Tag: computer science
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University, Corporation Partnering on Paint-Stripping Robots
National Robotics Engineering Center at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh and Concurrent Technologies Corporation in Johnstown, Pennsylvania are developing robotic systems with lasers to strip paint from aircraft. The two-year project is funded by a contract from the National Defense Center for Energy and Environment, part of the U.S. Department of Defense, with participation from the…
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Online Health Info Access Linked to Clinical Services Use
Researchers with Kaiser Permanente in Denver, Colorado found health plan members with access to their medical records and the ability to communicate online with clinicians made more use of clinical services than members without online access. The findings of the team from Kaiser Permanente’s Institute of Health Research appear in the 21 November issue of…
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Special: Patent Office Director — Software Patents Working
U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) director David Kappos pushed back at complaints about software patents harming American innovation, saying the current patent system has generated “an explosion of innovation.” Kappos discussed software patents today in a speech to the progressive think tank Center for American Progress in Washington, D.C. Kappos answered charges that the…
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Algorithm Improves Brain-Controlled Cursor Movements
Engineers, neuroscientists, and computer scientists in the U.S. and U.K. designed an algorithm offering more sensitive and accurate control of a computer display cursor controlled by thoughts. The team led by Krishna Shenoy, Stanford University professor of neurobiology and engineering, published its findings online yesterday in the journal Nature Neuroscience (paid subscription required), and aims…
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More U.S. Primary Doctors Using Electronic Health Records
A greater percentage of primary care doctors in the U.S. now use electronic medical records in their practices, according to an international survey by the Commonwealth Fund, but lag in other indicators of affordability and administrative time. The survey findings were reported online today in the journal Health Affairs. The research team, led by Commonwealth…
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Swine Genome Offers Insights for Agriculture, Medicine
An analysis of the pig genome by an international consortium highlights genetic mechanisms that can improve breeding practices and show similarities with humans for development of drugs. The findings by the International Swine Genome Sequence Consortium appear online in the journals Nature and Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The researchers from North America,…
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Wear-Resistant Diamond Tip Created for Nano-Manufacturing
Engineers at University of Illinois, University of Pennsylvania, and Advanced Diamond Technologies Inc. in Romeoville, Illinois, developed a diamond tip for nanoscale lithography better able to meet heat and wear demands of semiconductor manufacturing. The team led by Illinois engineering professor William King (pictured left) published its findings yesterday online in the journal Nanotechnology; free…
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Method Devised to Improve Wireless Network Efficiency
Engineers at University of California in Riverside developed a method they say can double the efficiency of mobile wireless networks. Riverside electrical engineering professors Yingbo Hua and Ping Liang, with three graduate students, published their findings in a recent online issue of the journal IEEE Signal Processing Letters. The proliferation of smartphones and tablets is…
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Metamaterials Enhanced to Improve Invisibility Functions
Researchers at Duke University in North Carolina improved the invisibility functions of materials engineered to deflect light waves and hide objects from view, with potential uses in fiber optic communications. Engineering graduate student Nathan Landy and professor David Smith published their findings online yesterday in the journal Nature Materials (paid subscription required). In 2006, Smith…
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Cloud Computing Harnessed for Cancer Data Analysis
Researchers at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore will collect large volumes of cancer data, down to the level of individual cells, using cloud computing to amass and analyze the data. The team of engineering and medical researchers is led by Denis Wirtz, associate director of Johns Hopkins’s Institute for NanoBio Technology, and funded by a…