ScienceDaily: Computer Modeling News

Competition in the quantum world

Sun, 19 May 2013 19:48:48 EDT

Physicists have gained a deep insight into the nature of quantum mechanical phase transitions. Scientists have simulated the competition between two rival dynamical processes at a novel type of transition between two quantum mechanical orders.

Can math models of gaming strategies be used to detect terrorism networks?

Thu, 16 May 2013 14:26:26 EDT

Mathematicians have developed a mathematical model to disrupt the flow of information in a complex real-world network, such as a terrorist organization, using minimal resources.

New software spots, isolates cyber-attacks to protect networked control systems

Tue, 14 May 2013 11:29:29 EDT

Researchers have developed a software algorithm that detects and isolates cyber-attacks on networked control systems -- which are used to coordinate transportation, power and other infrastructure across the United States.

Common myths about digital piracy busted

Tue, 14 May 2013 10:14:14 EDT

The results of a large-scale, analysis of BitTorrent file-sharing of computer games, focusing on using open methodologies, bust some of the common myths about digital piracy.

Data storage: Synchronized at the 'write time'

Mon, 13 May 2013 11:49:49 EDT

Numerical simulations show how to avoid imperfections in the next generation of high-density data storage.

Photonic quantum computers: A brighter future than ever

Mon, 13 May 2013 10:38:38 EDT

Harnessing the unique features of the quantum world promises a dramatic speed-up in information processing as compared to the fastest classical machines. Scientists have succeeded in prototyping a new and highly resource efficient model of a quantum computer -- the boson sampling computer.

Nano-breakthrough: Solving the case of the herringbone crystal

Sun, 12 May 2013 14:12:12 EDT

Leading nanoscientists created beautiful, tiled patterns with flat nanocrystals, but they were left with a mystery: Why did some sets of crystals arrange themselves in an alternating, herringbone style? To find out, they turned to experts in computer simulation.

Heady mathematics: Describing popping bubbles in a foam

Thu, 09 May 2013 14:21:21 EDT

Two applied mathematicians have found a way to mathematically describe the evolution and disappearance of a foam. Using these equations, they were able to generate a movie that shows the complex draining, popping and rearrangement of these bubbles as the foam vanishes.

People organize daily travel efficiently: Population-level study discovers small-scale details about individuals' choices

Wed, 08 May 2013 13:31:31 EDT

Studies of human mobility usually focus on either the small scale -- determining the origins, destinations and travel modes of individuals' daily commutes -- or the very large scale, such as using air-travel patterns to track the spread of epidemics over time. The large-scale studies, most of which are made possible by the vast data generated and collected by new technologies like sensors and cellphones, are very good at describing the big picture, but don't provide much detail at the individual level. Smaller-scale studies have the opposite characteristic: Their findings generally can't be scaled up from the individual to be applied broadly to populations. But a new study bridges that gap.

Speed test of quantum versus conventional computing: Quantum computer wins

Wed, 08 May 2013 12:28:28 EDT

A quantum computer system is “thousands of times faster” than conventional computing in solving an important problem type, a computer science professor finds.

Mathematical model measures hidden HIV

Wed, 08 May 2013 09:30:30 EDT

A new mathematical modeling technique reveals HIV virus may be replicating in body even when undetectable in the blood.

More than a good eye: Robot uses arms, location and more to discover objects

Mon, 06 May 2013 11:40:40 EDT

A robot can struggle to discover objects in its surroundings when it relies on computer vision alone. But by taking advantage of all of the information available to it -- an object's location, size, shape and even whether it can be lifted -- a robot can continually discover and refine its understanding of objects, say researchers.

Cyberbullying rampant among high school students: Nearly one-third of youths also report playing video/computer games for more than 3 hours a day

Sun, 05 May 2013 07:37:37 EDT

Step into a class of 30 high school students and look around. Five of them have been victims of electronic bullying in the past year. What's more, 10 of those students spend three or more hours on an average school day playing video games or using a computer for something other than school work, according to a new study.

