Echipa de specialisti de la Universitatea La Trobe din Melbourne, Australia, a urmarit modul în care se dezvolta 104 copii cu vârste cuprinse între 6 si 10 luni, catalogati ca având un risc mare de aparitie a autismului.
Apoi, când acestia au împlinit 3 ani au fost supusi unui alt consult de specialitate.
În timpul primei etape a studiului, s-au utilizat senzori pasivi plasati pe capetele copiilor, pentru a le înregistra activitatea creierului atunci când bebelusii urmareau imagini. O parte dintre imagini expuneau fetele unor oameni care se uitau direct spre copil, iar o parte, fetele unor indivizi care se uitau în alta parte.
Cei care la vârsta de 3 ani au dovedit ca nu sufera de nicio tulburare din spectrul autismului au aratat diferente clara în activitatea creierului, ca raspuns la un chip care se uita spre ei si la un altul care se uita în alta parte.
Spre deosebire de acestia, majoritatea copiilor care au dezvoltat tulburari din spectrul autismului nu au înregistrat diferente mari în activitatea creierului atunci când imaginile se schimbau. Astfel s-a constatat ca participantii la studiu care au dezvoltat autism au avut modele neobisnuite ale activitatii cerebrale, ca raspuns la contactul vizual cu o alta persoana.
Descoperirea sugereaza ca o eventuala observare a creierului ar putea prezice aparitia tulburarilor din spectrul autismului la copii, din primele 6 luni de viata.
Autismul afecteaza aproximativ 1% din populatia mondiala si include un spectru larg de tulburari, de la retard mental si incapacitate profunda de a comunica, la simptome relativ usoare precum cele create de sindromul Asperger.
Printre caracteristicile de baza ale acestor tulburari se regasesc abilitatile slabe de comunicare si dificultatile implicarii sociale. Din acest motiv ,medicii doresc diagnosticarea timpurie a autismului pentru a-i putea ajuta pe copii sa dezvolte capacitati de adaptare.
Comportamentul caracteristic autist tinde sa apara înaintea vârstei de doi ani, dar majoritatea diagnosticarilor se fac dupa aceasta vârsta.
“Imagine making solar panels by a process that looks like printing newspaper roll to roll,” said Franky So, a UF professor in the department of materials science and engineering.
Industry has eyed the roll-to-roll manufacturing process for years as a means of producing solar cells that can be integrated into the exterior of buildings, automobiles and even personal accessories such as handbags and jackets. But, to date, the photovoltaic sheets cannot muster enough energy per square inch to make them attractive to manufacturers.
The UF team has crossed the critical threshold of 8 percent efficiency in laboratory prototype solar cells, a milestone with implications for future marketability, by using a specially treated zinc oxide polymer blend as the electron charge transporting material. The full report outlining the details of their latest laboratory success in solar cell technology is published in the Dec. 18 online version of Nature Photonics.
The researchers said the innovative process they used to apply the zinc oxide as a film was key to their success. They first mixed it with a polymer so it could be spread thinly across the device, and then removed the polymer by subjecting it to intense ultraviolet light.
John Reynolds, a UF professor of chemistry working on the project, said the cells are layered with different materials that function like an electron-transporting parfait, with each of the nano-thin layers working together synergistically to harvest the sun’s energy with the highest efficiency.
Reynolds’ chemistry research group developed an additional specialized polymer coating that overlays the zinc oxide polymer blend.
“That’s where the real action is,” he said. The polymer blend creates the charges, and the zinc oxide layer delivers electrons to the outer circuit more efficiently.”
Reynolds’ chemistry research team is aligned in an ongoing collaboration with So’s materials science team, which they call “The SoRey Group.”
The most recent fruit of their collaboration will now go to Risř National Laboratory in Denmark, where researchers will replicate the materials and processes developed by the SoRey Group and test them in the roll-to-roll manufacturing process.
“This sort of thing can only happen when you have interdisciplinary groups like ours working together,” said Reynolds.
Light is one of the most promising carriers of quantum information. It is robust against decoherence because it does not interact with stray electric and magnetic fields and passes unscathed through transparent matter.
