Jul 05

Canadian scientists scan your brain, know how you want to hold your hand

Posted in: research, science, Today's Chili

O Canada — your wacky scientists are at it again. And this time, the bright minds over at the University of Western Ontario have their third eye set on a certain precognitive prize. Avoiding the messier open-skull, electrode-imbedding alternative, researchers at the Centre for Brain and Mind employed functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to successfully predict the action of participants’ hands before they’d moved a muscle. After a year of brain-scanning trials, scientists learned to accurately foretell which signals were linked to one of three set actions: grabbing the top of an object, its bottom, or simply reaching out to touch it. Like our clairvoyant cousin’s previous beverage-predicting breakthrough, the spoils of this study go to prosthetic limb motion control and the paralyzed who’ll use it. We know what you’re thinking, but we’re not going to make the obvious Thing joke here. Instead, we have to wonder — What Would Ms. Cleo Do? Full release after the break, but you already knew that.

Continue reading Canadian scientists scan your brain, know how you want to hold your hand

Canadian scientists scan your brain, know how you want to hold your hand originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 05 Jul 2011 07:48:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceUniversity of Western Ontario  | Email this | Comments

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Jul 04

Cellphones are dangerous / not dangerous: cancer experts say ‘What, me worry?’

Posted in: cellphone, Medicine, research, review, science, Today's Chili

If you haven’t already gotten whiplash from the ongoing cellphone–cancer debate, a freshly released scientific review might just do the trick. In the paper, published Friday, a panel of experts from Britain, Sweden and the US conducted a thorough survey of previous studies, before concluding that existing literature is “increasingly against” the theory that cellphone use causes brain tumors in adults. The researchers also questioned the biological mechanisms underpinning this hypothesis, while acknowledging some lingering uncertainties, since data on childhood tumors and longer-term research are still lacking.

The results come just a few weeks after the World Health Organization released its own literature review, in which it claimed that cell phones should be considered “potentially carcinogenic.” But Anthony Swerdlow, a professor at Britain’s Institute of Cancer Research and leader of the most recent investigation, said his group’s work doesn’t necessarily contradict the WHO, since the latter was simply seeking to evaluate cancer risks according to its own “pre-set classification system” — under which things like pickled vegetables and coffee are also considered “potentially carcinogenic.” Unfortunately, this doesn’t mean that the debate will die down anytime soon, though Swerdlow expects more definitive conclusions within the next few years — assuming, of course, that all of our brains haven’t turned to oatmeal by then.

Cellphones are dangerous / not dangerous: cancer experts say ‘What, me worry?’ originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 04 Jul 2011 06:19:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Textually  |  sourceReuters  | Email this | Comments

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Jul 01

Scientists develop algorithm to solve Rubik’s cubes of any size

Posted in: game, Games, mit, research, Today's Chili
A computer solving a Rubik’s cube? P’shaw. Doing it in 10.69 seconds? Been there, record set. But to crack one of any size? Color us impressed. Erik Demaine of MIT claims to have done just that — he and his team developed an algorithm that applies to cubes no matter how ambitious their dimensions. Pretty early on, he realized he needed to take a different angle than he would with a standard 3 x 3 x 3 puzzle, which other scientists have tackled by borrowing computers from Google to consider all 43 quintillion possible moves — a strategy known simply as “brute force.” As you can imagine, that’s not exactly a viable solution when you’re wrestling with an 11 x 11 x 11 cube. So Demaine and his fellow researchers settled on an approach that’s actually a riff on one commonly used by Rubik’s enthusiasts, who might attempt to move a square into its desired position while leaving the rest of the cube as unchanged as possible. That’s a tedious way to go, of course, so instead the team grouped several cubies that all needed to go in the same direction, a tactic that reduced the number of moves by a factor of log n, with n representing the length of any of the cube’s sides. Since moving individual cubies into an ideal spot requires a number of moves equal to n², the final algorithm is n²/log n. If we just lost you non-math majors with that formula, rest assured that the scientists expect folks won’t be able to apply it directly, per se, though they do say it could help cube-solvers sharpen their strategy. Other that, all you overachievers out there, you’re still on your own with that 20 x 20 x 20.

