Feature Channels: Technology

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A new study on the use of radio-frequency identification tags on individual retail items shows that inventory accuracy decreases or diminishes over time with conventional systems that rely on barcodes and/or human counting to track inventory. The research, conducted by the RFID Research Center at the University of Arkansas, also demonstrated that the use of an RFID-enabled system could improve inventory accuracy by more than 27 percent over a 13-week period.

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Rock on as David Kushner probes how Harmonix Music Systems created the new video game "The Beatles: Rock Band."

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Electronic contact lenses may soon enable wearers to display text and images superimposed on their visual fields.

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If you are curious about the potential of quantum computing, you will want to keep your eye on “Harnessing Quantum Physics”. This is one of many panel discussions coming your way as part of the Quantum to Cosmos Festival, running on-site, online and on TV from October 15-25, 2009.

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Dr. Eran Halperin of the International Computer Science Institute (ICSI) and Tel Aviv University, and colleagues at the University of California, Berkeley have developed software that protects the privacy of individuals in genome association studies.

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A student-run group called Green Campus Enterprise has determined the carbon footprint at Michigan Technological University and is exploring strategies for reducing it.

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Northern Michigan University deployed one of the largest active WiMAX networks in the country Thursday, as it entered the 10th year of its campus-wide notebook computer program. WiMAX offers broadband wireless Internet access and is capable of transmitting data over broad areas with less interference and more efficient bandwidth use than the more common WiFi.

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Creighton files a patent for a novel, electronic program to coordinate patient health care – called eWellRx – that could improve health and reduce health costs.

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University of Chicago physicists have, for the first time, directly observed a group of atoms transform from a conducting state into an insulating state.

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The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) has won a two-year grant of nearly $1 million from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to help Birmingham City School teachers incorporate XO laptop computers into the math and science curriculum.

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Two new software programs that improve the process of identifying cancer biomarkers from gene expression data earned silver-level compatibility certification from the the National Cancer Institute’s cancer Biomedical Informatics Grid, also known as caBIG.

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University of Utah mathematicians developed a new cloaking method, and it's unlikely to lead to invisibility cloaks like those used by Harry Potter or Romulan spaceships in "Star Trek." Instead, the new method someday might shield submarines from sonar, planes from radar, buildings from earthquakes, and oil rigs and coastal structures from tsunamis.

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CMU engineering students senior design project leads to the development of the Smart Cane, a device that provides navigation cues for the blind using innovative technology.

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GTRI has released an open-source version of its popular FalconViewTM software. The program displays topographical maps, aeronautical charts, satellite images and other maps, along with overlay tools that can be displayed on any map background. The new open-source version of FalconView was described during a presentation on August 12 at the Military Open Source Software conference in Atlanta.

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Raising prospects for building a practical quantum computer, physicists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have demonstrated sustained, reliable information processing operations on electrically charged atoms (ions). The new work, described in the Aug. 6, 2009, issue of Science Express, overcomes significant hurdles in scaling up ion-trapping technology from small demonstrations to larger quantum processors.

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Patients suffering with chronic autoimmune diseases from every corner of the globe can now find one another online to provide support, share experiences, and form relationships. The new Autoimmunity Forum launched by the American Autoimmune Related Diseases Association (AARDA) is a virtual support group community nearly 400 members strong.

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The San Diego Supercomputer Center (SDSC) at the University of California, San Diego, today officially launched the Triton Resource, an integrated, data-intensive computing system primarily designed to support UC San Diego and UC researchers.

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For the Cornell University Autonomous Underwater Vehicle team, months of meticulous testing, refining and retesting has paid off: With a flawless 11.5-minute run through a complex course of underwater tasks in the final round, the team's autonomous submarine beat the competition and earned first place in the 12th annual Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International/Office of Naval Research (AUVSI/ONR) competition in San Diego Aug. 2.

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The Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP), with industry partner AGR Drilling Services, has engineered an ultra-deepwater drilling technology for use by IODP drilling vessels in scientific research. Originally developed for shallow-water oil and gas exploration, the "riserless mud recovery" technology (RMR) holds great promise for scientists striving to reach the Earth's mantle.

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By modifying a carbon nanosensor "electronic nose" invented to detect cancer, scientists at Israel's Technion have developed a way to identify chronic renal failure in its earliest stages. Such early detection could significantly slow progression of the disease, and greatly reduce the costs associated with treating it and any resulting complications.

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Nearly 40 percent of Chicago residents, especially Latinos and those aged 67 or more, have limited or no access to the Internet, according to researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Most cite cost, not lack of interest, as the reason.

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Researchers offer advice to managers about how to retain IT employees.

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When the legendary science fiction writer Isaac Asimov penned the "Three Laws of Responsible Robotics," he forever changed the way humans think about artificial intelligence, and inspired generations of engineers to take up robotics. In the current issue of journal IEEE Intelligent Systems, two engineers propose alternative laws to rewrite our future with robots.

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Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have created an innovative device called the "microfluidic palette" to produce multiple, steady-state chemical gradients"”gradual changes in concentration across an area"”in a miniature chamber about the diameter of a pinhead.

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Researchers involved in advancing artificial intelligence in robots and other systems will gather Sept. 21-23, 2009, at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in Gaithersburg, Md., to attend the ninth annual Performance Metrics for Intelligent Systems (PerMIS'09) workshop.

