The Lead
Astronomers Spot Most Earth-Like Planet Yet
April 18, 2014 12:06 pm | by Alicia Chang, AP Science Writer | News | Comments
Astronomers have discovered what they say is the most Earth-like planet yet detected — a distant, rocky world that's similar in size to our own and exists in the Goldilocks zone where it's not too hot and not too cold for life. The find, announced April 17, 2014, excited planet hunters who have been scouring the Milky Way galaxy for years for potentially habitable places outside our solar system.
3-million-year-old Landscape Found beneath Greenland Ice Sheet
April 17, 2014 8:48 pm | by Joshua E. Brown, University of Vermont | News | Comments
Glaciers are commonly thought to work like a belt sander. As they move over the land they scrape...
NASA’s Rupak Biswas Sees Usable Quantum Computing before End of Decade
April 17, 2014 2:45 pm | by ISC | Articles | Comments
Quantum computing is a technology that promises to revolutionize the IT industry. Thus far,...
Nukes at Sea: Floating Plants Could Ride Out Tsunamis
April 17, 2014 7:41 am | by David L. Chandler, MIT | News | Comments
When an earthquake and tsunami struck the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant complex in 2011,...
Brain-derived Computing beyond Von Neumann
April 18, 2014 3:30 pm | by Nages Sieslack | Articles | CommentsKarlheinz Meier, professor of experimental physics at Heidelberg University’s Kirchhoff Institute of Physics, will deliver a keynote talk at the International Supercomputing Conference 2014 (ISC’14). The theme for this talk will be ‘Brain-derived computing beyond Von Neumann — achievements and challenges’. Meier is one of the co-directors of Europe’s Human Brain Project (HBP), where he will be leading a research group
Exciting Advances: Growth of HPC in the Life Sciences
April 18, 2014 3:12 pm | by Andrew Purcell | Articles | CommentsManuel Peitsch, co-founder of the Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, will chair a session on high-performance computing (HPC) in the life sciences at ISC’14 in Leipzig, Germany, in June. Peitsch is also a professor of bioinformatics at the University of Basel in Switzerland and is vice president of biological systems research at Philip Morris International.
Blood Flow in the Brain, Multi-Scale Modeling and More: Life as an Early-career HPC Researcher
April 18, 2014 2:53 pm | by Andrew Purcell | Articles | CommentsiSGTW speaks to Derek Groen, a post-doctoral researcher from the Centre for Computational Science at University College London (UCL), UK. He’ll be presenting his work into the optimization of hemodynamics simulation code at ISC’14, and he tells iSGTW why the event is not to be missed by early-career researchers.
400GbE and High Performance Computing
April 18, 2014 1:54 pm | by John D’Ambrosia | Blogs | CommentsThe last time the IEEE 802.3 Working Group addressed the “Next Rate” of Ethernet was when 10 GbE was Ethernet’s fastest rate. That effort resulted in the development of two new rates — 40 GbE and 100 GbE. The justification for two rates was that 40 GbE was intended to provide the upgrade path for servers, while 100 GbE would target network aggregation applications.
Crews Find Suspected Area of Radiation Leak, May Send Robots
April 18, 2014 12:23 pm | by Jeri Clausing, Associated Press | News | CommentsTwo months after radiation leaked from the federal government's half-mile deep nuclear waste dump in southeastern New Mexico, officials said April 17, 2014, that crews have found contamination underground in the area where waste was most recently being stored.
Close-up: Mouse Small Intestine
April 18, 2014 9:21 am | News | CommentsThis 200x image of a small intestinal section from a mouse expressing GFP-tagged non-muscle myosin II received an honorable mention in the 2013 Nikon Small World Photomicrophotography Competition. t was taken with large format image stitch using swept-field confocal fluorescence microscopy.
Shadow Portrait of NASA Rover Opportunity on Martian Slope
April 17, 2014 11:45 am | by NASA | News | CommentsNASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity caught its own silhouette in this late-afternoon image taken by the rover's rear hazard avoidance camera. This camera is mounted low on the rover and has a wide-angle lens. The image was taken looking eastward shortly before sunset
Worldwide Competition Encourages AI Breakthroughs
April 17, 2014 10:39 am | by The University of Huddersfield | News | CommentsUNIVERSITY of Huddersfield experts are in charge of a worldwide competition that is designed to encourage breakthroughs in the use of artificial intelligence for automated planning and scheduling. High performance computers at the University are being used to test the dozens of complex software...
Could Chess Robots Cause Judgment Day?
April 16, 2014 8:32 pm | by Taylor & Francis | News | CommentsNext time you play a computer at chess, think about the implications if you beat it. It could be a very sore loser! A study just published in the Journal of Experimental & Theoretical Artificial Intelligence reflects upon the growing need for autonomous technology, and suggests that humans should be very careful to prevent future systems from developing anti-social and potentially harmful behaviour.
Nuclear Engineer Receives E.O. Lawrence Award for Groundbreaking Computational Theory
April 16, 2014 2:01 pm | by Oak Ridge National Laboratory | News | CommentsOak Ridge National Laboratory researcher John Wagner has been named a 2013 recipient of the Department of Energy’s Ernest Orlando Lawrence Award for his work in advancing computer, information and knowledge sciences. Wagner, a nuclear engineer who serves as national technical director for DOE’s Nuclear Fuels Storage and Transportation Planning Project, was recognized for his leadership in the field of computational radiation transport.
Top 10 Things You Didn't Know about Brookhaven National Laboratory
April 16, 2014 1:49 pm | by Ben Dotson, Brookhaven National Lab | News | CommentsFounded on the former site of the U.S. Army’s Camp Upton in New York in 1947, the Energy Department's Brookhaven National Laboratory was originally created out of a post-war desire to explore the peaceful applications of atomic energy. Over the years, its mission has grown to encompass basic and applied research on many frontiers of science — from nuclear physics to nano-science and beyond.
SC14 Submissions for Panels Due April 25
April 16, 2014 12:41 pm | by SC Conference | News | CommentsSubmit your SC14 panel proposals by Friday, April 25. As one of the most important and heavily attended events of SC, panels should include lively and rapid-fire content with challenging questions related to high performance computing, networking, storage and associated analysis technologies for the foreseeable future.
New Study Outlines Water World Theory of Life's Origins
April 16, 2014 12:37 pm | by NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory | News | CommentsLife took root more than four billion years ago on our nascent Earth, a wetter and harsher place than now, bathed in sizzling ultraviolet rays. What started out as simple cells ultimately transformed into slime molds, frogs, elephants, humans and the rest of our planet's living kingdoms. How did it all begin?
Three Atmospheric Dragons: Low Pressure Areas around US
April 16, 2014 12:26 pm | by Rob Gutro, NASA | News | CommentsThere are three low pressure systems around the U.S. and they resemble dragons on satellite imagery. This NOAA GOES-13 and GOES-15 satellite image from March 31, 2014, shows the low pressure systems in the eastern Pacific Ocean, over the nation's Heartland, and in the eastern Atlantic Ocean. All three lows have the signature comma shape that make them appear to be curled up dragons.
Investigating Use of Google Glass in Surgical Settings
April 16, 2014 6:36 am | by International Journal of Surgery | News | CommentsAn article shows the potential applications for Google Glass in the surgical setting, particularly in relation to training. Personal portable information technology is advancing at a breathtaking speed. The authors of the study obtained a Glass device through Google's Explorer Program and have tested its applicability in their daily pediatric surgical practice.
