http://www.sciencedaily.com/news/computers_math/information_technology/ Information Technology. Read the latest in IT research from research institutes around the world. Updated daily, full-text, images, free. en-us Wed, 25 Nov 2009 15:05:02 EST Wed, 25 Nov 2009 15:05:02 EST 60 http://www.sciencedaily.com/images/logosmall.gif http://www.sciencedaily.com/news/computers_math/information_technology/ For more science articles, visit ScienceDaily. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091122095424.htm A new application for the Android smartphone shows users and software developers how much power their applications are consuming. Tue, 24 Nov 2009 23:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091122095424.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091123114632.htm Information field theory enables astronomers, medical practitioners and geologists to look into places where their measuring instruments are blind. Tue, 24 Nov 2009 08:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091123114632.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091123094124.htm Scientists have shown how to delicately comb out a snarl of entanglements among many qubits while keeping the information intact. Tue, 24 Nov 2009 08:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091123094124.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091124181415.htm Technology designed to blast aliens in computer games is part of a new GPU (graphics processing units) computer cluster that will process research data thousands of times faster and more efficiently than a desktop PC. Tue, 24 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091124181415.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091124180617.htm Researchers have developed a unique new computer model called the Virtual StreamLab, designed to help restore real streams to a healthier state. The Virtual StreamLab demonstrates the physics of natural water flows at an unprecedented level of detail and realism. Tue, 24 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091124180617.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091124103613.htm Up to now, extreme production temperatures made it impossible to equip metallic components with RFID chips during the operating process. Researchers present a variation on a process that makes the non-destructive integration of radio chips a reality. Tue, 24 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091124103613.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091123094122.htm Scientists have used an innovative computer program to produce a more detailed global map of Mars' valley networks. It shows the networks are much more extensive than had been previously depicted. Regions that are most densely dissected by the valley networks roughly form a belt around the planet, consistent with a past climate scenario that included precipitation and the presence of an ocean covering a large portion of Mars' northern hemisphere. Mon, 23 Nov 2009 14:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091123094122.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091120095005.htm Physicists have made an important advance in electrically controlling quantum states of electrons, a step that could help in the development of quantum computing. Mon, 23 Nov 2009 05:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091120095005.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091118120309.htm All too often the knowledge acquired by software architects is unnecessarily lost. Moreover, it is difficult to simply and quickly assess the quality of software. According to researchers these problems can, however, be easily resolved. They investigated how architectural knowledge can be better disseminated and retrieved. Sat, 21 Nov 2009 17:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091118120309.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091119101046.htm Like the paperless office, the smart home has been a long time coming, but a new article suggests that radio tags coupled with mobile communications devices could soon provide seamless multimedia services to the home. Thu, 19 Nov 2009 23:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091119101046.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091118160627.htm Engineering researchers have developed a unique and robust method to prevent cloning of passive radio frequency identification tags. The technology, based on one or more unique physical attributes of individual tags rather than information stored on them, will prevent the production of counterfeit tags and thus greatly enhance both security and privacy for government agencies, businesses and consumers. Thu, 19 Nov 2009 14:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091118160627.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091118101403.htm New research points the way to a technology that might make it possible to harvest much of the wasted heat produced by everything from computer processor chips to car engines to electric power plants, and turn it into usable electricity. Thu, 19 Nov 2009 05:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091118101403.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091120000635.htm Current methods of searching audiovisual content can be a hit-and-miss affair. Manually tagging online media content is time consuming, and costly. But new ‘query by example’ methods, built on peer-to-peer (P2P) architectures, could provide the way forward for such data-intensive content searches, say European researchers. Thu, 19 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091120000635.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091119111417.htm Search engine use is not just part of our daily routines; it is also becoming part of our learning process, according to researchers. Thu, 19 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091119111417.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091118133535.htm IBM has announced significant progress toward creating a computer system that simulates and emulates the brain's abilities for sensation, perception, action, interaction and cognition, while rivaling the brain's low power and energy consumption and compact size. Scientists have performed the first near real-time cortical simulation of the brain that exceeds the scale of a cat cortex and contains 1 billion spiking neurons and 10 trillion individual learning synapses. Wed, 18 Nov 2009 17:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091118133535.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091116143619.htm It's the year 2060, and 75 percent of drivers in the Greater Los Angeles area have hydrogen fuel cell vehicles that emit only water vapor. Look into Shane Stephens-Romero's crystal ball -- a computer model called STREET -- and find that air quality has significantly improved. Greenhouse gas emissions are more than 60 percent lower than in 2009, and levels of microscopic soot and ozone are about 15 percent and 10 percent lower, respectively. Tue, 17 Nov 2009 14:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091116143619.