Scientists develop algorithm to solve Rubik’s cubes of any size originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 01 Jul 2011 12:57:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceNew Scientist  | Email this | Comments

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Jul 01

Robert Morris, man who helped develop Unix, dies at 78

Posted in: att, operating system, OperatingSystem, os, research, security, Today's Chili
We have some somber news to bring you this morning: Robert Morris, the cryptographer who helped create Unix, has died at the age of 78. Morris began his work on the groundbreaking OS back in 1970 at AT&T’s Bell Laboratories, where he played a major role in developing Unix’s math library, password structure and encryption functions. His cryptographic exploration continued into the late 1970s, when he began writing a paper on an early encryption tool from Germany. But the paper would never see the light of day, thanks to a request from the NSA, which was concerned about potential security ramifications. Instead, the agency brought Morris on board as a computer security expert in 1986. Much of what he did for Uncle Sam remains classified, though he was involved in internet surveillance projects and cyber warfare — including what might have been America’s first cyberattack in 1991, when the US crippled Saddam Hussein’s control capabilities during the first Gulf War. Morris stayed with the NSA until 1994, when he retired to New Hampshire. He’s survived by his wife, three children and one, massive digital fingerprint.

[Image courtesy of the New York Times]

Robert Morris, man who helped develop Unix, dies at 78 originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 01 Jul 2011 08:36:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink ExtremeTech  |  sourceThe New York Times  | Email this | Comments

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Jun 29

Symantec report on mobile security concludes iOS and Android both vulnerable to attacks

Posted in: Android, Apple, enterprise, Google, ios, ipad, iPhone, research, security, smartphone, study, tablet, Today's Chili

In Symantec’s bleak, dystopian world, it doesn’t matter whether you choose Android or iOS — you’ll be making yourself vulnerable to attacks regardless of the camp you’re in. The company just concluded a study pitting iOS’s security against Android’s — an undertaking intended mainly for corporate IT staffs trying to figure out which devices they can safely issue to employees. (Curiously, despite the enterprise focus, you won’t find a single comparison against BlackBerrys.) Although iOS won higher marks when it came to thwarting traditional malware and showed a more modest advantage in terms of data loss, data integrity, and service attacks, the two platforms proved equally adept at preventing web-based attacks — and equally powerless to catch socially engineered ones. And when it came to implementing certain security measures, such as permissions-based controls, Android pulled ahead.

Ultimately, Symantec (which sells mobile security software of its own, by the by) concluded that both “are still vulnerable to many existing categories of attacks,” not least because both platforms allow users to sync with third-party apps or web services that may or may not be secure themselves. Indeed, Symantec’s thesis is that Apple’s App Store approval process helps explain its lead in the malware-blocking department. Also, in shocking news, Symantec adds that people using jailbroken are especially attractive targets for attackers, and that these devices are as vulnerable as computers. Don’t say no one warned you. Head past the break for a press release with a summary of the findings or, if you’re curious, hit the source link for a PDF version of the full report.

Continue reading Symantec report on mobile security concludes iOS and Android both vulnerable to attacks

Symantec report on mobile security concludes iOS and Android both vulnerable to attacks originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 29 Jun 2011 17:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink MacNews  |  sourceSymantec (PDF)  | Email this | Comments

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Jun 29

NC State discovery finds optimal connections 10,000 times more quickly, ResNet admins do a double take

Posted in: network, networking, research, Today's Chili, university

Ever wondered how just one message in an average Chatroulette session finds its way to whatever destination fate may deem suitable? Sure you have. As it stands, every single pulse from your Ethernet socket starts its initial journey by hunting for an optimal connection path; in some cases, that involves routing through massive ring networks crossing over untold miles of fiber optic cabling. Using traditional techniques, nailing down an optimal solution for a ring can take eons (or days, whichever you prefer), but there’s a new methodology coming out of NC State‘s den that could enable the same type of scenario to reach its natural conclusion 10,000 times faster. Dr. George Rouskas, a computer science professor and proud Wolfpacker, has just published a new paper describing the scheme, with the focal point being a “mathematical model that identifies the exact optimal routes and wavelengths for ring network designers.” More technobabble surrounding the discovery can be found in the source link below, but unfortunately, there’s no telling how long it’ll take your impending click to be addressed using conventional means. Here’s to the future, eh?

