ScienceDaily: Computer Science News

New method for tailoring optical processors

Tue, 21 May 2013 12:16:16 EDT

Physicists and engineers have unveiled a robust new method for arranging metal nanoparticles in geometric patterns that can act as optical processors that transform incoming light signals into output of a different color.

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.

Catching graphene butterflies: Dramatically changing electronic properties of world's thinnest material

Wed, 15 May 2013 13:15:15 EDT

A large international team of researchers has shown that when graphene placed on top of insulating boron nitride, or 'white graphene', the electronic properties of graphene change dramatically revealing a pattern resembling a butterfly. The pattern is referred to as the elusive Hofstadter butterfly that has been known in theory for many decades but never before observed in experiments.

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.

IT industry ignores silver surfers at its peril: Design for seniors to tap market, industry urged

Tue, 14 May 2013 10:14:14 EDT

Hardware and software vendors are foolish to ignore the needs of the growing population of older computer and information technology users, the so-called "silver surfers." US researchers offer convincing evidence that from the business perspective, seniors represent a rapidly growing sector of the market with the most disposable income to spend on these companies' products.

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.

Flawed diamonds promise sensory perfection: Electron spin extended for incredibly tiny magnetic detectors

Fri, 10 May 2013 10:21:21 EDT

By extending the coherence time of electron states to over half a second, scientists have improved the performance of one of the most potent sensors of magnetic fields on the nanoscale -- a diamond defect no bigger than a pair of atoms called a nitrogen vacancy center. The achievement is important news for nanoscale sensors and quantum computing.

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.

Spintronics discovery: Scientists find new 'magic' in magnetic material

Wed, 08 May 2013 17:19:19 EDT

Researchers have reported a fundamental finding that will help advance the development of next-generation electronics called "spintronics."

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.

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.

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.

Best of both worlds: Towards a quantum Internet with combined optical and electrical technique

Wed, 01 May 2013 13:18:18 EDT

Scientists have achieved a breakthrough in quantum science that brings the prospect of a network of ultra-powerful quantum computers -- connected via a quantum internet -- closer to reality. The team is the first to have detected the spin, or quantum state, of a single atom using a combined optical and electrical approach.

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.

New zooming technique for entering text into smartwatches

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 13:15:15 EDT

Researchers have developed a solution to the problem of entering text into the next generation of ultra-small computers. Called ZoomBoard, this text entry technique is based on the familiar QWERTY keyboard layout. Though the full keyboard is impossibly small on a watch-size display, simply tapping the screen once or twice will enlarge an individual key until it can be comfortably and accurately pressed.

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.

Revolutionary shape-changing phone curls when called

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 13:36:36 EDT

Researchers at Queen's University's Human Media Lab have developed a new smartphone -- called MorePhone -- which can morph its shape to give users a silent yet visual cue of an incoming phone call, text message or email.

Engaging online crowds in the classroom could be important tool for teaching innovation

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 13:05:05 EDT

Online crowds can be an important tool for teaching the ins and outs of innovation, educators say, even when the quality of the feedback provided by online sources doesn't always match the quantity.

Older is wiser: Study shows software developers' skills improve over time

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 11:48:48 EDT

There is a perception in some tech circles that older programmers aren't able to keep pace with rapidly changing technology, and that they are discriminated against in the software field. But a new study indicates that the knowledge and skills of programmers actually improve over time -- and that older programmers know as much (or more) than their younger peers when it comes to recent software platforms.

Do you fear you are missing out?

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 09:49:49 EDT

Does checking Twitter and Facebook to see what your friends are up to make you feel like you are missing out on all the fun? Researchers have come up with a way of measuring the modern day concept of the “fear of missing out” (FoMO).

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.

Tracking gunfire with a smartphone

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 21:38:38 EDT

A team of computer engineers has developed an inexpensive hardware module and related software that can transform an Android smartphone into a simple shooter location system.

With wave of the hand, researchers create touch-based interfaces

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 13:28:28 EDT

Researchers previously have shown that a depth camera system, such as Kinect, can be combined with a projector to turn almost any surface into a touchscreen. Now researchers have demonstrated how these touch-based interfaces can be created almost at will, with the wave of a hand. For instance, the new system enables someone to rub the arm of a sofa to "paint" a remote control for her TV.

Microelectronics: Taking the heat off microfluidic chips

Wed, 24 Apr 2013 22:23:23 EDT

Replacing a high-temperature processing technique with an infrared treatment allows the manufacture of tiny devices without damaging the polymer components.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Security holes in smartphone apps

Wed, 17 Apr 2013 09:19:19 EDT

Popular texting, messaging and microblog apps developed for the Android smartphone have security flaws that could expose private information or allow forged fraudulent messages to be posted, according to researchers.

'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.

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.

Bose-Einstein condensates evaluated for quantum computers

Thu, 11 Apr 2013 10:58:58 EDT

Physicists have examined how Bose-Einstein condensates (BEC) might be used to provide communication among the nodes of a distributed quantum computer. The researchers determined the amount of time needed for quantum information to propagate across their BEC.

Girls and math: Feelings of power can diffuse effects of negative stereotypes

Wed, 10 Apr 2013 13:15:15 EDT

New research from social psychologists suggests that feeling powerful might protect against the debilitating effects of negative stereotypes.

Faster than silicon: Redesigned material could lead to lighter, faster electronics

Wed, 10 Apr 2013 13:15:15 EDT

The same material that formed the first primitive transistors more than 60 years ago can be modified in a new way to advance future electronics, according to a new study. Chemists have developed the technology for making a one-atom-thick sheet of germanium, and found that it conducts electrons more than ten times faster than silicon and five times faster than conventional germanium.

Advancing secure communications: A better single-photon emitter for quantum cryptography

Tue, 09 Apr 2013 14:50:50 EDT

In a development that could make the advanced form of secure communications known as quantum cryptography more practical, researchers have demonstrated a simpler, more efficient single-photon emitter that can be made using traditional semiconductor processing techniques.

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.

New software identifies and stratifies risk posed by lung nodules

Mon, 08 Apr 2013 13:30:30 EDT

Scientists have developed a new software tool to noninvasively characterize pulmonary adenocarcinoma, a common type of cancerous nodule in the lungs.

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.

New camera system creates high-resolution 3-D images from up to a kilometer away

Thu, 04 Apr 2013 12:22:22 EDT

A new camera system provides high-resolution, 3-D information about objects that are typically difficult to image, from up to a kilometer away. The photo-counting depth imaging system is likely to be used for scanning static, human-made targets from afar, such as vehicles. It could also determine their speed and direction, or be used for remote examination of vegetation and the movement of rock faces, to assess potential hazards from as far as 10 km away.

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.

Building quantum states with individual silicon atoms

Wed, 03 Apr 2013 11:27:27 EDT

By introducing individual silicon atom 'defects' using a scanning tunneling microscope, scientists have coupled single atoms to form quantum states.

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.

Tablet computers acceptable for reading EEG results, study says

Fri, 29 Mar 2013 16:11:11 EDT

Physicians have shown that tablet computers can be used to analyze electroencephalogram or EEG results outside of the clinic or hospital.