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Posts Tagged ‘scinews’

How to Build a Smarter Rock

November 21, 2013

Interesting discussion about the creation of smart rocks and smart pebbles, which allow the tracking of current. These contain a data logger embedded in either aluminum or plastic. The tricky bit is how one finds them after they have been dropped off. Some ways might be radio transmitters, metal detectors and so forth but all of these have downsides.

How to Build a Smarter #Rock? Put a data #logger into aluminum or plastic; then track via radio or metal detector
http://www.sciencemag.org/content/338/6113/1412.summary

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Tags: logger, pod57, rock, sciencemagazinefirsthalf2013, scinews

Half a Million DVDs in Your DNA | Science/AAAS | News

November 19, 2013

Half a Million DVDs in Your #DNA: Nice writeup of Goldman et al paper, highlighting 3X density incr. to >2 PB / g DNA
http://news.sciencemag.org/biology/2013/01/half-million-dvds-your-dna

Very interesting discussion outside of science about the potential of storing large quantities of archival data on DNA. The statistic is that you can store a little more than 2 petabytes in a gram of DNA. This is actually cost effective relative to magnetic tape if one wants to do storage for >500 years. However one imagines that as the price of DNA sequencing and synthesis goes down this will become more favorable, perhaps being reasonable for archival storage in the ~50 year regimen. One of the issues with DNA storage, of course, is the lack of random access and the inability to rewrite over already stored media. But for long-term archival storage DNA is considerably more stable than the magnetic storage on tape or disk.

http://news.sciencemag.org/biology/2013/01/half-million-dvds-your-dna http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v494/n7435/full/nature11875.html

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Tags: dna, pod57, sciencemagazinefirsthalf2013, scinews

Battle for the Barrel

November 19, 2013

Battle for the Barrel: Going from E10 to E25 gas (%ethanol) is a battle between #biofuel hopefuls & big #oil
https://www.sciencemag.org/content/339/6126/1374

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Tags: biofuel, energyandenvironment, pod57, sciencemagazinefirsthalf2013, scinews

Should You Mix Those Two Drugs? Ask Dr. Google | Science/AAAS | News

November 19, 2013

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23467469
Should You Mix Those Two Drugs? Ask Dr. #Google. Nice use of co-associated #search queries by @Rbaltman et al.
http://news.sciencemag.org/math/2013/03/should-you-mix-those-two-drugs-ask-dr.-google

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Tags: google, pod57, sciencemagazinefirsthalf2013, scinews, search

A Call to Cyber Arms

November 19, 2013

http://www.sciencemag.org/content/339/6123/1026

A Call to Cyber Arms: Highlights the effectiveness of #stuxnet & the potential of future cyberweapons
http://www.sciencemag.org/content/339/6123/1026 #security

Interesting discussion of various bits of computer security in relation to the United States and China. There is mention that by far the most successful weapon developed thus far is the Stuxnet virus, which has not been publicly claimed by the United States or Israel but is suggested to have originated with them. There is also mention of a Snowden-like character from China who gave an interview to a US publication in relation to the extent of Chinese hacking.

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Tags: pod57, sciencemagazinefirsthalf2013, scinews, security