Computer simulations reveal the energy landscape of ion channels

Fri, 03 May 2013 10:51:51 EDT

Ion channels are important drug targets. A young team of researchers investigated the opening and closing mechanisms of these channels. The time consuming calculations were performed using the high performance computer cluster, which is currently the fastest computer in Austria.

How to frustrate a quantum magnet: 16 atomic ions simulate a quantum antiferromagnet

Fri, 03 May 2013 10:50:50 EDT

Frustration crops up throughout nature when conflicting constraints on a physical system compete with one another. The way nature resolves these conflicts often leads to exotic phases of matter that are poorly understood. In a new article, researchers describe how to frustrate a quantum magnet composed of sixteen atomic ions -- to date the largest ensemble of qubits to perform a simulation of quantum matter.

Use of laser light yields versatile manipulation of a quantum bit

Wed, 01 May 2013 14:51:51 EDT

By using light, researchers have manipulated the quantum state of a single atomic-sized defect in diamond -- the nitrogen-vacancy center -- in a method that not only allows for more unified control than conventional processes, but is more versatile, and opens up the possibility of exploring new solid-state quantum systems.

Computer algorithms help find cancer connections

Wed, 01 May 2013 13:19:19 EDT

Using powerful algorithms developed by computer scientists, medical researchers have assembled the most complete genetic profile yet of acute myeloid leukemia, an aggressive form of blood cancer.

New simulation speed record on Sequoia Supercomputer

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 19:40:40 EDT

Computer scientists have set a high performance computing speed record that opens the way to the scientific exploration of complex planetary-scale systems. Scientists have announced a record-breaking simulation speed of 504 billion events per second on LLNL’s Sequoia Blue Gene/Q supercomputer, dwarfing the previous record set in 2009 of 12.2 billion events per second.

Finding a sensible balance for natural hazard mitigation with mathematical models

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 15:16:16 EDT

Uncertainty issues are paramount in assessing risks posed by natural hazards and in developing strategies to alleviate their consequences. A new model estimates the balance between costs and benefits of mitigation following natural disasters, as well as rebuilding defenses in their aftermath.

One step closer to a quantum computer

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 09:24:24 EDT

Scientists have succeeded in both initializing and reading nuclear spins, relevant to qubits for quantum computers, at room temperature.

Modeling disease spread, including flu

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 16:46:46 EDT

A collaborative research network that formed nearly 10 years ago has pioneered the use of computational and mathematical models to prepare for, detect and respond to influenza, pertussis, West Nile disease, dengue fever, cholera and other infectious disease threats.

Neuroscientists use statistical model to draft fantasy teams of neurons

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 15:41:41 EDT

This past weekend teams from the National Football League used statistics like height, weight and speed to draft the best college players, and in a few weeks, armchair enthusiasts will use similar measures to select players for their own fantasy football teams. Neuroscientists are taking a similar approach to compile "dream teams" of neurons using a statistics-based method that can evaluate the fitness of individual neurons.

Shape-shifting mobile devices

Sun, 28 Apr 2013 23:04:04 EDT

Prototype mobile devices that can change shape on-demand could lay down the foundation for creating high shape resolution devices of the future.

Computer scientists suggest new spin on origins of evolvability: Competition to survive not necessary?

Fri, 26 Apr 2013 11:56:56 EDT

Scientists have long observed that species seem to have become increasingly capable of evolving in response to changes in the environment. But computer science researchers now say that the popular explanation of competition to survive in nature may not actually be necessary for evolvability to increase.

High-volume Bitcoin exchanges less likely to fail, but more likely breached, says study

Wed, 24 Apr 2013 16:11:11 EDT

Online exchanges that trade hard currency for the cyber money Bitcoin have a 45 percent chance of failing -- often taking customer money with them. A new empirical study into the closure of Bitcoin currency exchanges found that exchanges that buy and sell a high volume of Bitcoins are less likely to shut down but more likely to suffer security breaches.

