests of hypersonic missiles, providing important support for advancing the research process of the "conventional rapid strike" and "long-range hypersonic weapons" projects
According to the website of the U.S. Department of Defense on June 28, the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Army completed the end-to-end test of hypersonic missiles at the Pacific Missile Range on Kauai, Hawaii, providing important support for advancing the research process of the "Conventional Rapid Strike" (CPS) and "Long Range Hypersonic Weapon" (LRHW) projects. During the test, the Navy and Army demonstrated the end-to-end performance of the CPS/LRHW hypersonic missile and collected relevant test data. It is reported that CPS is a type of hypersonic boost-glide missile jointly developed by the US Army and Navy, which supports launch from ground, surface ships and submarines, and has a flight speed of more than Mach 5 to carry out precision strikes on targets; LRHW's first hypersonic missile "Dark Eagle" is a medium-range surface-to-surface hypersonic weapon of the US Army, which is essentially the same weapon as the CPS.
The U.S. Air Force has established a new hypersonic research center, which will provide solution support for the research and development of hypersonic technology
According to the website of the U.S. executive government on June 28, the U.S. Air Force Institute of Technology, Engineering and Management established a new hypersonic application research center (ARCH), which will provide solution support for the research and development of hypersonic technology. The center aims to provide interdisciplinary solutions for defense-related hypersonic technology, and provide support for the U.S. military and the Department of Defense to promote the research and development of hypersonic equipment and technological breakthroughs. In addition, the center will also carry out long-term hypersonic technology-related publicity work, improve the U.S. Air Force's hypersonic technology-related education awareness, workforce development and research level, so as to attract and cultivate more hypersonic technology talents.
The U.S. Army selected BuleHalo to carry out the next phase of anti-drone missile research and development
According to TheDefensePost website on June 29, the U.S. Army Combat Capability Development Command Aero Missile Center selected BuleHalo to carry out the next phase of anti-drone missile research and development. The initiative, which is part of the Army's Next Generation Anti-Drone Air Systems Missile (NGCM) program, aims to provide a longer-range and more lethal anti-drone missile system to support effective counter-large air targets. The company plans to launch an anti-drone missile designed to deal with the threat of Category 3 drones weighing less than 1,320 pounds (about 598 kilograms), and is intended to be equipped with a software-defined front end to support connection with other rocket engines to meet the interception efficiency and maneuverability needs of anti-subsonic and supersonic missions.
space flight
The US company SpaceX launched the second batch of 20 "Star Shield" spy satellites for the US National Reconnaissance Bureau
According to the SpaceNews website on June 29, the US SpaceX company used the "Falcon"-9 rocket to successfully launch the second batch of 20 "Star Shield" next-generation spy satellites for the US National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) at the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. The launch mission, codenamed NROL-186, is a U.S. national security launch mission, and is deployed in the same orbit as the first batch of 21 "Star Shields" at an altitude of about 306-310 kilometers above the earth. Developed by SpaceX and Norge, the satellites are part of NRO's new proliferation architecture constellation and are equipped with advanced imaging and infrared sensors designed to revisit critical areas more frequently to support the continuous monitoring and tracking of potential targets such as ballistic missiles and hypersonic weapons.
The Canadian Space Agency awarded MDA Space a contract worth approximately $730 million to advance the next phase of research and development of the Moon Portal robotic arm
According to the SpaceNews website on June 29, the Canadian Space Agency awarded MDA Space a contract worth 1 billion Canadian dollars (about 730 million US dollars) to promote the next stage of research and development of the "Moon Portal" robotic arm "Canada Arm 3" (Canada Arm 3). Under the contract, the company will carry out the final design, assembly and testing of the robotic arm system. It is expected that this phase of R&D work will continue until March 2030. It is reported that the robotic arm will be connected to the established target interface through the grip interface to realize the end-to-end mobile function in space, and provide support for the movement of multiple payloads outside the "lunar portal" and the docking of spacecraft.
Materials
Two new niobium-scandium minerals have been discovered at the Baiyun Obo deposit in Inner Mongolia, China
According to Xinhua News Agency on June 29, the Institute of Geology and Geophysics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and other units announced at the press conference on new niobium-scandium minerals held in Baotou City, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, that researchers have discovered two new minerals, Obo niobium ore and Zhai scandium amphibole in the Baiyun Obo rare earth deposit. Niobium and scandium are important associated metal mineral resources in the Baiyun Obo deposit, but they have not been exploited and utilized due to their low research degree before. Researchers said that the useful elements contained in the two new niobium-scandium minerals discovered in Baiyun Obo have important uses in new materials, new energy, information technology, aerospace, national defense and military industry, and are of great significance to economic and social development.
Advanced manufacturing
Researchers in the United States have developed a new process for making concrete that achieves a 45% CO2 sequestration rate
According to Science and Technology Daily on July 1, scientists at Northwestern University in the United States have developed a new process for manufacturing concrete, achieving up to 45% carbon dioxide (CO2) sequestration efficiency. This means that nearly half of the CO2 injected into the manufacturing process is captured and stored. This process not only sequesters CO2, but also ensures that the concrete produced is not compromised in terms of strength and durability. The paper was published in the journal Nature Communications Materials.
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