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091116114530.htm New methods of studying avian influenza strains and visually mapping their movement around the world will help scientists more quickly learn the behavior of the pandemic H1N1 flu virus, Ohio State University researchers say. The researchers linked many powerful computer systems together to analyze enormous amounts of genetic data collected from all publicly available isolated strains of the H5N1 virus -- the cause of avian flu. Tue, 17 Nov 2009 11:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091116114530.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091116204229.htm An upgrade to a Cray XT5 high-performance computing system deployed by the Department of Energy has made the "Jaguar" supercomputer the world's fastest. Located at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Jaguar is the scientific research community's most powerful computational tool for exploring solutions to some of today's most difficult problems. The upgrade, funded with $19.9 million under the Recovery Act, will enable scientific simulations for exploring solutions to climate change and the development of new energy technologies. Tue, 17 Nov 2009 08:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091116204229.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091116103709.htm Software tools are being developed that can search and compare patient data at hospitals across Europe to find children with closely matched conditions. The doctors can then study how the matched patients at other hospitals were treated and whether that treatment was successful. The information will greatly improve doctors’ ability to choose the right path for their own patient. Tue, 17 Nov 2009 05:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091116103709.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091116094457.htm East Tennessee is now home to two of the world's three fastest computers, according to new rankings. The Top 500 list of the world's fastest supercomputers places University of Tennessee supercomputer Kraken in third place, where it also holds the title of world's fastest academic supercomputer, while Oak Ridge National Laboratory's Jaguar computer took first place overall. Tue, 17 Nov 2009 02:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091116094457.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091115134128.htm Physicists have demonstrated the first "universal" programmable quantum information processor able to run any program allowed by quantum mechanics -- the rules governing the submicroscopic world -- using two quantum bits (qubits) of information. The processor could be a module in a future quantum computer, which theoretically could solve some important problems that are intractable today. Mon, 16 Nov 2009 11:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091115134128.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091111121358.htm Research into techniques of facial biometrics, carried out by scientists in Spain, has resulted in a system that is able to recognize the facial "DNA" of every individual by determining his/her most noteworthy facial traits, with a of 95% rate of precision. Mon, 16 Nov 2009 05:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091111121358.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091111120759.htm Researchers have created the first integrated semantic search platform that integrates text, video and audio. The system can 'watch' films, 'listen' to audio and 'read' text to find relevant responses to semantic search terms. At last, computers are able to look for meaning in our multimedia searches. Mon, 16 Nov 2009 05:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091111120759.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091029162022.htm Scientists have designed smartphone technology, which includes interactive games and easy-to-use logging features, especially for elderly Chinese diabetics. Mon, 16 Nov 2009 02:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091029162022.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091116103705.htm Scientists have embraced the Grid, but businesses have held back, concerned about complexity and security. Now a European research team has built a platform opening the Grid's vast resources to business users. Mon, 16 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091116103705.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091116103703.htm A new way to access and reuse environmental data from diverse sources has been devised by European researchers. They foresee a future where environmental data and services are offered on the open market. Mon, 16 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091116103703.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091110090858.htm A number of US states now use facial recognition technology when issuing drivers licenses. Similar methods are also used to grant access to buildings and to verify the identities of international travelers. Historically, obtaining accurate results with this type of technology has been a time intensive activity. Now, researchers have developed ways to make the technology more efficient while improving accuracy. Sun, 15 Nov 2009 17:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091110090858.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091111120105.htm Researchers in Egypt have developed a technique to compress DNA sequences of the kind used in medical research so that they take up a lot less space in a computer database but without loss of information. Sun, 15 Nov 2009 11:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091111120105.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091112191704.htm New software is under development that doctors hope will help them identify brain tumors in children that will grow aggressively. Sat, 14 Nov 2009 11:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091112191704.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091104101543.htm Researchers are working to develop futuristic communications systems that could help protect frontline troops. Building on work completed recently for the UK Ministry of Defence, the project is aimed at investigating the use of arrays of highly specialized antennas that could be worn by combat troops to provide covert short-range person-to-person battleground communications. Fri, 13 Nov 2009 14:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091104101543.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091110065917.htm Natural history plans to chart life on earth, yet the discipline risks being buried under a landslide of painstakingly collected data that isn't always used. Now researchers at London's Natural History Museum have created a social networking tool called "Scratchpads" where natural historians can get together and share their data. Thu, 12 Nov 2009 17:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091110065917.