Software Programs
Genomic data is growing, but what does it tell us?
March 20, 2013 2:46 pm | by Susan Meikle and Iddo Friedberg, Miami University | News | CommentsWe live in the post-genomic era, when DNA sequence data is growing exponentially. However, for most of the genes that we identify, we have no idea of their biological functions. They are like words in a foreign language, waiting to be deciphered. A new project called CAFA, for Critical Assessment of Function Annotation, is helping channel the flood of data from genome research to deduce the function of proteins.
AB SCIEX enhances software to drive micro LC
March 20, 2013 10:10 am | News | CommentsNew software and service offerings to simplify and accelerate the integration of micro liquid chromatography (LC) technology into regulated bioanalytical laboratories was introduced this week by AB SCIEX. The new software module supports 21CFR Part 11 and the new IQ/OQ/PQ service to the Eksigent line of LC solutions gives research organizations a new validated approach to micro LC
Cyberwar manual lays down rules for online attacks
March 20, 2013 10:01 am | by Raphael Satter, Associated Press | News | CommentsEven cyberwar has rules, and one group of experts is putting out a manual to prove it. Their handbook, the Tallinn Manual, due to be published later this week, applies the practice of international law to the world of electronic warfare in an effort to show how hospitals, civilians and neutral nations can be protected in an information-age fight.
Plasmonics: Model makes light work of nanocircuits
March 13, 2013 5:36 pm | News | CommentsAs computer manufacturers cram ever more processing power onto tiny chips, the connections between electronic components that measure just a few billionths of a meter across allow electrons to leak. One promising solution is to replace those electrons with photons of light. Researchers in Singapore have now developed a numerical model to simulate the performance of circuits that rely on light
Researchers find German-made spyware across globe
March 13, 2013 5:28 pm | by Raphael Satter, Associated Press | News | CommentsA Canadian research center said Wednesday that it had identified 25 different countries that host servers linked to FinFisher, a Trojan horse program which can dodge anti-virus protections to steal data, log keystrokes, eavesdrop on Skype calls, and turn microphones and webcams into live surveillance devices. This finding doesn't necessarily mean those countries' governments are using FinFisher, but it is an indication of the spyware's reach.
Making cloud computing more efficient
March 13, 2013 8:10 am | by Larry Hardesty, MIT News Office | News | CommentsFor many companies, moving their Web-application servers to the cloud is an attractive option, since cloud-computing services can offer economies of scale, extensive technical support, and easy accommodation of demand fluctuations. But for applications that depend heavily on database queries, cloud hosting can pose as many problems as it solves. Researchers are developing a new system that could help solve these problems.
Researchers create an Internet for robots
March 11, 2013 9:57 am | News | CommentsSoftware engineers at five European universities have developed a cloud-computing platform for robots. The platform allows robots connected to the Internet to directly access the powerful computational, storage, and communications infrastructure of modern data centers—the giant server farms behind the likes of Google, Facebook, and Amazon—for robotics tasks and robot learning.
International consortium builds “Google Map” of human metabolism
March 4, 2013 1:28 pm | News | CommentsBuilding on earlier pioneering work by researchers at the University of California, San Diego, an international consortium of university researchers has produced the most comprehensive virtual reconstruction of human metabolism to date. Scientists could use the model, known as Recon 2, to identify causes of and new treatments for diseases like cancer, diabetes and even psychiatric and neurodegenerative disorders.
Researchers propose breakthrough architecture for quantum computers
February 15, 2013 1:19 pm | News | CommentsA team of researchers in Canada has proposed a new computational model that may become the architecture for a scalable quantum computer. They say the model should use multi-particle quantum walks for universal computation. In a multi-particle quantum walk, particles live on the vertices of a graph and can move between vertices joined by an edge. Furthermore, nearby particles can interact with each other.
Agilent commits $90 million gift to Georgia Tech
February 11, 2013 8:11 am | News | CommentsAgilent Technologies Inc. announced the largest in-kind software donation ever in its longstanding relationship with the Georgia Institute of Technology. Last year, Georgia Tech dedicated a new laboratory to Agilent after the company made a substantial donation to the Institute's School of Electrical and Computer Engineering.
Missouri researchers ID largest prime number yet
February 7, 2013 10:03 am | by Heather Hollingsworth, Associated Press | News | CommentsThe University of Central Missouri said Wednesday that a group led by computer science and mathematics professor Curtis Cooper found the largest known prime number last month. The 17 million-digit number is the 48th known Mersenne prime and is the third discovered at the 11,800-student university in Warrensburg, about 50 miles east of Kansas City.
New modeling approach transforms imaging technologies
February 5, 2013 12:09 pm | by Emil Venere, Purdue University | News | CommentsResearchers are improving the performance of technologies ranging from medical computed tomography scanners to digital cameras using a system of models to extract specific information from huge collections of data and then reconstructing images like a jigsaw puzzle. The new approach is called model-based iterative reconstruction, or MBIR, and it is helping to greatly reduce the noise in data, providing great clarity at lower radiation intensities.
