 | Flexible, low-voltage circuits made using nanocrystals Nov 26th 2012, 19:30 Electronic circuits are typically integrated in rigid silicon wafers, but flexibility opens up a wide range of applications in a world where electronics are becoming more pervasive. Finding materials with the right mix of performance and manufacturing cost, however, remains a challenge. Now researchers have shown that nanoscale particles, or nanocrystals, of the semiconductor cadmium selenide can be "printed" or "coated" on flexible plastics to form high-performance electronics. | | Quantum computing with recycled particles Oct 23rd 2012, 15:25 Scientists have brought the reality of a quantum computer one step closer by experimentally demonstrating a technique for significantly reducing the physical resources required for quantum factoring. | | Making Sudoku puzzles less puzzling Oct 11th 2012, 19:16 For anyone who has ever struggled while attempting to solve a Sudoku puzzle, mathematicians are coming to the rescue. They can not only explain why some Sudoku puzzles are harder than others, they have also developed a mathematical algorithm that solves Sudoku puzzles very quickly, without any guessing or backtracking. | | App protects Facebook users from hackers Oct 9th 2012, 15:24 A new app to detect spam and malware posts on Facebook users' walls was found to be highly accurate, fast and efficient, new study suggests. | | Robots using tools: Researchers aim to create 'MacGyver' robot Oct 9th 2012, 14:13 Robots are increasingly being used in place of humans to explore hazardous and difficult-to-access environments, but they aren't yet able to interact with their environments as well as humans. If today's most sophisticated robot was trapped in a burning room by a jammed door, it would probably not know how to locate and use objects in the room to climb over any debris, pry open the door, and escape the building. A research team hopes to change that by giving robots the ability to use objects in their environments to accomplish high-level tasks. | | Education: Get with the computer program Oct 5th 2012, 17:46 From email to Twitter, blogs to word processors, computer programs provide countless communications opportunities. While social applications have dominated the development of the participatory web for users and programmers alike, this era of Web 2.0 is applicable to more than just networking opportunities: it impacts education. | | Artificially intelligent game bots pass the Turing test on Turing's centenary Sep 26th 2012, 17:32 An artificially intelligent virtual gamer has won the BotPrize by convincing a panel of judges that it was more human-like than half the humans it competed against. The victory comes 100 years after the birth of mathematician and computer scientist Alan Turing, whose "Turing test" stands as one of the foundational definitions of what constitutes true machine intelligence. | | A Travelling Salesman Problem special case: 30-year-old problem solved Sep 13th 2012, 13:19 The science of computational complexity aims to solve the TSP -- the Travelling Salesman Problem -- when the time required to find an optimal solution is vital for practical solutions to modern-day problems such as air traffic control and delivery of fresh food. Researchers have now solved a 30-year-old TSP special case problem. | | Popularity versus similarity: A balance that predicts network growth Sep 13th 2012, 13:19 Do you know who Michael Jackson or George Washington was? You most likely do: they are what we call "household names" because these individuals were so ubiquitous. But what about Giuseppe Tartini or John Bachar? That's much less likely, unless you are a fan of Italian baroque music or free solo climbing. In that case, you would have heard of Bachar just as likely as Washington. The latter was popular, while the former was not as popular but had interests similar to yours. A new paper explores the concept of popularity versus similarity, and if one more than the other fuels the growth of a variety of networks, whether it is the Internet, a social network of trust between people, or a biological network. | | Computer, read my lips: Emotion detector developed using a genetic algorithm Sep 10th 2012, 15:19 A computer is being taught to interpret human emotions based on lip pattern, according to new research. The system could improve the way we interact with computers and perhaps allow disabled people to use computer-based communications devices, such as voice synthesizers, more effectively and more efficiently. | | Web-TV: A perfect match? Sep 3rd 2012, 18:31 Do you surf the web in front of the TV, or tweet what you are watching? Researchers are creating technologies that combine web, social media and TV to enhance our experience and interactions across media. | | Biologists create first predictive computational model of gene networks that