Are social networking Internet sites a factor in psychotic symptoms? Nov 20th 2012, 17:20 Internet communication is exploding -- and so is the possibility of a related psychopathology called Internet addiction. Now a researcher says that a review of several case studies from his own practice shows a direct connection between psychotic episodes and participation in certain online social networking sites. | Measuring 'the cloud: 'Performance could be better Nov 16th 2012, 13:56 Storing information "in the Cloud" is rapidly gaining in popularity. Yet just how do these services really work? Researchers have completed the first comprehensive analysis of Dropbox, a popular service that already has 100 million users. One shortcoming of this service is that performance is greatly dependent on the physical distance to the Dropbox servers. | First noiseless single photon amplifier Nov 12th 2012, 15:10 Research physicists have demonstrated the first device capable of amplifying the information in a single particle of light without adding noise. The next step will be to build additional quantum teleportation into the experiment, which will make the noiseless amplifier more directly useful for long-distance communication. | Experimental interplanetary Internet used to test robot from International Space Station Nov 8th 2012, 20:18 NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA) successfully have used an experimental version of interplanetary Internet to control an educational rover from the International Space Station. The experiment used NASA's Disruption Tolerant Networking (DTN) protocol to transmit messages and demonstrate technology that one day may enable Internet-like communications with space vehicles and support habitats or infrastructure on another planet. | Dealing with power outages more efficiently Nov 7th 2012, 13:56 When there is a power failure, the utility companies, public officials and emergency services must work together quickly. Researchers have created a new planning software product that enables all participants to be better prepared for emergency situations. | Privacy vs. protection: Study considers how to manage epidemics in information blackouts Nov 1st 2012, 21:19 When foot-and-mouth disease swept through the British countryside in early 2001, more than 10 million sheep, cattle and pigs were slaughtered to control the disease. Despite the devastation, the disease was contained within ten months in part owing to the availability in that country of finely detailed farm data, which enabled mathematical modelers to make accurate predictions about the spread of the disease and suggest optimal ways of managing it. | Invisible QR codes tackle counterfeit bank notes Sep 12th 2012, 00:01 An invisible quick response (QR) code has been created by researchers in an attempt to increase security on printed documents and reduce the possibility of counterfeiting, a problem which costs governments and private industries billions of pounds each year. | Speedy ions could add zip to quantum computers Aug 13th 2012, 21:33 Take that, sports cars! Physicists can accelerate their beryllium ions from zero to 100 miles per hour and stop them in just a few microseconds. The researchers think their zippy ions may be useful in future quantum computers. | Hard drives: A bit of progress May 10th 2012, 13:56 A modified approach to fabrication of magnetic memory elements may lead to a new generation of stable, ultra-high-capacity hard drives. | Android vulnerability debugged Apr 12th 2012, 14:54 Researchers have discovered and neutralized a serious vulnerability present in all versions of Android, the popular operating system developed by Google specifically for smartphones and tablet computers. The vulnerability could have been easily exploited by malicious software applications, with the effect of making devices based on Google's operating system currently on the market completely unusable. | |