What happens when we combine the three different webs that are made for machines: the Web of Data (facts), the Web of Identities (for people data), and
the Web of Services?
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The University of Maryland Medical Center has performed the most extensive full-face transplant completed to date, including teeth, both jaws, and tongue.
The face transplant, formally called a vascularized composite allograft (VCA), was part of a 72-hour marathon of transplant activity.
The face transplant team was led by Eduardo D. Rodriguez, M.D., D.D.S., associate professor of surgery at the University of Maryland School… read more
Earth-to-Virtual Earth
May 25, 2005
Microsoft has previewed a future MSN service called Virtual Earth that’s designed to be a deeply immersive local search experience.
Users will be able to map a particular location and then search local listings for businesses nearby. Eventually, they’ll be able to click on a listing and get more information about the business.
The MSN Virtual Earth announcement followed a preview of Google Earth last Friday. Google Earth… read more
Study shows hotels’ Internet connections unsafe
October 2, 2008
An analysis of the networks in 46 hotels and survey of 147 U.S. hotels by Cornell’s School of Hotel Administration found that a majority of the hotels do not use all available tools to maintain network security.
For example, about 20 percent of the hotels surveyed still use simple hub-type systems, which are most vulnerable to hacking.
With a maximum of just over 4 billion unique addresses, the Internet will run out of Internet addresses in about 1 year’s time, due to an explosion of data about to happen to the Web — thanks largely to sensor data, smart grids, RFID and other Internet of Things data; the increase in mobile devices connecting to the Internet; and the annual growth in user-generated content… read more
We are about to supersede evolution by direct intervention in the genetic process, argues Francis Fukuyama in “Our Posthuman Future,” which discusses cloning, germ-line genetic engineering, stem cell research, neuropharmacology, anti-aging medicine, and the potential for violations of human nature from the new biotechnology.
Gliding robot designed for search and rescue
June 29, 2010
A miniature glider robot capable of jumping, gliding and perching for search and rescue or detection of forest fires have been designed by researchers at EPFL’s Laboratory of Intelligent Systems.
The robot is constructed with two spring-loaded arms fitted with pins that dig into the surface, whether it is wood or concrete. The arms snap forward to provide soft deceleration of the glider and avoid mechanical damage. A remotely… read more
Camera sees behind objects
June 2, 2005
Researchers from Stanford University and Cornell University have put together a projector-camera system that can read a playing card that is facing away from the camera.
The dual-photography system gains information from a subject by analyzing the way projected patterns of light bounce off it.
Leading geneticist Steve Jones says human evolution is over
October 9, 2008
Human evolution is grinding to a halt because of a shortage of older fathers (more likely to pass on mutations) in the West, according to Professor Steve Jones of University College London.
This is because cell divisions in males increase with age. “Every time there is a cell division, there is a chance of a mistake, a mutation, an error,” he said.
Also, as populations are becoming connected,… read more
Ai Announces the Second Learning Machine Challenge
May 28, 2002
Artificial Intelligence Research (Ai) has announced it is sponsoring the Second Learning Machine Challenge, an annual competition to promote machine learning algorithms for computerized language acquisition.
Participants will create a computer program that can perform well at a language game without knowing the syntax, grammar or rules of the language. The creator of the winning program will win a $2000 prize.
How to cool electronic devices more efficiently
April 10, 2012
A North Carolina State University researcher has developed a more efficient, less expensive way of cooling electronic devices: use a “heat spreader” made of a copper-graphene composite, attached to the electronic device using an indium-graphene interface film.
“Both the copper-graphene and indium-graphene have higher thermal conductivity, allowing the device to cool efficiently,” says Dr. Jag Kasichainula, an associate professor of materials science and engineering at NC State. Thermal conductivity is… read more
Patching the Body With Fabric From Protein
June 21, 2005
Researchers are working to create replacement human tissue from a naturally occurring protein, elastin.
In animal studies financed by the Army, Dr. Kenton Gregory, director of the Oregon Medical Laser Center, has succeeded in patching what would usually be fatal wounds to the gastrointestinal tract and other organs with living tissue that is accepted by the body and that eventually becomes part of the organ itself.
“We are… read more
Roving brain electrodes reverse paralysis in monkeys
October 16, 2008
Research with monkeys using a brain implant with 12 electrodes that were moved with piezoelectric motors has been shown potential for people paralyzed by spinal injuries to get back control of their own limbs, Washington National Primate Research Center researchers have found.
Implants like these could control prosthetic limbs more precisely because they relay signals from carefully chosen neurons, rather than having software calculate a signal from recordings of… read more
Researchers for the first time have induced robust regeneration of nerve connections that control voluntary movement after spinal cord injury, showing the potential for new therapeutic approaches to paralysis and other motor function impairments.
In a study on rodents, the UC Irvine, UC San Diego and Harvard University team achieved this breakthrough by turning back the developmental clock in a molecular pathway critical for the growth of corticospinal tract… read more
Researchers have developed a smart membrane containing tiny silica nanotubes that is capable of separating beneficial from useless or even harmful forms of a cancer-fighting drug molecule.