NC State discovery finds optimal connections 10,000 times more quickly, ResNet admins do a double take originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 29 Jun 2011 08:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceNC State University  | Email this | Comments

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Jun 24

BioBolt brain implant could help the paralyzed walk again

Posted in: medical, Medicine, research, Today's Chili

BioBoltControlling a cursor with your brain? Yawn. Restoring movement to paralyzed mice? Color us unimpressed. Help a wheelchair-bound man walk again using only his thoughts? Now we’re talking. That’s the goal of researchers at the University of Michigan who have developed BioBolt, a (comparatively) noninvasive implant that rests on top of the cortex rather than penetrate it. The device is inserted through an easily-covered, dime-sized hole in the skull and feeds patterns from firing neurons to a computer using your epidermis (which is showing, by the way) as a conductor. The ultimate goal of helping the paralyzed walk again is still years away but, in the meantime, it could be used to suppress seizures or diagnose diseases like Parkinson’s. Everyday this mind over matter thing sounds a little less like a load of bullpuckey.

BioBolt brain implant could help the paralyzed walk again originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 24 Jun 2011 19:55:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceTechnology Review  | Email this | Comments

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Jun 22

Thin film coating makes everlasting energy a piezoelectric possibility

Posted in: nanotechnology, power, research, Today's Chili, university

Let’s be honest, it’s no big secret that we’re running out of dead dinosaurs to fuel our lives. And with recent natural catastrophes proving atomic energy isn’t what you’d call ‘safe,’ it’s a good thing the researchers down at the RMIT University in Melbourne have been hard at work figuring out how to turn you into a self-sustained energy source. Marrying piezoelectrics with a thin film microchip coating, those scientists Down Under have for the first time identified just how much energy your pressure can generate. This is certainly not the first time the tech has been put to use — Orange UK’s been doing something similar, albeit bulkier, for the Glastonbury fest each year. What are some practical uses, you ask? Imagine a gym powered by a sea of workout-hamsters, each producing significant energy from the soles of their feet. Curious for more? Try a pacemaker that runs solely on blood pressure, or a laptop charged by banging out Facebook updates. Who knows, maybe even RIM can put this to use in its next Storm. Just sayin’.

[Image courtesy Alberto Villarreal]

Thin film coating makes everlasting energy a piezoelectric possibility originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 22 Jun 2011 02:16:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink PhysOrg  |  sourceRMIT University of Melbourne  | Email this | Comments

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Jun 21

Japanese researchers develop ‘swimming’ endoscope, we suggest being nicer to your doctor

Posted in: Japan, medical, Medicine, research, Today's Chili

Sure, pills that survey the wild and nauseating gastric landscape have been done before — but how about one that can “swim” to input from a doctor-controlled joystick? A team of Japanese researchers have successfully achieved just that, with a newer, smaller, creepier version of a device they call “Mermaid.” Ariel jokes aside, the tadpole-shaped accessory has successfully self-propelled itself around different parts of its host’s digestive tract, all while dutifully phoning home with what we presume are pictures only a licensed physician could stomach. Whether or not the entire shindig was in high definition wasn’t specified, but let’s pretend your brain didn’t just wonder precisely that.

Japanese researchers develop ‘swimming’ endoscope, we suggest being nicer to your doctor originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 21 Jun 2011 22:16:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceYahoo News / AFP  | Email this | Comments

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Jun 20

DARPA setting up a $130 million ‘virtual firing range’ to help battle cyber attacks

Posted in: hack, hacking, Online, research, security, Today's Chili, us, usa, wargadget, web

The US government is serious about online security, just ask any one of its cyber commandos. Adding to its arsenal for battling the big bad hackers, Reuters reports that DARPA is working on a National Cyber Range, which would act a standalone internet simulation engine where digital warriors can be trained and experimental ideas tested out. Lockheed Martin and Johns Hopkins University are competing to provide the final system, with one of them expected to soon get the go-ahead for a one-year trial, which, if all goes well, will be followed by DARPA unleashing its techies upon the virtual firing range in earnest next year. The cost of the project is said to run somewhere near $130 million, which might have sounded a bit expensive before the recent spate of successful hacking attacks on high profile private companies, but now seems like a rational expenditure to ensure the nuclear missile codes and the people crazy enough to use them are kept at a safe distance from one another. DARPA has a pair of other cleverly titled cybersecurity schemes up its sleeve, called CRASH and CINDER, but you’ll have to hit the source link to learn more about them.

DARPA setting up a $130 million ‘virtual firing range’ to help battle cyber attacks originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 20 Jun 2011 03:49:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink PCWorld  |  sourceReuters  | Email this | Comments

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