ScienceDaily: Computers & Math News

Computer chips: Engineers use disorder to control light on the nanoscale Posted: 02 Feb 2015 01:07 PM PST A breakthrough could lead to the more precise transfer of information in computer chips, as well as new types of optical materials for light emission and lasers.

Winding borders may enhance graphene Posted: 02 Feb 2015 11:11 AM PST Theoretical physicists show precise control of grain boundaries in graphene may give it predictable mechanical and semiconducting properties.

Whose numbers determine if a targeted cancer therapy is 'worth it? ' Posted: 02 Feb 2015 11:10 AM PST "Increasingly physicians are being presented with health economic analyses in mainstream medical journals as a means of potentially influencing their prescribing. However, it is only when you understand the multiple assumptions behind these calculations that you can see that they are by no means absolute truths," says one expert.

Wrinkle predictions: New mathematical theory may explain patterns in fingerprints, raisins, and microlenses Posted: 02 Feb 2015 10:26 AM PST As a grape slowly dries and shrivels, its surface creases, ultimately taking on the wrinkled form of a raisin. Similar patterns can be found on the surfaces of other dried materials, as well as in human fingerprints. While these patterns have long been observed in nature, and more recently in experiments, scientists have not been able to come up with a way to predict how such patterns arise in curved systems, such as microlenses.

Physician guidelines for Googling patients need revisions Posted: 02 Feb 2015 09:36 AM PST With the Internet and social media becoming woven into the modern medical practice, researchers contend that professional medical societies must update or amend their Internet guidelines to address when it is ethical to 'Google' a patient.

A phone so smart, it sniffs out disease Posted: 02 Feb 2015 09:33 AM PST Imagine a smartphone that not only finds the nearest five-star restaurant or hails a cab with a quick click, but also diagnoses illness. New technology would enable smartphones to screen their users' breath for life-threatening diseases, developers report.

Graphene displays clear prospects for flexible electronics Posted: 02 Feb 2015 08:43 AM PST Semi-transparent, flexible electronics are no longer just science-fiction thanks to graphene's unique properties, researchers have found. Researchers now show that new 2D 'designer materials' can be produced to create flexible, see-through and more efficient electronic devices.

Finding valuable materials in metallurgical dumps Posted: 02 Feb 2015 05:07 AM PST Since metallic raw materials are scarce in Germany, it is reliant on imports. Yet some of these valuable materials are lying around unnoticed in dumps. Researchers are now compiling a Germany-wide registry of these resources, which reveals where these deposits are located and what metals they contain.

Fitness game for the physically impaired Posted: 02 Feb 2015 05:07 AM PST Modern IT has the potential to make fitness training more varied for people with physical limitations. But what exactly is required? Researchers put this question to thalidomide victims, and developed new IT-based fitness training technology in close collaboration with them. The method motivates users with elements found in computer games.

Safe production in Industry 4.0 Posted: 02 Feb 2015 05:07 AM PST Production facilities and components of Industry 4.0 are linked to the Internet, networked with each other, and thus open to attack. Using an IT security laboratory, researchers offer a test environment in order to simulate attacks on this network and to detect any gaps.

Interconnected IT for business models in rural areas Posted: 02 Feb 2015 05:07 AM PST More and more people are moving from rural areas to cities, leaving behind crumbling infrastructures that make daily life difficult for those who stay. Some people are bucking this trend. Researchers are now planning to create new business models in rural areas with the help of interconnected IT.

Supercomputing reveals genetic code of cancer Posted: 02 Feb 2015 05:07 AM PST Cancer researchers must use one of the world's fastest computers to detect which versions of genes are only found in cancer cells. Every form of cancer, even every tumor, has its own distinct variants, they report.

Amazon.com benefits from collaboration between competing firms Posted: 02 Feb 2015 05:06 AM PST Online-selling pioneer Amazon.com has utilized three individual business models, by means of which it engages in productive cooperation with its competitors. By harnessing its competitors within its own business operations and by looking strategically at customer value, Amazon.com has managed to raise the size of its current markets and to create entirely new markets both for itself and for its competitors. Through its competitor cooperation-driven business model, Amazon.com utilizes the existent resources most effectively, because it involves competitors in distributing the expenses incurred by business operations.

Equations against cancer: Growing number of researchers exploring math-biology field Posted: 29 Jan 2015 09:54 AM PST Computer simulations of tumor behavior are generating new research insights -- and could lead to personalized therapies. There is a growing number of researchers worldwide exploring the field of mathematical biology, which "uses mathematical tools to generate models of biological problems," one expert explains. Building mathematical models based on the current understanding of a disease, for example, allows researchers to "test whether the assumptions are accurate."

Mental health monitoring through 'selfie' videos, social media tracking Posted: 29 Jan 2015 06:44 AM PST An innovative approach to turn any computer or smartphone with a camera into a personal mental health monitoring device has been created by researchers. The computer program can analyze "selfie" videos recorded by a webcam as the person engages with social media, to extract a number of "clues," such as heart rate, blinking rate, eye pupil radius, and head movement rate.