Information Technology

Liquid crystals are most recognized in the form of liquid crystal displays (LCDs)—found in everything from digital watches to notebook computers and flat-panel desktop monitors. But liquid crystals are far more talented than that. In the August 1 issue of the journal Science, for example, University of Wisconsin chemical engineer Nicholas Abbott reported a big step toward using them in flexible, inexpensive “smart-paper” displays, and in ultra-sensitive detectors for biomolecules or toxic chemicals.

“Diamond Graph” Corrects Long-Standing Errors of 3-D Bar Graphs

Looks can be deceiving. That’s one of the problems with today’s three-dimensional bar graph. While these graphs may look correct, researchers from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health believe they are in fact inaccurate and misleading.

Currently, the 3-D bar graph is used in countless computer programs, scientific journals, and newspapers to display financial, medical, and other information in whi

System detects tissue changes

Mammograms, X-rays and other pricey medical scans do little good if doctors can’t see the tiny changes that signal early stages of disease. But such warning signs are often too subtle to spot by eye, and too complex for computers to interpret. Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory have developed the Change Detection System, technology that highlights slight differences between digit

Simulate Network Traffic from over 1 Million Web Browsers in Near Real Time

Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology have created the fastest detailed computer simulations of computer networks ever constructed—simulating networks containing more than 5 million network elements. This work will lead to improved speed, reliability and security of future networks such as the Internet, according to Professor Richard Fujimoto, lead principal investigator of the DARPA-funded projec

A novel method of analysis has been developed that could change the way complicated documents are assessed for bias, accuracy and consistency.

The technique could be used to simplify all sorts of records. For instance long legal documents that use complex and obscure reasoning could be stripped down to their essential arguments.

It could also be used to identify inconsistencies, spotting whether arguments have been changed or contradicted or if evidence has been hidden. The m

On August 18th and 19th in Stanford, California, at Hot Chips 15 conference, the most important international event on processors architecture, mAgic VLIW will be presented: it is a revolutionary electronic component derived by technologies developed by Italian National Institute for Nuclear Physics (Infn) in the context of the special project Ape and conceived by the Italian company Ipitec, financed by Atmel. The processor will be produced by Atmel itself, a world-wide leader in the semiconducto