Computer game could improve sight of visually impaired children

Wed, 24 Apr 2013 08:13:13 EDT

Visually impaired children could benefit from a revolutionary new computer game being developed by a team of neuroscientists and game designers.

Virtual, squishy creatures evolve to run using evolutionary algorithms

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 13:58:58 EDT

Scientists have created a computer algorithm that can be used to witness virtual creatures evolving their squishy, muscle-like features in order to teach themselves to walk.

Scientists map all possible drug-like chemical compounds: Library of millions of small, carbon-based molecules chemists might synthesize

Mon, 22 Apr 2013 15:49:49 EDT

Drug developers may have a new tool to search for more effective medications and new materials. It's a computer algorithm that can model and catalog the entire set of lightweight, carbon-containing molecules that chemists could feasibly create in a lab.

Sporting events: Clear your memory to pick a winner

Mon, 22 Apr 2013 15:49:49 EDT

Predicting the winner of a sporting event with accuracy close to that of a statistical computer program could be possible with proper training, according to researchers.

Germanium is now laser compatible

Mon, 22 Apr 2013 10:11:11 EDT

Good news for the computer industry: a team of researchers has managed to make germanium suitable for lasers. This could enable microprocessor components to communicate using light in future, which will make the computers of the future faster and more efficient.

Mathematical models out-perform doctors in predicting cancer patients' responses to treatment

Sat, 20 Apr 2013 11:06:06 EDT

Mathematical prediction models are better than doctors at predicting the outcomes and responses of lung cancer patients to treatment, according to new research. The researcher says she considers it unethical for treatment decisions to be based solely on doctors' opinions, when these models perform so much better.

New algorithm helps evaluate, rank scientific literature

Thu, 18 Apr 2013 10:43:43 EDT

Keeping up with current scientific literature is a daunting task, considering that hundreds to thousands of papers are published each day. Now researchers have developed a computer program to help them evaluate and rank scientific articles in their field.

'Big data’ algorithm used to customize video game difficulty

Thu, 18 Apr 2013 10:42:42 EDT

Researchers have developed a computational model that can predict video game players’ in-game performance and provide a corresponding challenge they can beat, leading to quicker mastery of new skills. The advance not only could help improve user experiences with video games but also applications beyond the gaming world.

Helpful for robotics: Brain uses old information for new movements

Thu, 18 Apr 2013 09:46:46 EDT

Information from the senses has an important influence on how we move. For instance, you can see and feel when a mug is filled with hot coffee, and you lift it in a different way than if the mug were empty. Neuroscientists have discovered that the brain uses two forms of old information in order to execute new movements well. This discovery can be useful for the field of robotics.

New computational model can predict breast cancer survival

Wed, 17 Apr 2013 16:48:48 EDT

Researchers have developed a new computational model that is highly predictive of breast cancer survival and, they hope, perhaps all cancers.

A new twist for quantum systems

Wed, 17 Apr 2013 13:18:18 EDT

Physicists have developed a method for precisely controlling quantum systems by exploiting a trick that helps cats to land on their feet and motorists to fit their cars into parking spots. In the longer run, the method could lead to the development of more reliable quantum computers.

New keyboard for touchscreens enables faster thumb-typing

Wed, 17 Apr 2013 09:19:19 EDT

Scientists have created a new keyboard called KALQ that enables faster thumb-typing on touchscreen devices. They used computational optimization techniques in conjunction with a model of thumb movement to search among millions of potential layouts before identifying one that yields superior performance. A user study confirmed that, after a short amount of practice, users could type 34% faster than they could with a QWERTY layout.

'Survival of the fittest' now applies to computers: Surprising similarities found between genetic and computer codes

Tue, 16 Apr 2013 17:16:16 EDT

"Survival of the fittest" originally referred to natural selection in biological systems, but new research shows that this evolutionary theory also applies to technological systems.

