Will computers ever use DNA instead of silicon chips?
July 28, 2008
No, it won’t happen. Even the people who are working on ways to make DNA perform calculations cannot see it happening. Take Professor Andrew Ellington at the University of Texas at Austin, who said: “I think my general opinion about DNA computing is not ‘no’ but ‘Hell, no’.”
So, how come some people believe that the future of computing lies in the molecule that provides the blueprint for how living creatures are made?
It started in the 1990s when Leonard Adleman, of the University of Southern California, came up with a way to use DNA to solve one of computing’s most difficult and complex tasks: the travelling salesman problem.
This tries to find the most efficient way to visit a set of cities so that you pass through each one as few times as possible – ideally, only once. Adleman worked out that the paths between cities could be coded into DNA.
If a path between two cities matched, those DNA strands would stick to each other. Eventually, lots of strands would match up to produce a list of cities in DNA, packed into a classic double helix. Just shaking up a test tube full of those different DNA strands did the job. It was the ultimate parallel processor.
Will computers ever use DNA instead of silicon chips?.
My grade 10 science project was on DNA computing. I had to make a presentation in front of the class and no one knew what the heck I was talking about! That was about 7 years ago.
Prototype contact lenses that include LEDs and circuits could become a tiny personal display
July 6, 2008
Your life will be flashed before your eyes | Technology | The Guardian
Babak Parviz wears contact lenses. But he’s not yet using the new contact lenses he’s made in his Seattle laboratory. Containing electronic circuits, they look like something from a science fiction movie. He’s now going to add some extremely small light emitting diodes (LEDs), helping turn his prototype contact lenses into a sophisticated personal display – the tiniest one possible.
As an assistant professor of electrical engineering at the University of Washington, Parviz works on bio-nanotechnology, self-assembly, nanofabrication and micro-electro mechanical systems. He makes tiny but functional electronic devices and, using nanotechnology and microfabrication techniques, integrates them on to polymers or glass using a process known as self-assembly.
So how did he think of making a “bionic” contact lens? “Imagine a person with that kind of research expertise and background,” says Parviz. “Imagine also the same person waking up every morning and putting a contact lens in his eye.”
Two major problems still exist though: they can’t power the thing, and the human eye can’t focus on the display. If they ever resolve those issues, this would be very cool.
Top 10 hospitality travel sites
June 27, 2008
Top 10 hospitality travel sites | Travel | guardian.co.uk
More and more travellers are abandoning hotels and hostels to stay with locals they have found through hospitality networks. Here is a round up of the best-known and most interesting organisations within this ever-growing field.
A friend told me about Couchsurfing about a year ago. At the time I had no idea what it was and the idea of sleeping at some random person’s couch seemed very strange. But you know, a lot has changed since then. The site looks decent with a lot of nice people.
‘More than just a pumped up B’: Germany celebrates recognition of the letter ß | World news | The Guardian
It has long been considered the most troublesome character in the German alphabet. But champions of the Eszett, which resembles a bloated B with a hole, were celebrating its red letter day after receiving official status following a century-long struggle for recognition.
The Eszett, or ß, which is unique to the German alphabet and is pronounced like the letter s, has been officially accepted as a lower and upper case alphabet figure by the International Organisation of Standardisation (ISO) which has granted it status in its club of “special consonants found in western European languages“.
Ah. So maß is actually pronounced like “mass”, which is commonly measured in kilograms – in which 1 kilogram (of liquid water) is 1 litre. And that’s why a maß of beer is 1 litre. That makes sense.
And all this time, I’ve been pronouncing it “mab” thinking it was the greek letter beta (β). I just avoided a potentially embarrassing and awkward moment in Germany. Thank you Internet.
Chinese-language Facebook launches
June 23, 2008
Chinese-language Facebook launches | Media | guardian.co.uk
Facebook has introduced Chinese-language versions of its social networking website, marking its first move into the world’s largest internet market.
Users in China are now directed through to zh-cn.facebook.com, offering simplified and traditional Chinese language versions, and the social networking site has also added Russian, Finnish, Portuguese, Czech and Catalan offerings.
The social networking site started its first new language versions in January this year, using professional translators to establish the basic parts of the site and then asking users to translate the rest.
That was actually quite a smart thing for them to do. By asking users, it has resulted in better translation and also saves them lots of money.
229 dead in Philippines typhoon: official
June 22, 2008
229 dead in Philippines typhoon: official
ILOILO, Philippines — At least 229 people are confirmed dead and at least six missing after Typhoon Fengshen ravaged the central and southern Philippines, Red Cross and civil defence officials said on Sunday.
The toll does not include those dead or missing from a ferry that sank in the central Philippines with about 747 people aboard. Four people have been confirmed dead and there are four survivors from that accident.
The rest are unaccounted for.The central province of Iloilo has suffered the heaviest losses after being hit by the typhoon on Saturday, with 101 dead, Philippine Red Cross chairman Richard Gordon said.
Other fatalities were recorded in the neighbouring provinces of Romblon, Cotabato, Antique and Capiz, Gordon added.The civil defence office recorded 26 fatalities in the southern island of Mindanao.
“This (toll) will definitely rise dramatically when we get the listings from the ship,” he said, referring to the Princess of the Stars ferry that sank off Sibuyan island amid rough seas on Saturday.
Floodwaters in Iloilo rose so swiftly that many residents were forced to take refuge on rooftops or in the branches of tall trees, said provincial administrator Manuel Mejorada.
I was born in Iloilo City and still have plenty of extended family living in the area, so I’ve been hearing a lot about this over the last couple days. This morning has been especially newsworthy when a ship carrying 700+ people capsized. The typhoon has been pretty devastating. The news was all over my Google Reader feeds. Iloilo is a relatively small city (though densely populated as any city is in the Philippines) and I don’t remember the last time it has garnered this much international attention.
