Exploring the most important questions we face as we age.
Dr. Debra Whitman, Ph.D. is Executive Vice President and Chief Public Policy Officer, at AARP (https://www.aarp.org/) where she leads policy development, analysis and research, as well as global thought leadership supporting and advancing the interests of individuals age 50-plus and their families. She oversees AARP’s Public Policy Institute, AARP Research, Office of Policy Development and Integration, Thought Leadership, and AARP International.
Dr. Whitman is an authority on aging issues with extensive experience in national policy making, domestic and international research, and the political process. An economist, she is a strategic thinker whose career has been dedicated to solving problems affecting economic and health security, and other issues related to population aging.
Improving Global Resilience Against Emerging Infectious Threats — Dr. Nahid Bhadelia, MD — Founding Director, Center on Emerging Infectious Diseases (CEID), Boston University.
Dr. Nahid Bhadelia, MD, MALD is a board-certified infectious diseases physician who is the Founding Director of BU Center on Emerging Infectious Diseases (https://www.bu.edu/ceid/about-the-cen…) as well an Associate Professor at the BU School of Medicine. She served the Senior Policy Advisor for Global COVID-19 Response for the White House COVID-19 Response Team in 2022–2023, where she coordinated the interagency programs for global COVID-19 vaccine donations from the United States and was the policy lead for Project NextGen, $5B HHS program aimed at developing next generation vaccines and treatments for pandemic prone coronaviruses. She also served as the interim Testing Coordinator for the White House MPOX Response Team. She is the Director and co-founder of Biothreats Emergence, Analysis and Communications Network (BEACON), an open source outbreak surveillance program.
Between 2011–2021, Dr. Bhadelia helped develop and then served as the medical director of the Special Pathogens Unit (SPU) at Boston Medical Center, a medical unit designed to care for patients with highly communicable diseases, and a state designated Ebola Treatment Center. She was previously an associate director for BU’s maximum containment research program, the National Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratories. She has provided direct patient care and been part of outbreak response and medical countermeasures research during multiple Ebola virus disease outbreaks in West and East Africa between 2014–2019. She was the clinical lead for a DoD-funded viral hemorrhagic fever clinical research unit in Uganda, entitled Joint Mobile Emerging Disease Intervention Clinical Capability (JMEDICC) program between 2017 and 2022. Currently, she is a co-director of Fogarty funded, BU-University of Liberia Emerging and Epidemic Viruses Research training program. She was a member of the World Health Organization(WHO)’s Technical Advisory Group on Universal Health and Preparedness Review (UHPR). She currently serves as a member of the National Academies Forum on Microbial Threats and previously served as the chair of the National Academies Workshop Committee for Potential Research Priorities to Inform Readiness and Response to Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza A (H5N1) and member of the Ad Hoc Committee on Current State of Research, Development, and Stockpiling of Smallpox Medical Countermeasures.
The aurora borealis, or northern lights, is known for a stunning spectacle of light in the night sky, but this near-Earth manifestation, which is caused by explosive activity on the sun and carried by the solar wind, can also interrupt vital communications and security infrastructure on Earth. Using artificial intelligence, researchers at the University of New Hampshire have categorized and labeled the largest-ever database of aurora images that could help scientists better understand and forecast the disruptive geomagnetic storms.
The research, recently published in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Machine Learning and Computation, developed artificial intelligence and machine learning tools that were able to successfully identify and classify over 706 million images of auroral phenomena in NASA’s Time History of Events and Macroscale Interactions during Substorms (THEMIS) data set collected by twin spacecrafts studying the space environment around Earth. THEMIS provides images of the night sky every three seconds from sunset to sunrise from 23 different stations across North America.
“The massive dataset is a valuable resource that can help researchers understand how the solar wind interacts with the Earth’s magnetosphere, the protective bubble that shields us from charged particles streaming from the sun,” said Jeremiah Johnson, associate professor of applied engineering and sciences and the study’s lead author. “But until now, its huge size limited how effectively we can use that data.”
On Monday, the United Nations’ International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) announced it was investigating what it described as a “reported security incident.”
Established in 1944 as an intergovernmental organization, this United Nations agency works with 193 countries to support the development of mutually recognized technical standards.
“ICAO is actively investigating reports of a potential information security incident allegedly linked to a threat actor known for targeting international organizations,” ICAO said in a statement.
A recent campaign targeting browser extensions illustrates that they are the next frontier in identity attacks. Learn more about these attacks from LayerX Security and how to receive a free extension audit.
Common methods of communicating flood risk may create a false sense of security, leading to increased development in areas threatened by flooding.
This phenomenon, called the “safe development paradox,” is described in a new paper from North Carolina State University. Lead author Georgina Sanchez, a research scholar in NC State’s Center for Geospatial Analytics, said this may be an unintended byproduct of how the Federal Emergency Management Agency classifies areas based on their probability of dangerous flooding.
The findings are published in the journal PLOS ONE.
Discover the groundbreaking world of quantum teleportation! Learn how scientists are revolutionizing data transfer using quantum entanglement, enabling secure, instant communication over vast distances. From integrating quantum signals into everyday internet cables to overcoming challenges like noise, this technology is reshaping our future. Explore the possibilities of a quantum internet and its role in computing and security. Watch our full video for an engaging dive into how quantum teleportation works and why it’s a game-changer for technology. Don’t miss out!
Researchers used electromagnetic signals to steal and replicate AI models from a Google Edge TPU with 99.91% accuracy, exposing significant vulnerabilities in AI systems and calling for urgent protective measures.
Researchers have shown that it’s possible to steal an artificial intelligence (AI) model without directly hacking the device it runs on. This innovative technique requires no prior knowledge of the software or architecture supporting the AI, making it a significant advancement in model extraction methods.
“AI models are valuable, we don’t want people to steal them,” says Aydin Aysu, co-author of a paper on the work and an associate professor of electrical and computer engineering at North Carolina State University. “Building a model is expensive and requires significant computing sources. But just as importantly, when a model is leaked, or stolen, the model also becomes more vulnerable to attacks – because third parties can study the model and identify any weaknesses.”
By November 2024, 15 U.S. states had established regulations on ghost guns, though exact requirements vary. The rules typically require a serial number, background checks for firearm component purchases and reporting to authorities that a person is producing 3D-printed guns.
For instance, in New Jersey, a 2019 law mandates that all ghost guns have a serial number and be registered. Under current New York law, possession or distribution of a 3D-printed gun is classified as a misdemeanor. However, a proposed law seeks to elevate the manufacturing of firearms using 3D-printing technology to a felony offense.
As technology advances and rules evolve, criminals who use 3D-printed firearms will continue to pose threats to public safety and security, and governments will continue playing catch-up to effectively regulate these weapons.
