Tag Archives: malaria

Editor’s Picks: Turning Futuristic Visions into Reality

By Guest PostJanuary 3, 2012Technology3d, alzheimer, avatar kinect projects, baker laboratory, breakthroughs at microsoft, cancers, catwalk, crippling diseases, education and technology, futuristic scenarios, kinect for xbox 360, laptop, magic pushes, malaria, microsoft duo breaks, microsoft home, natural user interfaces, new year, protein mystery, salmonella, steve clayton, the printing dress, university of washington, virtual world, windows azure, your living room

*As we begin the New Year, a look at some of the stories of futuristic scenarios brought to life in 2011, plus developments that promise dramatic improvements in the near future.*

REDMOND, Wash. – Jan. 3, 2012 – From revolutionizing the way we interact with computers to developing tools to speed development of cures for crippling diseases, 2011 was a year of forward-thinking breakthroughs at Microsoft. See some of the innovations introduced in 2011 and how Microsoft is working to take new technologies from the lab to the living room. (more…)

Jeopardy! Winnings Spur IBM and Scripps Research Institute Collaboration to Fight Against Malaria

By Guest PostNovember 18, 2011Science, Technologyafrica, alex l perryman, asia, clean water techniques, critical to human health, drug resistant strains, economic distress, go fight against malaria, hiv, human competitors, ibm, jeopardy game, malaria, mike pique, multi drug resistant aids, plasmodium falciparum, renewable energy materials, ruth huey, sargis dallakyan, scripps research institute, south america, stefano forli, subhash sinha, supercomputer of the people, watson computing system, world community grid, world health organization

*Project to use 2 million PCs to crunch numbers, compress 100 years of research into just one*

LA JOLLA, CA and ARMONK, NY – IBM’s Watson computing system broke new ground earlier this year when it defeated two celebrated human competitors on the Jeopardy! game show. Now, The Scripps Research Institute is hoping to do something equally novel but more critical to human health with part of the prize money from that tournament: Find a cure for drug-resistant malaria. And it’s asking for the public’s help.

To that end, Scripps Research and IBM are encouraging anyone in the world with a personal computer to join World Community Grid, a sort of “supercomputer of the people” that will crunch numbers and perform simulations for “GO Fight Against Malaria”—the project that Scripps Research and IBM have launched at https://www.worldcommunitygrid.org. (more…)

Microsoft Helps Imagine Cup Competitors Turn Golden Ideas into Golden Opportunities

By Guest PostJune 23, 2011Technologyasthma, azmo the dragon, bizspark, boon sheng ooi, chase sandmann, cy khormaee, digital spirometer, dream spark, gps technology, hotel palomar, imagine cup, imagine cup 2011 worldwide finals, malaria, malaysia, measure lung capacity, Microsoft, new york city, noela evans, one beep, radha basu, rice university students, san francisco, santa clara university, silicon valley, smart phone game, team dragon, team lifelens, team spirit, Technology, university of auckland, vinny lohan, windows phone, xilnex

*Some of the brightest young technologists in the nation visited San Francisco on Wednesday to share their ideas with venture capitalists, academics and media.*

SAN FRANCISCO – June 23, 2011 – A collection of students who want to change the world with technology pitched their ideas to Silicon Valley industry experts, academics, and media on Wednesday.

Several teams of students who will participate in the July Imagine Cup 2011 Worldwide Finals in New York City got to first showcase their projects to people who could help them refine their concepts, find markets for their ideas, and eventually find investors to provide the money they will need to turn their ideas turn into viable businesses. (more…)

Scientists Unfolding Protein Mystery, Fighting Disease with Windows Azure

By Guest PostJune 14, 2011Technologyalzheimer, baker laboratory, benchmark, cancers, chris sinco, cloud computing, computational biology labs, computing power, david baker, dennis gannon, malaria, marlin eiben, Microsoft, microsoft research extreme computing group, modern diseases, needle, nikolas sgourakis, pankaj arora, protein, salmonella, search for extraterrestrial intelligence, seti, structure and behavior of proteins, university of washington, vacation, windows azure, world class researcher with a world class problem

*Microsoft has partnered with the University of Washington’s Baker Laboratory to help scientists supercharge the computing power of their protein folding research with Windows Azure. Helping scientists get faster results could mean speeding up cures for Alzheimer’s, cancers, salmonella, and malaria.*

REDMOND, Wash. – June 14, 2011 – Cloud computing is helping biologists uncloud one of nature’s biggest mysteries: proteins.