But this prized robustness is also a serious limitation. Photons do not easily interact with each other so processing the information they carry is tricky.
In recent years, however, physicists have worked out how to make photons interact using interferometers and to carry out quantum computations using the output of one interferometer as the input for another.
The trouble is that interferometers are notoriously fickle. Sneeze and they need re-calibrating. So cascades of them tend to be hard to handle.
Today, Jonathan McDonald at the Air Force Research Laboratory in Rome New York, and a few pals reveal a way round this problem.
Their idea is to make holograms of interferometers so that their properties become 'frozen' in glass. This makes them much more stable.
The researchers then plan to stack the interferometers to perform simple quantum computations. "The approach here will "lock" these interferometers within a tempered piece of glass that is resistant to environmental factors," they say.
MacDonald and co suggest using a commercial holographic material called OptiGrate to store these holograms and show how these devices could carry out simple tasks such as quantum teleportation and CNOT logic.
There are two serious limitations to this approach, however. First, these devices are not scalable. The reason is that a hologram requires a certain volume of space to carry out each computation with high fidelity. And since computations scale exponentially in quantum computers, so must the volume.
Second, these devices are not reprogrammable, at least not with today's technology. The reason is that OptiGrate is a write-once material. Re-recordable holographic media are available but not currently with the fidelity that allows this kind of work though clearly that could change in future.
Given these limitations it's easy to dismiss this idea as just another of a growing number of exotic forms of quantum computation that are gathering dust on (metaphorical) library shelves.
But there are a number of emerging applications for the kind of reliable but low-dimensional quantum computations that these devices could perform. These include quantum memory buses, quantum error correction circuits and quantum key distribution relays.
For the moment, no technology does these jobs reliably well, although there are many pretenders for this crown. The difference with McDonald and co's idea is that it ought to be possible to build these devices now with off-the-shelf technology.
In fact, it wouldn't be surprising if this paper was a forerunner for practical work being done to develop prototypes. We'll be watching!
Prototypes will be important for ironing out a number of practical question marks about this approach. For example, these holograms will have to be stacked to carry out even simple quantum computations. But nobody is quite sure whether this output from one hologram can be accurately channelled into the input for another.
“Posto fisso non ce n’è e meglio così, ché poi vi verrebbe a noia”. A pochi è sfuggito il Monti-pensiero sul tema del lavoro e la maggior parte di quelli che lo hanno sentito si sono indignati e hanno protestato con valanghe di twit e commenti su Facebook. Solo un migliaio di persone, in tutta Italia, ha percepito nel sottotesto, un sorta di incitamento a guardare il lato positivo dell’attuale situazione. Che ci sarebbe di buono nell’essere precari? Non ci si può comprare la macchina, chiedere un prestito, accendere un mutuo, fare un figlio. Però tra un contratto e l’altro si ha un sacco di tempo libero. Si può bighellonare per la città, imparare a fare la torta di mele o magari starsene in panciolle davanti al computer.
Del resto l’ultimo trend che arriva dall’America abolisce il curriculum e considera il candidato in base a interessi, passioni e reali attitudini. E quale modo migliore per accedere a tali informazioni se non cercando sui social? Se non fosse per questa ostinata tendenza a far rispettare la propria privacy. Bacheche illegibili, foto private, addirittura post e status destinati solo ad amici selezionati, per non parlare di quei twit criptici rivolti a non si sa bene chi che parlano non è chiaro di cosa.
Il vostro prossimo lavoro, magari a tempo indeterminato, potrebbe dipendere dall’ uso che fate di Facebook e Twitter. Avrete mica usato degli hashtag troppo polemici ultimamente? O retwittato articoli di giornali schierati politicamente? E quella foto in bikini con espressione maiala al mare? Sarà il caso di toglierla? Siete sicuri che dal vostro diario online traspaia l’impegno nel sociale, l’abnegazione per il lavoro e la capacità di lavorare in team e sotto stress?
