Technology

Addictive Online Games Make Citizen Science A Hit

By Ladan Cockshut, Durham University A few days ago, I was an astrophysicist and contributed to a research project by organizing sunspot images in order of complexity. After I’d had enough of that, I became a biochemist and worked late into the night on a ...

Article - The Conversation - Aug 18 2014 - 11:11am

Cell Phone Morphs Into A Portable Science Lab

By Marsha Lewis, Inside Science From the classrooms to research facilities a cell phone could morph into a portable science lab. "If we could use a cellphone as a microscope that would be a very cheap and cost effective way to solve a number of our p ...

Article - Inside Science - Aug 22 2014 - 12:43pm

Engineering New Bone Growth With Implantable Tissue Scaffold

A new implantable tissue scaffold coated has been created, with bone growth factors that are released slowly over a few weeks. When applied to bone injuries or defects, this coated scaffold induces the body to rapidly form new bone that looks and behaves ...

Article - News Staff - Aug 19 2014 - 3:16pm

Cloud Technology Is The Final Piece Of The Globalization Puzzle

If you were a 1990s protester in a developed nation, you probably hate the idea of globalization, though democratization of culture and wealth have clearly been very good things. Globalization used to be controversial but by now no one sentient really thin ...

Article - News Staff - Aug 19 2014 - 8:00pm

Low-Tech: Security Flaws In Airport Backscatter X-Ray Scanners

There are several security vulnerabilities in full-body backscatter X-ray scanners deployed to U.S. airports between 2009 and 2013. In laboratory tests, researchers were able to successfully conceal firearms and plastic explosive simulants from the Rapisc ...

Article - News Staff - Aug 20 2014 - 10:00am

Crowdsourcing Competitions Often Hijacked: Study

By Charis Palmer, The Conversation Crowdsourcing competitions, popular with companies seeking to tap into groups of knowledge, are often diminished by malicious behaviour, according to a new study. The research, published today in the Journal of the Royal ...

Article - The Conversation - Aug 20 2014 - 11:00am

Screening Test Reliably Detects Inherited Immune Deficiency In Newborns

A newborn screening test for severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) reliably identifies infants with this life-threatening inherited condition, leading to prompt treatment and high survival rates. Severe combined immunodeficiency affects approximately 1 ...

Article - News Staff - Aug 20 2014 - 10:00am

Following Your Diet? A Blood Sample Can Tell

It’s possible to assess dietary compliance from a blood sample- that is useful in controlled dietary intervention studies investigating the health benefits of specific diets, since such studies have mainly relied on the participants’ self-reported dietary ...

Article - News Staff - Aug 21 2014 - 11:30am

Man And Machine: Facial Recognition System Improves Malaria Diagnostics

A method based on computer vision algorithms similar to those used in facial recognition systems combined with visualization of only the diagnostically most relevant areas can mean a big breakthrough in malaria diagnostics, according to a new paper. Table ...

Article - News Staff - Aug 24 2014 - 11:18am

Paid Editors On Wikipedia – Should You Be Worried?

Paid editors on Wikipedia – should you be worried? By Kim Osman, PhD Candidate at Queensland University of Technology Whether you trust it or ignore it, Wikipedia is one of the most popular websites in the world and accessed by millions of people every da ...

Article - The Conversation - Aug 21 2014 - 6:52pm