Layered '2-D nanocrystals' promising new semiconductor

Tue, 16 Apr 2013 11:44:44 EDT

Researchers are developing a new type of semiconductor technology for future computers and electronics based on "two-dimensional nanocrystals" layered in sheets less than a nanometer thick that could replace today's transistors.

Mathematics provides a shortcut to timely, cost-effective interventions for HIV

Mon, 15 Apr 2013 09:59:59 EDT

Mathematical estimates of treatment outcomes can cut costs and provide faster delivery of preventative measures. South Africa is home to the largest HIV epidemic in the world with a total of 5.6 million people living with HIV. Large-scale clinical trials evaluating combination methods of prevention and treatment are often prohibitively expensive and take years to complete. In the absence of such trials, mathematical models can help assess the effectiveness of different HIV intervention combinations, as demonstrated in a new study.

Mathematical method for simulating the evolution of the solar system improved

Thu, 11 Apr 2013 11:01:01 EDT

In order to improve a simulation designed to study the evolution of the solar system through time, numerical mathematical methods have been developed. Specifically, the methods proposed enable the simulation calculations to be done faster and more accurately.

Computer scientists develop video game that teaches how to program in Java

Mon, 08 Apr 2013 14:26:26 EDT

Computer scientists have developed an immersive, first-person player video game designed to teach students in elementary to high school how to program in Java, one of the most common programming languages in use today. The researchers tested the game on a group of girls who had never been exposed to programming before.

Technique finds software bugs in surgical robots and helps developers fix flaws, ensure safety

Mon, 08 Apr 2013 10:33:33 EDT

Surgical robots could make some types of surgery safer and more effective, but proving that the software controlling these machines works as intended is problematic. Researchers have demonstrated that methods for reliably detecting software bugs and ultimately verifying software safety can be applied successfully to this breed of robot.

Don't call it vaporware: Scientists use cloud of atoms as optical memory device

Thu, 04 Apr 2013 09:28:28 EDT

Talk about storing data in the cloud. Scientists have taken this to a whole new level by demonstrating that they can store visual images within quite an ethereal memory device -- a thin vapor of rubidium atoms. The effort may prove helpful in creating memory for quantum computers.

Physicists decipher social cohesion issues

Wed, 03 Apr 2013 07:20:20 EDT

Migrations happen for a reason, not randomly. A new study, based on computer simulation, attempts to explain the effect of so-called directional migration - migration for a reason - on cooperative behaviors and social cohesion. The authors devised a computer simulation of what they refer to as selfish individuals - those who are mainly concerned with their own interests, to the exclusion of the interests of others. In this study, they propose a new migration rule, dubbed directional migration, in existing models referred to as evolutionary game theory.

Seismic hazards: Seismic simulation code speeds up

Tue, 02 Apr 2013 14:45:45 EDT

Scientists have developed a highly scalable computer code that promises to dramatically cut both research times and energy costs in simulating seismic hazards throughout California and elsewhere.

Sorting out Parkinson's protein structure: Computer modeling may offer hints for new drug-design strategies

Mon, 01 Apr 2013 11:16:16 EDT

Clumps of proteins that accumulate in brain cells are a hallmark of neurological diseases such as dementia, Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's disease. Over the past several years, there has been much controversy over the structure of one of those proteins, known as alpha synuclein. Computational scientists have now modeled the structure of that protein, most commonly associated with Parkinson's, and found that it can take on either of two proposed states -- floppy or rigid.

Mathematician publishes 2013 Major League Baseball projections

Fri, 29 Mar 2013 12:52:52 EDT

It looks like 2013 will be a thrilling season for baseball fans as four of the six divisions can be expected to deliver tight races, says a baseball guru and mathematician.

