"We're drowning in data, but the problem is that most, if not all, of these databases are incompatible with each other"
Like the popular children's song "There's a Hole in My Bucket," in which Liza and Henry try to patch a leaking pail, researchers with the San Diego Supercomputer Center at UC San Diego are plugging a hole in ... via PhysOrg Weblog
Podcast Transcript: It sounds like something out of a bad science fiction novel. During World War II, a fungus called Tricoderma reesei ate its way through US military uniforms and tents in the South Pacific. It chewed up the cloth and used special enzymes to convert the indigestible cellulose into simple sugars. Now that infamous fungus is getting some good publicity. It looks like it might hold a key to improving the production of biofuels. [More]
Hospitals and airplanes ban the use of cell phones, because their electromagnetic transmissions can interfere with sensitive electrical devices. Could the brain also fall into that category? Of course, all our thoughts, sensations and actions arise from bioelectricity generated by neurons and transmitted through complex neural circuits inside our skull. Electrical signals between neurons generate electric fields that radiate out of brain tissue as electrical waves that can be picked up by electrodes touching a person's scalp. Measurements of such brainwaves in EEGs provide powerful insight into brain function and a valuable diagnostic tool for doctors. Indeed, so fundamental are brainwaves to the internal workings of the mind, they have become the ultimate, legal definition drawing the line between life and death.
Brainwaves change with a healthy person's conscious and unconscious mental activity and state of arousal. But scientists can do more with brainwaves than just listen in on the brain at work-they can selectively control brain function by transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS). This technique uses powerful pulses of electromagnetic radiation beamed into a person's brain to jam or excite particular brain circuits.
[More]On May 15th, come celebrate art and new technology with Rhizome at our annual benefit. To be held at fellow non-profit Participant Inc.'s new gallery space on the Lower East Side, the Benefit will feature performance and live music by Shana Moulton, High Places, and MEN (former members of electronic outfit Le Tigre). We will also honor two very important individuals: Lynn Hershman Leeson, pioneering artist, and Joshua Shachter, founder of del.icio.us, aka the web's premier social bookmarking service. All the proceeds will go towards Rhizome's programs, including our website (writing, archives, etc), commissions, exhibitions & events, and more. Buy your tickets now and support a nonprofit that needs you!
