Best of both worlds: Hybrid approach sheds light on crystal structure solution Dec 11th 2012, 18:03 Understanding the arrangement of atoms in a solid is vital to materials research -- but the problem can be difficult to solve in many important situations. Now, by combining the work of two different scientific camps, researchers have created an algorithm that makes crystal structure solution more automated and reliable. | Predicting what topics will trend on Twitter: Algorithm offers new technique for analyzing data that fluctuate over time Nov 1st 2012, 15:06 Twitter's home page features a regularly updated list of topics that are "trending," meaning that tweets about them have suddenly exploded in volume. A position on the list is highly coveted as a source of free publicity, but the selection of topics is automatic, based on a proprietary algorithm that factors in both the number of tweets and recent increases in that number. Researchers have developed a new algorithm that can, with 95 percent accuracy, predict which topics will trend an average of an hour and a half before Twitter's algorithm puts them on the list -- and sometimes as much as four or five hours before. | Footwear forensics: CSI needs to tread carefully Oct 26th 2012, 14:09 A new computer algorithm can analyze the footwear marks left at a crime scene according to clusters of footwear types, makes and tread patterns even if the imprint recorded by crime scene investigators is distorted or only a partial print. | 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. | Negative effects of computerized surveillance at home: Cause of annoyance, concern, anxiety, and even anger Oct 8th 2012, 14:16 To understand the effects of continuous computerized surveillance on individuals, a Finnish research group instrumented ten Finnish households with video cameras, microphones, and logging software for personal computers, wireless networks, smartphones, TVs, and DVDs. The results expose a range of negative changes in experience and behavior. To all except one participant, the surveillance system proved to be a cause of annoyance, concern, anxiety, and even anger. | 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. | Computer program can identify rough sketches Sep 13th 2012, 14:50 Computer scientists have developed a new program that can recognize rough sketches in real time, something that up to now had been very difficult for computers to do. To make the program work, the researchers used 20,000 real sketches to teach the program how humans actually sketch objects. | 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. | 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. | Who's the most influential in a social graph? New software recognizes key influencers faster than ever Sep 7th 2012, 16:47 Determining the most influential person on a social media network is complex. Thousands of users are interacting about a single subject at the same time. New people are constantly joining the streaming conversation. Researchers have developed a new algorithm that quickly determines betweenness centrality for streaming graphs. The algorithm can identify influencers as information changes within a network. | Scanning for drunks with a thermal camera Sep 4th 2012, 14:01 Thermal imaging technology might one day be to identify drunks before they become a nuisance in bars, airports or other public spaces. Researchers in Greece are developing software that can objectively determine whether a person has consumed an excessive amount of alcohol based solely on the relative temperature of different parts of the person's face. | 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. | Computer viruses could take a lesson from showy peacocks Aug 29th 2012, 19:12 Computer viruses are constantly replicating throughout computer networks and wreaking havoc. But what if they had to find mates in order to reproduce? Researchers have now created the digital equivalent of spring break to see how mate attraction played out through computer programs. | 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. | Mini-camera with maxi-brainpower Aug 23rd 2012, 18:29 Torrential rapids, plunging mud holes and soaring hurdles: in the outdoor competitions at the Olympic Games, athletes pushed themselves to the limit. But it's hard to depict this in pictures alone. This is why researchers created an intelligent camera that instantly delivers additional metadata, such as acceleration, temperature or heart rate. | 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. | Scientist invents pocket living room TV Aug 13th 2012, 13:20 Leaving your TV show midway because you had to leave your home will no longer happen as you can now 'pull' the program on your TV screen onto your tablet and continue watching it seamlessly. | 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. | |