60757033
submission
tcd004 writes:
Doctors are increasingly turning to big data and simple artificial intelligence when they can't find answers in traditional medical texts. Prodded by the new health care law to seek better ways to incorporate high tech into their everyday tasks, doctors are discovering the power of intelligent search engines and data mining. Artificial intelligence can be a tool to take full advantage of electronic medical records, transforming them from mere e-filing cabinets into full-fledged doctors’ aides that can deliver clinically relevant, high-quality data in real time. And tech giants are jumping on the opportunity. “Electronic health records [are] like large quarries where there’s lots of gold, and we’re just beginning to mine them,” said Dr. Eric Horvitz, who is the managing director of Microsoft Research and specializes in applying artificial intelligence in health care settings.
60592071
submission
tcd004 writes:
Google just released data on the diversity of its employees for the first time. It's a big deal, and the numbers are bleak for both gender and ethnic diversity. But it shouldn't be so hard to find capable women and minorities to fill tech jobs, argues Vivek Wadhwa. In the 70's and 80's a third of all computer sciences grads were women. What happened? The brogrammer culture won out. Wadhwa has advice on how to fix it.
60550449
submission
tcd004 writes:
You've always suspected those trailer-type portable classrooms are no good, right? It turns out you’re right. Analysis of prefabricated classrooms in Washington shows the structures often don't allow for proper ventilation, leading to terrible air quality for kids. Students in temporary classrooms have higher rates of absenteeism than those in standard classrooms. And the energy-inneficient structures often become permanent, sucking on school energy bills for decades, and requiring more upkeep than permanent classrooms. What's needed are new designs for healthy, sustainable temporary classrooms.
60548969
submission
An anonymous reader writes:
Computer science professor Daniel Lemire explains why spreadsheets shouldn't be used for important work, especially where dedicated software could do a better job. His post comes in response to evaluations of a new economics tome by Thomas Piketty, a book that is likely to be influential for years to come. Lemire writes, 'Unfortunately, like too many people, Piketty used speadsheets instead of writing sane software. On the plus side, he published his code on the negative side, it appears that Piketty’s code contains mistakes, fudging and other problems. ... Simply put, spreadsheets are good for quick and dirty work, but they are not designed for serious and reliable work. ... Spreadsheets make code review difficult. The code is hidden away in dozens if not hundreds of little cells If you are not reviewing your code carefully and if you make it difficult for others to review it, how do expect it to be reliable?'
59826725
submission
tcd004 writes:
Few sciences are more romantic than taxonomy. Imagine Darwin, perched over a nest of newly-discovered birds in the Galapagos, sketching away with a charcoal in his immortal journals. Yet Taxonomy is a dying science. DNA barcoding, which can identify species from tiny fragments of organic material, and other genetic sciences are pulling students away from the classical studies of anatomy and species classifications. As the biodiversity crisis wipes undiscovered species off the planet, so to go the scientists who count them.
59578683
submission
Velcroman1 writes:
Russian company Healbe claims that sensors on its activity tracking wristband GoBe can discern how many calories you’re consuming each day, simply by resting on your skin and monitoring the sugar level of your cells. The company has raised $1,054,127 on Indiegogo based on that pitch, and for anyone with diabetes who constantly draws blood to monitor their sugar level, the very idea is a game changer. Yet the company’s claims and the crowd-funded cash have led to widespread blowback, notably from James Robinson of Pando Daily, who has written 14 separate reports on the GoBe wristband since March 20, labeling it a scam and calling the team at Healbe “fraudsters.” To get answers, Digital Trends met with senior leadership of Healbe for the first public demonstration of the watch. In short, the GoBe appears to be a real device with real people behind it, and a real history.
59578647
submission
tcd004 writes:
Before you roll an autonomous car out on the street, you have to test. Robotics engineers at G.W. University's Autonomous Robotics & Perception Group test their autonomous car systems on a tiny racetrack, complete with jumps, a half-pipe and a loop-the-loop. The team, which specializes in computer localization technologies, has contributed to Google's Project Tango for a year. The ever-shrinking electronics that give computers, robots and cars the ability to understand 3-D space are laying the foundation for a revolution in autonomous applications.
57306917
submission
tcd004 writes:
By most estimates, more than half of global Bitcoin transactions are wagers on gambling sites. Just-Dice.com, where whales regularly make colossal bets, has handled more than $2 billion in wagers since it was founded in June 2013. All of this gambling happens in a currency that is largely unregulated, on websites set up on offshore servers, and right under the noses of officials who are unaware it exists.
43850457
submission
tcd004 writes:
Imagine this crazy scenario: A space vehicle we've sent to a distant planet to search for life touches down in an icy area. The heat from the spacecraft's internal power system warms the ice, and water forms below the landing gear of the craft. And on the landing gear is something found on every surface on planet Earth... bacteria. Lots of them. If those spore-forming bacteria found themselves in a moist environment with a temperature range they could tolerate, they might just make themselves at home and thrive and then, well... the extraterrestrial life that we'd been searching for might just turn out to be Earth life we introduced.
37951761
submission
tcd004 writes:
PBS NewsHour published an investigation into Bath Salts, the sometimes legal, little understood street drug that has been linked to bizarre and violent behavior. The chemistry behind bath salts, it turns out, is as fascinating as the side effects. Tests show that the most common application of bath salts works in two-phases with a time-release mechanism. The drug first blasts the user with dopamine, but then limits the ability of the brain to soak it back up. And, researchers think, a unique "fish hook" shaped molecule means that the drug can get locked in, and take days, or even weeks to wear off— often, too late for users who are driven to extreme violence or suicide.
22683066
submission
tcd004 writes:
An asteroid is caught in a synchronized orbit with the Earth, dancing back and forth relative to our planet as both circle the sun, a team of Canadian scientists has discovered. The object, which for now is dubbed 2010 TK7, is a "Trojan" asteroid, meaning that it is trapped in a delicate gravitational balance between a tug from the sun and an equal tug from the Earth. It's long been known that Jupiter, Neptune and Mars have Trojans orbiting alongside them, but this is the first time one has been found alongside our planet.
22656300
submission
tcd004 writes:
Russian and French teams are currently hard at work in French Guiana on the northern coast of South America, building the first Soyuz launch facility in the Western Hemisphere. Soyuz rockets normally carry 3,500 pound payloads into orbit, but from the French Guiana spaceport, the rocket will have an added benefit of being near the equator where the Earth's spin extremely fast. This extra boost allows it to deliver a 6,600 pound payload into orbit. The first launches are scheduled for October.
20820568
submission
tcd004 writes:
A report released today by the Pew Research Center's Project for Excellence in Journalism shows that the Drudge Report is a far more important driver of online news traffic than Facebook or Twitter. In fact, for the top 25 news websites, Twitter barely registers as a source of traffic. The report hits on several other interesting findings about news behavior.
18447974
submission
tcd004 writes:
The teen years are a critical "pruning" stage in the brain. Neural pathways that are needed are strengthened, and those that aren't are discarded. How is a twitter/facebook/texting/xbox lifestyle remaking the teen brain? DR. JAY GIEDD, a neuroscientist, National Institute of Mental Health is studying the affects of multitasking and constant communication on teens, and he thinks these influences may actually be building a better brain.