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091112103423.htm A new project has resulted in much improved design methods for high performance silicon chips. Leading semiconductor chipmakers, electronic circuit developers and design automation equipment manufacturers worked closely together to tackle a series of problems much earlier in the design phase and so enhance integrated circuit design approaches. Thu, 12 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091112103423.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091110171746.htm Researchers are making progress in developing a new type of transistor that uses a finlike structure instead of the conventional flat design, possibly enabling engineers to create faster and more compact circuits and computer chips. Wed, 11 Nov 2009 14:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091110171746.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091110112444.htm When managers issue a forecast of their firm's earnings, they do not always take into account prior forecasting errors, according to new research. Wed, 11 Nov 2009 05:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091110112444.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091029141249.htm Computer scientists are using Android, the open-source mobile operating system championed by Google, to transform a cell phone into a flexible data-collection tool. Their free suite of tools, named Open Data Kit, is already used by organizations around the world that need inexpensive ways to gather information in areas with little infrastructure. Wed, 11 Nov 2009 02:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091029141249.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091111210626.htm Electronic devices can't work well unless all of the transistors, or switches, within them allow electrical current to flow easily when they are turned on. Engineers have now determined why some transistors made of organic crystals don't perform well, yielding ideas about how to make them work better. Wed, 11 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091111210626.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091110105355.htm College age students text the most, preferring it to calls or e-mail. However, new research is suggesting that the copious amounts of texting could lead to overuse injuries -- once only reserved for older adults who have spent years in front of a computer. Tue, 10 Nov 2009 23:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091110105355.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091110135413.htm Mathematicians are coupling mathematical models with information about a baby's physiology inside the womb. Combining ultrasound with powerful algorithms based on real-life data, pediatricians get critical data on the development of the fetal circulatory system, so they can determine when the baby is strong enough to survive on its own. Tue, 10 Nov 2009 20:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091110135413.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091109121203.htm If you forget your password when logging into an e-mail or online shopping website, the site will likely ask you a security question: What is your mother's maiden name? Where were you born? The trouble is that such questions are not very secure. But computer scientists are testing a new tactic that could be both easier and more secure. Mon, 09 Nov 2009 17:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091109121203.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091029150432.htm It may look like little more than fishing line, but plastic optical fiber or POF promises to revolutionize high-speed last-mile communications networks. Mon, 09 Nov 2009 02:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091029150432.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091111111301.htm A unique microchip with microscopic nail structures enable close communication between the electronics and biological cells. The new chip is a mass-producible, easy-to-use tool in electrophysiology research, for example for fundamental research on the functioning and dysfunctioning of the brain. Each micronail structure serves as a close contact-point for one cell, and contains an electrode that can very accurately record and trigger in real-time the electrical activity of an individual electrogenic cell in a network. Mon, 09 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091111111301.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091109121220.htm Materials scientists have found a way to transform a chemical long used as an electrical conductor a thin film insulator potentially useful in transistor technology and in devices such as electronic books. Mon, 09 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091109121220.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091109121209.htm Simple computerized alerts can help curb the impulse to prescribe unnecessarily expensive, heavily marketed drugs. Mon, 09 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091109121209.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091106102658.htm Researchers in Spain have designed a system for the mobility of military troops within a battlefield following the mechanisms used by ant colonies to move. The scientists have used settings of Panzer General, a commercial war video game, for the development of this software. Sat, 07 Nov 2009 17:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091106102658.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091027162009.htm Cyber criminals are using fake messages claiming to be from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation to deliver a virus capable of stealing unsuspecting victims' bank passwords and other sensitive personal information, says a computer forensics specialist. Sat, 07 Nov 2009 05:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091027162009.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091105102729.htm A team of researchers in Spain has developed a protocol to distort the user profile generated by Internet search engines, in such a way that they cannot save the searches undertaken by Internet users and thus preserve their privacy. Fri, 06 Nov 2009 08:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091105102729.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091104101628.htm The eyes may be the mirror to the soul, but the iris reveals a person's true identity. A new report demonstrates that iris recognition algorithms can maintain their accuracy even with compact images, affirming their potential for large-scale identity management applications. Thu, 05 Nov 2009 11:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091104101628.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091104101537.htm Three-dimensional computer graphics is moving into museums. Works of art are being digitally archived in 3-D, simplifying research into related artifacts and providing the public with fascinating three-dimensional displays. Thu, 05 Nov 2009 05:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091104101537.htm