real time data

A terrorist attack or unforeseen natural disaster could unleash all sorts of madness on a major metropolitan area and traffic is hardly a minor concern. Hundreds of thousands of people piling into their cars and speeding out of town at once could lead to some serious gridlock. Even a brief blackout can cause traffic migraines, as evidenced by the recent electrical outage in  New York City. But  University  of  Arizona  engineer Yi-Chiang Chu is developing a software package that could smooth out the evacuation process. Working from real-time data collected by city and state transportation departments, the software suggests the best options for re-routing the cars and ensuring that everyone can get out of town as quickly as possible.—Gregory Mone

The annual American Association for the Advancement of Science conference covers arguably the greatest variety of subjects of any science conference in the world. This year's gathering, held in St. Louis, Missouri, hosted symposia on everything from astrobiology to veterinary ethics. And although it's impossible for one reporter to cover more than a small fraction of the 200-plus scientific sessions held over five days, here are a few highlights of the most exciting research happening now.

The SafePassage Automatic Identification System monitors the real-time data that commercial ships broadcast-including name, position, course and speed-for boats in a 30-mile radius. The system comes loaded with differential GPS, two data receivers, and ports for running information to a laptop or plotter, which will alert you if you're on a collision course. $1,250

This month, imaging scientists Donald McKeown and Michael Richardson of the Rochester Institute of Technology are test-flying a $3 million fire-mapping system to help the U.S. Forest Service spot fires earlier.