No, vero? Se state pensando di pulire tutto, sappiate che ormai è troppo tardi. L’ ufficio personale dell’azienda dinamica e al passo coi tempi, detesta scoprire che avete dei segreti. E allora? Potreste cominciare a moderarvi, da oggi. Attenzione a non dedicarvi troppo ai giochi online: una posizione troppo alta nella classifica del mese potrebbe farvi passare per dei perdigiorno. Occhio a quali link mettete “ mi piace”, il pollice sollevato non è in grado di trasmettere l’ironia del vostro gesto. Condividere quotidianamente l’oroscopo di Branko potrebbe farvi sembrare troppo fatalisti, per quanto Branko non sbagli un colpo. Basta con le pose a bacetto, stop alle parolacce e ai doppi sensi. Disintossicatevi dalle foto di tenerissimi gatti e dolcissimi cani, e dite NO alla condivisione di immagini che possono urtare la sensibilità femminile. Basta anche alle dediche d’amore, ai cuoricini e agli angeli. E sarebbe ora di smetterla pure con le foto ritoccate di Schettino. Siate composti, ma creativi, pensate prima di scrivere e poi, magari, non scrivete. Oppure create un profilo mendace dove essere voi stessi e uno ufficiale dove trattenere la vostra vera natura. Ma forse per un contratto a progetto è fatica inutile. Bugia per bugia, riprendete il vostro cv, aggiungete qualche mese di lavoro in più alla mensa dei poveri, piazzate un fluente alla voce inglese e per carità, scegliete un font diverso da Comic Sans.
Curtea s-a pronuntat definitiv în cauza Soros contra Franta. Miliardarul american de origine maghiară a fost condamnat marti 27 martie 2012 pentru tranzactii financiare ilegale prin care a prejudiciat statul francez.
Afacerea ilicită a presupus cumpărarea a patru societăti recent privatizate pe care le-a vândut câteva zile mai târziu, o speculatie financiară pe care legislatia franceză nu o permite. De asemenea, la finele anului 1988, Soros a cumpărat un pachet de actiuni Societe Generale pentru suma de 50 de milioane de dolari ca apoi, în scurt timp, să vândă o parte din ele, profitul fiind de 2,3 milioane de dolari. De altfel, o asemenea procedură tipică de escrocherie financiară a fost si este folosită si în România fără ca statul român să se sesizeze. Mai mult, a reprezentat modalitatea propice de îmbogătire peste noapte cu sume uriase prin care avutia natională a fost devalizată.
Procesul s-a deschis în 1990 împotriva miliardarului Soros, suspect de a fi comis un delict de intentie profitând de o informatie privilegiată pentru a interveni pe piata bursieră.Timp de zece ani, dezbaterile pe fond au cunoscut si alte interventii în căile de atac succesiv în patru instante de judecată.La final acesta a fost declarat vinovat de către Tribunalul de Mare Instantă din Paris si condamnat în 2002 la o amendă de 2,2 milioane de euro, hotărâre confirmată în apel. Nemultumit de solutia dată de instantele franceze, miliardarul s-a adresat în anul 2006 Curtii Europene a Drepturilor Omului invocând că statul francez i-a violat drepturile si că reglementările privind bursa franceză sunt neclare si nu sunt în concordantă cu legislatia UE în materie.În anul 2007 amenda a fost redusă la 940.000 de euro.Recent, omul de afaceri american a cerut o nouă examinare a cereii sale în fata Marii Camere a Curtii compusă din 17 judecători dar această posibilitate i-a fost refuzată marti când a fost dată hotărârea definitivă.CEDO a apreciat că sentita de condamnare dată de justitia franceză lui George Soros este una fondată.
Cu toate acestea magnatul Soros este unul dintre cei mai bogati americani. El este printre primii zece miliardari în topul anului 2011al celor mai bogati americani realizat de revista Forbes magazin. De actiunile filantropice ale acestuia a beneficiat pentru studiile din străinătate de formare în elita politică a României, printr-o bursă Soros, si actualul premier Mihai Răzvan Ungureanu.
