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Comment: Budgeting in the wrong area (Score 1) 478

by Kyrubas (#37434320) Attached to: Maine School District Gives iPad To Every Kindergartner

Treat the grade school system like the private colleges claim to treat classes: reduce the class size and improve teacher quality. Technology isn't going to be some magic bullet that enlightens the children by itself. It will only be as good as the teacher and the attention they can provide on a case by case basis.

AI

Are 625 Pixels Enough To Identify Sex? 143

Posted by timothy
from the when-tweet-analysis-fails dept.
mikejuk writes "A Spanish research team have patented a video camera and algorithm that can tell the difference between males and females based on just a 25x25 pixel image. This means that there is enough information in such low resolution images to do the job! They also demonstrate that an old AI method, linear discriminant analysis, is as good and sometimes better than more trendy methods such as Support Vector Machines..."
Biotech

Keeping bacteria awake to combat drug resistance->

Submitted by Kyrubas
Kyrubas writes "Different from antibiotic-resistant bacteria, persistent bacteria have a percentage of dormant cells at any given time which allows populations of these bacteria to wait out antibiotics. Scientist of the University of Texas' M. D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston have recently discovered part of the mechanism of bacterial persistence. HipA and HipB act as key regulatory proeins in this process.

HipB counteracts HipA by latching onto it and locking it into a shape that prevents it from shutting down the protein production. And HipB also likely hides HipA away where the bacteria's DNA is stored, keeping the HipA from even encountering the protein-producing compound, which is found mostly in the membranes and cellular fluid.

With this new information in hand, drug companies will have new avenues to take in fighting things like MSRA."
Link to Original Source

Security

Airport Security Prize Announced 381

Posted by samzenpus
from the no-screening-everyone-gets-a-bat dept.
Reservoir Hill writes "Verified Identity Pass, a firm that offers checkpoint services at airports, has announced a $500,000 award for any solution that will make airport security checks quicker and simpler for passengers. The cash prize will go to any individual, company or institution that can get customers through airport security 15% faster, at a cost of less than 25 cents per passenger, using technology or processes that will be approved by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). Passengers must not need to remove their clothes or shoes, something that slows down processing significantly. "We're looking at moving things that are conceptual or in the lab to things that we can deploy," says company spokesman Jason Slibeck and added that over 150 individuals, start-ups, defense contractors and universities have shown an interest in the prize. One promising procedure is mass spectroscopy, which involves analyzing the mass-charge ratio of ions on a swab sample taken from a passenger's clothing or air collected from around them to spot traces of substances including explosives or drugs. The Pre-Registration Package Information Sheet is available online."
Space

Self-Sufficient Lunar Habitat Designed 2

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes "Cosmos Magazine reports on a design for a lunar habitat that is 90 to 95 percent self-sufficient. The proposed habitat uses a closed-loop life support system that recycles and regenerates air, water and food, reducing the need for costly supply trips. The north pole of the moon is chosen as a location for its access to sunlight and useful resources. About 11 astronauts could live and work in the habitat for 2 to 3 years. The project would also help the environment on Earth with recycling and other sustainable practices."

System going down at 1:45 this afternoon for disk crashing.