Microsoft has partnered with the University of Washington’s Baker Laboratory, one of the world’s top computational biology labs, to give scientists access to some high-caliber computing power. That, in turn, helps them explore and understand proteins, which could eventually lead to thwarting everything from Alzheimer’s to Malaria, and from cancer to salmonella. (more…)

Computerizing Critical Information: GTRI Supports Health Resources Information Systems in Kenya and Zimbabwe

By Guest PostFebruary 13, 20111 commentHealth, Technologyafrican nations, aids, automate, christopher skeels, computer database, emory university, george bush, gtri, health care, health planning, hiv, human resource information systems, human resource management, judith wold, Kenya, kenya health work force project, khwfp, lillian carter center, malaria, martha rogers, nursing council, robert delano, software, software evaluation protocol, tuberculosis, zimbabwe

Researchers from the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) are helping to automate human resource information systems for health care professionals in two African nations, Kenya and Zimbabwe.

In collaboration with Emory University’s Lillian Carter Center for International Nursing and the Task Force for Global Health, GTRI is evaluating and advising on computer systems developed to provide information for better human resource management, policy development and health planning. (more…)

Crocodiles 168 Times More Dangerous Than Sharks

By PravdaDecember 14, 2010General, Natureakvatoria, angola, bandundu, bees, cancun, cockpit, congo, croc attacks, crocodiles, daniel philemotte, elephants, hendrik coetzee, hippos, kinshansa, lagoon, lauren faille, malaria, marine animals, Mexico, mosquito, predators, salt water crocodile, shark attacks, sharks, south african guide, stewardess, threat to humans, ukraine, yalta

The fears connected with shark attacks are stronger in the world today than those related to much more dangerous predators – crocodiles. However, crocodiles pose a greater threat to humans than sharks do.

A crocodile snatched Hendrik Coetzee, a South African guide, 35, from his kayak while he led an American expedition into the heart of Congo last week. Two American tourists could only watch the scene in horror as the guide was killed and eaten by the predator. They paddled to safety unharmed. Coetzee’s body has not been recovered.

Stories about croc attacks are just as terrible as they are hopeless. Experts say that it is possible to stay to fight off a shark, but it is much more difficult or even impossible to rescue themselves from an attacking croc. (more…)

Invisible Invasive Species Altering Ecosystems

By Guest PostDecember 10, 2010Environmentair temperatures, asian carp, australia, blue green algae, brackish diatom, climate change, cyanobacteria, dramatic fashion, ecology, ecosystems, elena litchman, european lakes, global change, great lakes, gypsy moths, invasive microbes, invasive species, lake michigan, macroorganism, malaria, microbial invaders, nitrogen fixing rhizobium, nonpathogenic microbes, north american, pathogenic parasitic fungus, portugal, scientific research, subtropical, temperate latitudes, tropical, zebra mussels

Elena Litchman, associate professor of ecology, who works at MSU's Kellogg Biological Station. Image credit: Michigan State University

EAST LANSING, Mich. — While Asian carp, gypsy moths and zebra mussels hog invasive-species headlines, many invisible invaders are altering ecosystems and flourishing outside of the limelight.

A study by Elena Litchman, Michigan State University associate professor of ecology, sheds light on why invasive microbial invaders shouldn’t be overlooked or underestimated.

“Invasive microbes have many of the same traits as their larger, ‘macro’ counterparts and have the potential to significantly impact terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems,” said Litchman, whose research appears in the December issue of Ecology Letters. “Global change can exacerbate microbial invasions, so they will likely increase in the future.” (more…)

200,000 Malaria Deaths Preventable Annually, says U of T Researcher

By Guest PostOctober 24, 2010Generalaids, assam, canada, cancer, cghr, chhattisgarh, eastern india, healthcare facilities, India, jharkhand, kenneth arrow, malaria, malaria atlas project, malaria parasite, orissa, prabhat jha, premature deaths, simon hay, symptoms, uk, v m katoch

*Deaths in India vastly underestimated*

Professor Prabhat Jha of medicine and an international team of researchers from India, Canada and the U.K. say their new studty shows the number of premature deaths from malaria in India has been vastly underestimated.

The new study is of a nationally representative sample of all deaths from any cause in India, asking family members to describe the fatal illness. Its results show that malaria accounts for about 200,000 (2 lakh) premature deaths before age 70 in India (including 80,000 children below age 15 and 120,000 adults). Previous estimates of malaria deaths were less than 10 per cent of this new figure. (more…)