Conform noului studiu efectuat pe aproape 200.000 de persoane din 11 tari europene, oamenii credinciosi au o parere mai buna despre sine si reactioneaza mai bine în conditii de stres, comparativ cu cei non-religiosi. Cu toate acestea, fenomenul se produce doar în tari în care exista o religie oficiala, sau în zone unde populatiile împartasesc aceleasi credinte.
Multe studii au aratat ca religia aduce diferite beneficii pentru crediciosi, facându-i pe acestia sa fie fericiti si sa aiba o parere mai buna despre sine. Cu toate acestea, specialistii nu au putut afla, pâna acum, ce anume favorizeaza aceste fenomene.
Pentru a afla ce anume determina aparitia bunastarii spirituale, cercetatorul Jochen Gebauer si colegii sai de la Universitatea Humboldt din Berlin au apelat la eDarling, un site european de matrimoniale.
Atunci când si-au creat profilurile, utilizatorii site-ului au raspuns la întrebari punctuale, fiind întrebati, printre altele, si cât de calmi, veseli si multumiti sunt. Apoi, acestia au raspuns la o întrebare pe profilul lor, legata de cât de importanta este religia pentru ei.
Colectând aceste informatii de la 187.957 de persoane, cercetatorii au comparat nivelul de spiritualitate si de fericire al fiecarui individ, cu religia dominanta în tara de unde provie. Astfel s-a constat ca religia contribuie la fericirea individului doar atunci când credinta sa este împartasita de majoritatea indivizilor din comunitate.
Normal cells usually die in the lab after dividing only a few times, and many common cancers will not grow, unaltered, outside of the body.
This new technique could be the critical advance that ushers in a new era of personalized cancer medicine, and has potential application in regenerative medicine, says the study’s senior investigator, Richard Schlegel, M.D., Ph.D., chairman of the department of pathology at Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center.
“Because every tumor is unique, this advance will make it possible for an oncologist to find the right therapies that both kills a patient’s cancer and spares normal cells from toxicity,” he says. “We can test resistance as well chemosensitivity to single or combination therapies directly on the cancer cell itself.”
The research team, which also includes several scientists from the National Institutes of Health, found that adding two different substances to cancer and normal cells in a laboratory pushes them to morph into stem-like cells — adult cells from which other cells are made.
The two substances are a Rho kinase (ROCK) inhibitor and fibroblast feeder cells. ROCK inhibitors help stop cell movement, but it is unclear why this agent turns on stem cell attributes, Schlegel says. His co-investigator Alison McBride, Ph.D., of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, had discovered that a ROCK inhibitor allowed skin cells (keratinocytes) to reproduce in the laboratory while feeder cells kept them alive.
The Georgetown researchers — 13 investigators in the departments of pathology and oncology — tried ROCK inhibitors and fibroblast feeder cells on the non-keratinocyte epithelial cells that line glands and organs to see if they had any effect. They found that both were needed to produce a dramatic effect in which the cells visibly changed their shape as they reverted to a stem-like state..”
“In short, we discovered we can grow normal and tumor cells from the same patient forever, and nobody has been able to do that,” he says. “Normal cell cultures for most organ systems can’t be established in the lab, so it wasn’t possible previously to compare normal and tumor cells directly.”
The ability to immortalize cancer cells will also make biobanking both viable and relevant, Schlegel says. The researchers further discovered that the stem-like behavior in these cells is reversible. Withdrawing the ROCK inhibitor forces the cells to differentiate into the adult cells that they were initially. This “conditional immortalization” could help advance the field of regenerative medicine, Schlegel says.
However, the most immediate change in medical practice from these findings is the potential they have in “revolutionizing what pathology departments do,” Schlegel says.
“Today, pathologists don’t work with living tissue. They make a diagnosis from biopsies that are either frozen or fixed and embedded in wax,” he says. “In the future, pathologists will be able to establish live cultures of normal and cancerous cells from patients, and use this to diagnose tumors and screen treatments. That has fantastic potential.”