Biological transistor enables computing within living cells

Thu, 28 Mar 2013 14:24:24 EDT

Bioengineers have taken computing beyond mechanics and electronics into the living realm of biology. Scientists have used a biological transistor made from genetic material -- DNA and RNA -- in place of gears or electrons. The team calls its biological transistor the "transcriptor."

How does innovation take hold in a community? Math modeling can provide clues

Wed, 27 Mar 2013 16:35:35 EDT

Mathematical models can be used to study the spread of technological innovations among individuals connected to each other by a network of peer-to-peer influences, such as in a physical community or neighborhood.

Computer chips: Building upward safely

Wed, 27 Mar 2013 16:23:23 EDT

A computer model provides important clues for the production of tightly packed electronic components.

Superhero supercomputer helps battle autism

Tue, 26 Mar 2013 16:23:23 EDT

When it officially came online at the San Diego Supercomputer Center in early January 2012, Gordon was instantly impressive. In one demonstration, it sustained more than 35 million input/output operations per second -- then, a world record.

Mathematical butterflies provide insight into how insects fly

Mon, 25 Mar 2013 12:56:56 EDT

Researchers have developed sophisticated numerical simulations of a butterfly's forward flight.

New lung cancer study takes page from Google's playbook

Mon, 25 Mar 2013 11:11:11 EDT

A new study shows that the same sort of mathematical model that Google uses to predict which websites people want to visit may help researchers predict how lung cancer spreads through the human body.

Faster, smarter and cheaper drug discovery

Thu, 21 Mar 2013 13:19:19 EDT

Computers are now sifting through drug libraries to pick out compounds likely to clobber TB with minimal side effects to humans. Programmers have ‘taught’ the computers to understand which chemical features of a drug are associated with efficacy against TB and which are associated with toxicity to mammalian cells. The process may lead to much less trial and error in finding new therapies. The computers even rediscovered a compound reported 40 years ago to have anti-TB activity but since forgotten.

Supercomputer helps Planck mission expose ancient light

Thu, 21 Mar 2013 13:02:02 EDT

Like archeologists carefully digging for fossils, scientists with the Planck mission are sifting through cosmic clutter to find the most ancient light in the universe. The Planck space telescope has created the most precise sky map ever made of the oldest light known, harking back to the dawn of time. This light, called the cosmic microwave background, has traveled 13.8 billion years to reach us. It is so faint that Planck observes every point on the sky an average of 1,000 times to pick up its glow. The task is even more complex than excavating fossils because just about everything in our universe lies between us and the ancient light. Complicating matters further is "noise" from the Planck detectors that must be taken into account. That's where a supercomputer helps out. Supercomputers are the fastest computers in the world, performing massive amounts of calculations in a short amount of time.

Molecular geometry, new field in the making

Thu, 21 Mar 2013 08:13:13 EDT

Scientists are working towards creating a new field called Molecular Geometry which provides geometrical solutions within the study of molecules.

'Networked minds' require fundamentally new kind of economics

Wed, 20 Mar 2013 11:51:51 EDT

In their computer simulations of human evolution, scientists have discovered the emergence of the “homo socialis” with “other-regarding” preferences. The results explain some intriguing findings in experimental economics and call for a new economic theory of “networked minds”. On average, people behave more fairness-oriented and other-regarding than expected. A new theory now explains why.

Face of the future rears its head: Digital talking head expresses human emotions on demand

Tue, 19 Mar 2013 16:00:00 EDT

Meet Zoe: a digital talking head which can express human emotions on demand with "unprecedented realism" and could herald a new era of human-computer interaction.

Record simulations conducted on Lawrence Livermore supercomputer

Tue, 19 Mar 2013 14:45:45 EDT

Researchers have performed record simulations using all 1,572,864 cores of Sequoia, the largest supercomputer in the world. Sequoia, based on IBM BlueGene/Q architecture, is the first machine to exceed one million computational cores. It also is No. 2 on the list of the world's fastest supercomputers, operating at 16.3 petaflops (16.3 quadrillion floating point operations per second).