control development of sea-urchin embryos Aug 29th 2012, 13:21 As an animal develops from an embryo, its cells take diverse paths, eventually forming different body parts -- muscles, bones, heart. In order for each cell to know what to do during development, it follows a genetic blueprint, which consists of complex webs of interacting genes called gene regulatory networks. Biologists have spent the last decade or so detailing how these gene networks control development in sea-urchin embryos. Now, for the first time, they have built a computational model of one of these networks. | | Scientists create chemical 'brain': Giant network links all known compounds and reactions Aug 22nd 2012, 20:47 Scientists have connected 250 years of organic chemical knowledge into one giant computer network -- a chemical Google on steroids. This "immortal chemist" will never retire and take away its knowledge but instead will continue to learn, grow and share. The software optimizes syntheses of drug molecules and other important compounds, combines long (and expensive) syntheses of compounds into shorter and more economical routes and identifies suspicious chemical recipes that could lead to chemical weapons. | | Information overload in the era of 'big data' Aug 20th 2012, 20:10 The ability of botanists and other scientists to generate data quickly and cheaply is surpassing their ability to access and analyze it. Scientists facing too much information rely on computers to search large data sets for patterns that are beyond the capability of humans to recognize. New tools called ontologies provide the rules computers need to transform information into knowledge, by attaching meaning to data, thereby making those data more retrievable and understandable. | | Search technology that can gauge opinion and predict the future Aug 16th 2012, 11:54 Inspired by a system for categorizing books proposed by an Indian librarian more than 50 years ago, researchers have developed a new kind of internet search that takes into account factors such as opinion, bias, context, time and location. The new technology, which could soon be in use commercially, can display trends in public opinion about a topic, company or person over time - and it can even be used to predict the future. | | Online obesity treatment programmes show promise Aug 15th 2012, 01:33 Computer and web-based weight management programs may provide a cost effective way of addressing the growing problem of obesity, according to a recent review. The researcher found that delivering weight loss or weight maintenance programs online or by computer helped overweight and obese patients lose and/or maintain weight. | | Cyber security risk to smart grids and intelligent buildings Aug 13th 2012, 15:54 Building owners and designers, and particularly members of the building services industry, are racing to implement intelligent buildings and smart grids, which are widely heralded as a boon in terms of both energy efficiency and facilities management. But many are overlooking the potential risk of malicious attacks on these highly networked control systems. | | Rooting out rumors, epidemics, and crime -- with math Aug 10th 2012, 17:31 Scientists have developed an algorithm that can identify the source of an epidemic or information circulating within a network, a method that could also be used to help with criminal investigations. | | Computer scientists present smile database Jul 30th 2012, 15:17 What exactly happens to your face when you smile spontaneously, and how does that affect how old you look? Computer scientists recorded the smiles of hundreds of people, thus creating the most comprehensive smile database ever. The research also shows that you look younger when you smile, but only if you are over forty. If you are under forty, you should look neutral if you want to come across younger. | | New method to find novel connections from gene to gene, drug to drug and between scientists Jul 24th 2012, 21:13 Researchers have developed a new computational method that will make it easier for scientists to identify and prioritize genes, drug targets, and strategies for repositioning drugs that are already on the market. By mining large datasets more simply and efficiently, researchers will be able to better understand gene-gene, protein-protein, and drug/side-effect interactions. The new algorithm will also help scientists identify fellow researchers with whom they can collaborate. | | Paving the way to a scalable device for quantum information processing Jul 24th 2012, 15:50 Researchers have demonstrated for the first time a monolithic 3D ion microtrap array which could be scaled up to handle several tens of ion-based quantum bits. The research shows how it is possible to realize this device embedded in a semiconductor chip, and demonstrates the device's ability to confine individual ions at the nanoscale. | |