In tempo di crisi economica, capita che le biblioteche delle università si vedano costrette a disdire gli abbonamenti con le riviste scientifiche. Succede così, per esempio, che i ricercatori non possano più avere libero accesso agli studi pubblicati dei colleghi. E succede anche che qualcuno decida di ribellarsi contro le stesse riviste e gli editori, e chieda loro, se non di votarsi all' open access, quanto meno di cambiare le politiche di distribuzione e di abbassare i prezzi. Timothy Gowers, matematico all' Università di Cambridge e medaglia Fields 1998, per esempio, ha attaccato direttamente l'olandese Elsevier, uno degli editori più importanti in ambito scientifico (Advances in Mathematics, Journal of Algebra, Journal of Geometry and Physics, Journal of Mathematical Analysis and Applications, per citare qualche rivista). Lo ha fatto in un recente post sul suo blog, dal titolo decisamente esplicativo: “ Elsevier - my part in its downfall”.
Da qui è presto nato un vero e proprio movimento degli scienziati per boicottare l'editore, con una petizione online, The Cost of Knowledge: “ Se vuoi dichiarare pubblicamente che non supporterai più alcuna rivista Elsevier a meno di un cambio radicale del modo in cui operano, allora lo puoi fare compilando il form qui sotto”. Questa mattina, i firmatari erano già oltre 3.350 (con vari commenti) e tra i nomi spiccano quelli di altre medaglie Fields e di ricercatori di atenei del calibro di Cambridge, Oxford, Harvard e Yale. Il primo nome della lista è quello di un altro matematico: Tyler Neylon.
Il movimento si scaglia contro i prezzi – che definisce esorbitanti – e critica la pratica di vendere le riviste a pacchetti; in questo modo, si legge, le biblioteche sono costrette a comprare anche quelle che non vorrebbe. Gowers e colleghi criticano apertamente anche il sostegno di Elsevier a Sopa (Stop Online Piracy Act), a Pipa (Protect IP Act) e allo US Research Works Act.
Elsevier, dal canto suo, ha già fatto sentire la sua voce: “ Un articolo costa 10 dollari (ovvero 6,5 sterline), un prezzo che rientra nella media, e gli sconti applicati se si compra più di un articolo portano il prezzo reale di un singolo articolo a 2 dollari, molto al di sotto della media”, riporta The Guardian.
Quanto alla vendita a pacchetti, l'accusa non starebbe in piedi per la casa editrice: “ Elsevier ti permette di comprare sia un singolo articolo, sia un’intera rivista, oppure una qualsiasi combinazione di articoli da riviste diverse”, ha risposto Nick Fowler, Director of global academic relations: “ Se se ne comprano di più si ottengono dei benefit, come è prassi comune che si faccia, ma questo non significa che non si sia liberi [di non farlo]- ma allora non ci si può aspettare uno sconto”.
Insomma, Elsevier non ci sta ad essere dipinto come un nemico della scienza e ora vorrebbe parlare direttamente con i promotori del movimento. Č indubbio - ha sottolineato Fowler - che si deve fare un maggior lavoro di comunicazione.
“ All'inizio firmavano circa 200 persone al giorno, ora siamo a 600. L'unica cosa che loro hanno da perdere è la reputazione, ed è esattamente quello che stiamo erodendo”, ha detto Neylon, che sottolinea anche come gli accademici forniscano pubblicamente ricerche finanziate a riviste open access e il loro lavoro di revisione tra pari. Dopo di che, però, devono pagare Elsevier e company per avere accesso alle stesse ricerche pubblicate.
“Quello che in molti vorrebbero, me incluso, è sbarazzarsi di tutte le riviste e al loro posto avere board editoriali liberi di muoversi che forniscono un marchio di approvazione ai paper che vorrebbero apparire in siti come ArXiv, un deposito open access di articoli scientifici. Ma non è necessario avere idee così radicali per trovare la situazione attuale insoddisfacente e chiedere un cambiamento”, ha ribadito Gowers.
Difficile credere che Elsevier cambierà politica. Secondo i promotori della petizione è più probabile che lentamente avverranno una serie di piccoli cambiamenti, come il diffondersi di alternative open access con board editoriali in grado di garantire uno standard di qualità elevato.