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Recent research into the properties of graphene nanoribbons provides two new reasons for using the material as interconnects in future computer chips. In widths as narrow as 16 nanometers, graphene has a current carrying capacity approximately a thousand times greater than copper "“ while providing improved thermal conductivity.

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Researchers have coaxed Geobacter, the sediment-loving microbe who produce electric current from mud and wastewater, to evolve a new strain. It dramatically increases power output per cell, overall bulk power, and with a thinner biofilm, cuts the time to produce electricity on the electrode.

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Solid-state lighting won't supplant the lightbulb until it can overcome the mysterious malady known as "droop."

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The voltage and speed safety margins used in running microprocessors can be reduced if they are configured to recover from the occasional error.

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Dean Kamen takes his private island off the grid.

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New computer game prototype combines work and play to help solve a fundamental problem underlying many computer hardware design tasks.

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Aliens are stealing your beloved sheep and you've got to stop them. That's the premise for TowerMadness, a new 3D iPhone game that is one of the most cheat-resistant iPhone games available, according to its three developers, all with ties to the University of California, San Diego.

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Having outlasted all expectations of its service life, the original mercury target of the Spallation Neutron Source (SNS), the Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science's record-setting neutron science facility at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, is being replaced for the first time.

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Fake Internet postcards circulating through e-mail inboxes worldwide are carrying links to the virus known as Zeus Bot, said Gary Warner, director of computer forensics at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). Zeus Bot has been named America's most pervasive computer Botnet virus by Network World magazine, reportedly infecting 3.6 million U.S. computers.

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Private information scattered all over the Internet and impossible to control. A new system, called Vanish, puts an expiry date on electronic text. Electronic communication sent using Vanish -- such as e-mail, Facebook posts and chat messages -- would have a brief lifetime and then self-destruct.

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A new book by an Indiana University School of Education professor takes a comprehensive look at how Web technology is changing worldwide education. "The World is Open: How Web Technology is Revolutionizing Education," published by Jossey-Bass/Wiley, was written by Curt Bonk, professor of instructional systems technology.

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By observing the global flow of news online, Cornell computer scientists have managed to track and analyze the "news cycle" "“ the way stories rise and fall in popularity.

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This is stunning new technology that gives physicians the ability to see the inside of the human body like they have been able to before, without opening up the patient. It's going to change the way surgeons prepare and perform surgery and the way radiation oncologists plan and deliver radiation treatment. Another application currently being worked on will allow physicians to superimpose the patient's image over the patient during surgery and perform said surgery. It's being used *exclusively* at The Methodist Hospital in Houston.

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The leading event for the microelectronics failure analysis community returns to San Jose to help engineers and technicians identify defects that are costing manufacturers millions of dollars in failed components, repairs and replacements.

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Drexel University's Rob D'Ovidio, assistant professor of criminal justice and director of the University's program in computer and digital forensics, is available to comment on cyber crime issues. D'Ovidio has worked with the New York City Police Department and the Philadelphia Police Department on research projects involving computer crime.

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The American Heart Association has pledged $50,000 to fund the work of University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) biomedical engineering undergraduate students who are working to develop a computer program that teaches CPR using hand-held remote controls from the Nintendo® Wii video game console.

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News organizations are reporting that about 35 government and commercial Web sites in South Korea and the United States have came under major attack in recent days. Suspected in the coordinated cyber attack is North Korea or its sympathizers. Heon Joo Jung, an Indiana University expert on Korean politics, is available to speak with the news media.

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The 2010 AANS Annual Scientific Meeting will be the first paperless meeting in the 78-year-history of the AANS, and the first paperless scientific meeting of a North American medical association to be conducted via the Apple iPod touch. Slated for May 1-5, 2010 at the Pennsylvania Convention Center, the AANS is expected to host an estimated 7,000 attendees.

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An assistive technology that enables individuals to maneuver a powered wheelchair or control a mouse cursor using simple tongue movements can be operated by individuals with high-level spinal cord injuries, according to the results of a recently completed clinical trial.

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Do friends wear the same style of shoe or see the same movies because they have similar tastes, which is why they became friends in the first place? Or once a friendship is established, do individuals influence each other to adopt like behaviors?

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A Mississippi State University computer science student's research led to a FBI investigation that uncovered a computer hacker planning to jeopardize health and safety of patients at a Dallas, Texas, medical clinic.

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Cyber criminals are exploiting public interest in the death of singer Michael Jackson with spam messages that infect computers with a virus able to steal bank account numbers and passwords, according to Gary Warner, UAB's director of research in computer forensics.

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Patriotic citizens looking to the skies to enjoy Independence Day fireworks might also take a moment to reflect upon the importance of our nation's eyes in the sky, the range of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) that serve such an important role in America's homeland security.

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Virginia Tech's eCorridors program and the Northwest Arctic Broadband Task Force have determined that almost 300 Alaska communities have some access to the Internet. The eCorridors group provided the back end analysis important for economic stimulus funding.

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Scientists are developing novel underwater laser networking and imaging to provide significant advantages over existing technologies to rapidly identify and communicate potential threats in murky coastal waters. When fully developed, the technology will be used onboard a group of small, co-operating underwater robots and will have extensive utility for future U.S. military operations including U.S. war fighters. Domestically, it will be used for Maritime security and environmental assessment to address some of the most critical areas in need of ocean research and technology development.