Corrosive behavior? There's an app for that
February 4, 2013 7:53 am | News | CommentsIt may not be as popular as Angry Birds, but the Corrosion iPhone app developed by University of Toronto engineering student Jason Tam is finding a grateful audience among professional engineers and engineering students.
Winners of annual NSF visualization competition announced
February 1, 2013 12:03 pm | News | CommentsThe National Science Foundation (NSF), along with the journal Science, this week announced the 53 winners and honorable mentions of the International Science & Technology Visualization Challenge, a contest jointly sponsored by NSF and the joournal Science. The winning entries highlight the often stunning capabilities of computer-aided visualization techniques.
Novel gene-searching software improves accuracy in disease studies
January 23, 2013 8:43 am | News | CommentsA new software tool, developed at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, streamlines the detection of disease-causing genetic changes through more sensitive detection methods and by automatically correcting for variations that reduce the accuracy of results in conventional software. The software, called ParseCNV, is freely available to the scientific-academic community.
Study: Quality of care measures can be improved for EHRs
January 16, 2013 7:55 am | News | CommentsHealth care providers and hospitals are being offered up to $27 billion in federal incentives to use electronic health records (EHRs) in ways that demonstrably improve the quality of care. The incentives are based, in part, on the ability to electronically report clinical quality measures. A new study has found ways in which quality measurement from EHRs—which are primarily designed for documentation of clinical care for individual patients—can be improved
Dow opens innovation center at the University of Illinois
January 16, 2013 7:29 am | News | CommentsThe Dow Innovation Center, a new research facility to be located at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, has recently been announced by Dow and will develop data management solutions. At the same time, Dow has entered into an industry partnership with the National Center for Supercomputing Applications, providing access to expertise and equipment which will accelerate Dow’s discovery processes.
NREL launches interactive tool for developing a cleaner energy future
January 15, 2013 2:20 pm | News | CommentsThe U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory has created an energy analysis tool to help individuals and educators experiment with future energy use scenarios. The interactive Buildings, Industry, Transportation, Electricity, and Transportation Scenarios (BITES) allows users to explore how changes in energy demand and supply can impact carbon dioxide emissions and the current U.S. energy trajectory.
Researchers see surprising twist in protein misfolding
January 14, 2013 4:40 pm | News | CommentsAn effort to develop software that unravels the complexities of how proteins fold is paying dividends in new findings on how they misfold, according to researchers at Rice University.
Netzsch to supply SpaceX’s thermal analysis laboratory instruments
January 10, 2013 10:12 am | News | CommentsNetzsch Instruments North America LLC announced that it is currently the sole supplier to Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX) of high-temperature thermal analysis instruments used to characterize material properties for space applications. The instruments will be used to fine-tune properties of existing materials and to develop new materials for use in the demanding, harsh environments of space.
Engineers work to help biologists cope with big data
January 8, 2013 10:15 am | News | CommentsIowa State University researchers have developed a microsystem instrument—a clear plastic cube, an inch or so across, just big enough to hold 10 to 20 tiny seeds. Using sophisticated sensors and software, the researchers can precisely control the light, temperature, humidity, and carbon dioxide inside the cube.
Tool developed to evaluate genome sequencing method
January 2, 2013 10:37 am | News | CommentsAdvances in biotechnologies and computer software have helped make genome sequencing much more common than in the past. But still in question are both the accuracy of different sequencing methods and the best ways to evaluate these efforts. Now, computer scientists have devised a tool to better measure the validity of genome sequencing.
Organovo partners with Autodesk
December 18, 2012 3:30 pm | News | CommentsOrganovo Holdings Inc., a creator and manufacturer of functional, 3D human tissues for medical research and therapeutic applications, is working together with researchers at Autodesk Inc. to create the first 3D design software for bioprinting.
Industrial R&D—Information & Communication Technologies
December 18, 2012 7:25 am | by Martin Grueber, Research Leader, Battelle and Tim Studt, Editorial Director, Advantage Business Media | Articles | CommentsInformation and communications technology (ICT) continues to evolve into various form factors, platforms, and system configurations. Its expanding applications base includes increasingly high-performance and cloud-based computing systems, a massive infrastructure of mobile communications, global networks of sensing systems, military and defense networks, Internet-based control systems, and many more.
Information Literacy in the Workplace
December 14, 2012 10:31 am | by Sasha Gurke, Senior Vice President and Co-Founder, Knovel, New York, N.Y | Articles | CommentsIn today's engineering environment, information literacy is essential for those preparing to enter the workplace. As more experienced engineers retire, incoming engineers increasingly have to solve problems without easy access to mentors and peers who may have the insight and information the beginners need. While graduates would like to ask advice from a more experienced colleague, they increasingly turn to other sources for help.