Autoritatile au trecut la o metoda mai putin obisnuita în speranta protejarii cladirilor istorice din Greenfild Valley Heritage Park, de lânga Holywell, Flintshire.
Parcul respectiv are suprafata de 28 hectare, include ecosisteme naturale, un muzeu si o ferma, fiind detinut de Consiliul Local din Flintshire.
Din cauza actelor de vandalism facute de huliganii locali, autoritatile se gândesc sa amplaseze stupi de albine în apropierea cladirilor istorice, astfe încât orice persoana care va încerca sa distruga sau sa murdareasca un monument va deranja albinele care, odata iritate, vor trece la atac.
Chris Wright, managerul parcului, declara ca este dificil sa-i convingi pe turisti si locuitori, de asemenea, sa respecte statutul de zona protejata si, ca atare, este obligat sa adopte aceasta masura extrema.
Conducerea parcului spera ca albinele se vor stabili în zona, deoarece în împrejurimi cresc numeroase plante care le pot oferi necesarul de polen.
Planul initial al autoritatilor era acela de a înconjura cladirile cu garduri, dar masura s-a dovedit a fi mai costisitoare, iar huliganii distrugeau rapid împrejmuirile.
Albinele vor ajuta si flora locala, prin optimizarea polenizarii, iar solutia introducerii lor se înscrie în conceptul de dezvoltare durabila.
Totusi, exista unele îngrijorari legate de siguranta trecatorilor, daca albinele ar fi folosite pentru paza, deoarece în cazul în care vreo persoana ar fi întepata, ar putea exista consecinte grave.
IBM formally unveiled the fifth annual "Next in Five" – a list of innovations that have the potential to change the way people work, live and play over the next five years: You'll beam up your friends in 3-D, Batteries will breathe air to power our devices, You won’t need to be a scientist to save the planet, Your commute will be personalized, and Computers will help energize your city.
The Next Five in Five is based on market and societal trends expected to transform our lives, as well as emerging technologies from IBM’s Labs around the world that can make these innovations possible.
In the next five years, technology innovations will change people’s lives in the following ways:
You'll beam up your friends in 3-D
In the next five years, 3-D interfaces – like those in the movies – will let you interact with 3-D holograms of your friends in real time. Movies and TVs are already moving to 3-D, and as 3-D and holographic cameras get more sophisticated and miniaturized to fit into cell phones, you will be able to interact with photos, browse the Web and chat with your friends in entirely new ways.
Scientists are working to improve video chat to become holography chat - or "3-D telepresence." The technique uses light beams scattered from objects and reconstructs a picture of that object, a similar technique to the one human eyes use to visualize our surroundings.
You'll be able to see more than your friends in 3-D too. Just as a flat map of the earth has distortion at the poles that makes flight patterns look indirect, there is also distortion of data – which is becoming greater as digital information becomes “smarter” – like your digital photo album. Photos are now geo-tagged, the Web is capable of synching information across devices and computer interfaces are becoming more natural.
Scientists at IBM Research are working on new ways to visualize 3-D data, working on technology that would allow engineers to step inside designs of everything from buildings to software programs, running simulations of how diseases spread across interactive 3-D globes, and visualizing trends happening around the world on Twitter – all in real time and with little to no distortion.
Batteries will breathe air to power our devices
Ever wish you could make your laptop battery last all day without needing a charge? Or what about a cell phone that powers up by being carried in your pocket?
In the next five years, scientific advances in transistors and battery technology will allow your devices to last about 10 times longer than they do today. And better yet, in some cases, batteries may disappear altogether in smaller devices.
Instead of the heavy lithium-ion batteries used today, scientists are working on batteries that use the air we breath to react with energy-dense metal, eliminating a key inhibitor to longer lasting batteries. If successful, the result will be a lightweight, powerful and rechargeable battery capable of powering everything from electric cars to consumer devices.
But what if we could eliminate batteries alltogether?
By rethinking the basic building block of electronic devices, the transistor, IBM is aiming to reduce the amount of energy per transistor to less than 0.5 volts. With energy demands this low, we might be able to lose the battery altogether in some devices like mobile phones or e-readers.
