Tag: RESEARCH

Researchers have created their own botnet and unleashed it on 98 servers running 3,000 copies of Windows XP to better understand how they operate. The team from ESET and Ecole Polytechnique de Montreal needed to keep the Waledac botnet from infecting other computers, and took a cue from 'Battlestar Galactica.' They physically disconnected the servers from the Ecole Polytechnique's network, and ...

While it may not garner any fashion awards, a line of climate-controlled clothing developed by an MIT student can help regulate the body's temperature. According to Co.Design, Kranthi Kiran Vistakula's ClimaWare apparel can operate for eight hours on a single charge, and the vest (pictured right) weighs the same as a pair of jeans. Vistakula's apparel, which also includes a helmet, neckwrap and ...

The trick to spurring online conversations, increasing your followers on Twitter and generally drawing attention to yourself online: be a jerk. British and Slovenian researchers have found that provocative, negative comments, or "flames," constitute the engine that drives successful social networking. The researchers monitored comments and conversations on both the BBC and Digg, using algorithms ...

Telco firm Arieso claims that its new study shows Android owners as being the most voracious devourers of mobile data in the smartphone world. Using iPhone 3G customers as a baseline, Arieso measured the usage habits of the owners of several other devices, including the iPhone 4, the BlackBerry Bold and a number of Android handsets. The study showed that iPhone 4 owners downloaded significantly ...

If you find it hard to strike up a conversation with a stranger at a bar, a team of Newcastle University students have developed "smart" beer coasters and an interactive bar top that will break the ice for you. According to the Guardian, the coasters light up blue for men and pink for women when touched by a glass. All you have to do is slide the coaster within about two feet of that guy or gal ...

We've seen our fair share of slow news days here at Switched, but, according to a computer programmer named William Tunstall-Pedoe, none in living memory has ever been quite as dull as April 11th, 1954. On that Sunday, Belgium held a general election, a Turkish academic named Abdullah Atalar was born, and a soccer player named Jack Shufflebotham died. And, apparently, that was about it. As the ...

Researchers at Cornell University have developed a new retinal prosthetic that allows blind mice to clearly see an image of a baby's face. According to Science News, Sheila Nirenberg and Chethan Pandarinath used the prosthetic to mimic the actions of the retina's photoreceptor cells, which serve as key links between the eye and the brain. In a healthy eye, these cells convert every image viewed ...

Although frequently overshadowed by fervent game-haters, scientists continue to illuminate the particularly valuable benefits of 'Tetris' and its block-dropping action. One 2009 study indicated that playing Tetris improves various mental skills. Oxford University performed a separate study in the same year that even determined the game "may reduce the symptoms of post traumatic stress disorder ...

New research from the Sleep Disorder Center at JFK Medical Center has provided media outlets with attention-grabbing headlines, such as 'Many Teens Text All Night Long.' But, thanks to its incredibly small sample size (only 40 students) and vague parameters (after "bed time"), the Center's study fails to shed any new light on the issue. Lightning-quick exchanges and 24-7 availability are now ...

Scientists continue their quest for the elusive art of mind control. Recently, researchers at UCLA and the California Institute of Technology have helped patients manipulate images on a computer by teaching them to control the firing of specific neurons in their brains. With the aid of their research team, UCLA professor of neurosurgery Itzhak Fried and Caltech neuroscientist Christof Koch ...

Doctors at McGill University Health Center in Montreal have performed the first ever robot-assisted surgery on a patient, without any direct doctor-to-patient contact. Of course, robotic surgery isn't a new approach in medicine, and, no, these 'bots aren't autonomous. Dr. Thomas Hemmerling and Dr. Armin Aprikian controlled robots named McSleepy and DaVinci, as they administered anesthesia and ...

Even The Dude wouldn't abide this one-armed robot bowler, which can be programmed to throw a strike for every frame. According to CNET, the Enhanced Automatic Robot Launcher (EARL) rolls consistent shots, throwing the ball from 10-to-24 mph and spinning it from 50-to-900 rpm. (See the 'bot launch some balls in a video after the break.) EARL is mostly used to collect data that determines bowling ...

IMEC, a Dutch research organization, has developed a wireless body area network (BAN), dubbed Human + +, which transmits data from the body, and sends alerts to a plain-old cell phone. According to New Scientist, IMEC uses electrocardiogram sensors, which are connected to a small transmitter hanging on a necklace, and short-range wireless nodes beam data every 100 milliseconds. After receiving ...

Addiction researchers at UCLA have designed a virtual meth house in 'Second Life' as part of a study looking at the triggers of addictive response. In studies like these, real addicts are often shown images or videos of drug paraphernalia or other people using, so that doctors can measure their physical and emotional responses to those cues. Second Life was chosen because it's ostensibly more ...

In San Francisco yesterday, Berkeley Bionics showed off its new eLEGS bionic exoskeleton, which will allow paraplegics to stand and walk without human assistance. The 45-pound robo-braces are made from steel and carbon fiber, and can operate for six hours on a single charge using lithium-ion battery packs, according to Engadget. The eLEGS are adjustable for users between 5'2" and 6'4" and ...