The result would be battery-free electronic devices that can be charged using a technique called energy scavenging. Some wrist watches use this today – they require no winding and charge based on the movement of your arm. The same concept could be used to charge mobile phones. for example – just shake and dial.
You won’t need to be a scientist to save the planet
While you may not be a physicist, you are a walking sensor. In five years, sensors in your phone, your car, your wallet and even your tweets will collect data that will give scientists a real-time picture of your environment. You'll be able to contribute this data to fight global warming, save endangered species or track invasive plants or animals that threaten ecosystems around the world. In the next five years, a whole class of "citizen scientists" will emerge, using simple sensors that already exist to create massive data sets for research.
Simple observations such as when the first thaw occurs in your town, when the mosquitoes first appear, if there’s no water running where a stream should be - all this is valuable data that scientists don’t have in large sets today. Even your laptop can be used as a sensor to detect seismic activity. If properly employed and connected to a network of other computers, your laptop can help map out the aftermath of an earthquake quickly, speeding up the work of emergency responders and potentially saving lives.
IBM recently patented a technique that enables a system to accurately and precisely conduct post-event analysis of seismic events, such as earthquakes, as well as provide early warnings for tsunamis, which can follow earthquakes. The invention also provides the ability to rapidly measure and analyze the damage zone of an earthquake to help prioritize emergency response needed following an earthquake.
The company is also contributing mobile phone "apps" that allow typical citizens to contribute invaluable data to causes, like improving the quality of drinking water or reporting noise pollution. Already, an app called Creek Watch allows citizens to take a snapshot of a creek or stream, answer three simple questions about it and the data is automatically accessible by the local water authority.
Your commute will be personalized
Imagine your commute with no jam-packed highways, no crowded subways, no construction delays and not having to worry about being late for work. In the next five years, advanced analytics technologies will provide personalized recommendations that get commuters where they need to go in the fastest time. Adaptive traffic systems will intuitively learn traveler patterns and behavior to provide more dynamic travel safety and route information to travelers than is available today.
IBM researchers are developing new models that will predict the outcomes of varying transportation routes to provide information that goes well beyond traditional traffic reports, after-the fact devices that only indicate where you are already located in a traffic jam, and web-based applications that give estimated travel time in traffic.
Using new mathematical models and IBM’s predictive analytics technologies, the researchers will analyze and combine multiple possible scenarios that can affect commuters to deliver the best routes for daily travel, including many factors, such as traffic accidents, commuter's location, current and planned road construction, most traveled days of the week, expected work start times, local events that may impact traffic, alternate options of transportation such as rail or ferries, parking availability and weather.
For example, by combining predictive analytics with real-time information about current travel congestion from sensors and other data, the system could recommend better ways to get to a destination, such as how to get to a nearby mass transit hub, whether the train is predicted to be on time, and whether parking is predicted to be available at the train station. New systems can learn from regular travel patterns where you are likely to go and then integrate all available data and prediction models to pinpoint the best route.
Computers will help energize your city
Innovations in computers and data centers are enabling the excessive heat and energy that they give off to do things like heat buildings in the winter and power air conditioning in the summer. Can you imagine if the energy poured into the world's data centers could in turn be recycled for a city's use?
With up to 50 percent of the energy consumed by a modern data center goes toward air cooling. Most of the heat is then wasted because it is just dumped into the atmosphere. New technologies, such as novel on-chip water-cooling systems developed by IBM, the thermal energy from a cluster of computer processors can be efficiently recycled to provide hot water for an office or houses.
A pilot project in Switzerland involving a computer system fitted with the technology is expected to save up to 30 tons of carbon dioxide emissions per year, the equivalent of an 85 percent carbon footprint reduction. A novel network of microfluidic capillaries inside a heat sink is attached to the surface of each chip in the computer cluster, which allows water to be piped to within microns of the semiconductor material itself. By having water flow so close to each chip, heat can be removed more efficiently. Water heated to 60 °C is then passed through a heat exchanger to provide heat that is delivered elsewhere.
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