Blog: Golden age of population studies from health IT

Golden age of population studies from health IT

Posted by Dana Blankenhorn, February 11th, 2010 @ 6:20 am

In automating health records insurers and the government have two key goals in mind.

1. By keeping records together patients save money and time. You don’t have to fill out a paper form each time you see a new doctor. Tests follow you and don’t have to be retaken. Everyone in your “circle of care” can see all your relevant data, which reduces mistakes. Billing is simpler.
2. By collecting and sharing large amounts of data, we can find what works and what is cost-effective. Comparative effectiveness may be controversial but it is sound science with clear benefits.

As numbers get bigger small trends get clearer.

Early-adopter criminals embrace cloud computing; need for "inside-out" security

Early-adopter criminals embrace cloud computing

Toby Wolpe ZDNet UK

Published: 10 Feb 2010 16:53 GMT

Executives unsure of the viability of cloud computing need look no further than the criminal fraternity for a ringing endorsement of the technology, according to a security expert.

Cloud computing has been enthusiastically taken up by criminals for a range of activities, Rik Ferguson, senior security adviser at security firm Trend Micro, told delegates at a Westminster eForum on Wednesday.

"One of the things that persuades me personally that the cloud is absolutely a viable model and has longevity is that it has already been adopted by criminals," Ferguson said. "They are the people who are leading-edge adopters of technology that is going to work and going to stick around for a long time.

…

He said organisations need to rethink their security models, which have traditionally been "outside-in" and focused on stopping intruders entering networks. "When we become consumers of cloud we have to change the way we think and focus on inside-out security," he said.

...

Blog: IBM's Jeopardy-Playing Machine Can Now Beat Human Contestants

IBM's Jeopardy-Playing Machine Can Now Beat Human Contestants
Network World (02/10/10) Brodkin, Jon

IBM's Watson supercomputer can regularly best human contestants in the game Jeopardy, and within a year it will face a Jeopardy public challenge. Among the challenges the machine faces is understanding natural language, ascertaining answers to questions, and calculating the chances that its answer is correct in order to decide whether it should buzz it in--all without an Internet connection. Understanding a question is challenging to a computer, as words often have multiple meanings and can have different relationships with each other, and must be interpreted in the appropriate context. The computer then has to search within its own knowledge base to find an answer. Watson may be reasonably confident it knows the answer to a question, but will factor in the score of the game and the dollar value of the question before choosing whether it is worth the risk. In addition, the supercomputer requires a category selection strategy and a wagering strategy for Daily Doubles and Final Jeopardy. IBM researcher David Ferrucci says the research underlying the Jeopardy challenge could help address more critical issues, such as sifting through large volumes of data and determining the accuracy of a conclusion.

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Blog: U.S. Scientists Given Access to Cloud Computing

U.S. Scientists Given Access to Cloud Computing
New York Times (02/04/10) Markoff, John

The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) and Microsoft have agreed to offer U.S. scientific researchers free access to a new cloud computing service called Azure. The three-year project aims to give scientists the computing power to handle large amounts of research data. Access to the service will come in the form of grants from the foundation. Recently, emphasis has been placed on computing systems capable of storing and analyzing vast amounts of data. "We're trying to figure out how to engage the majority of scientists," says Microsoft's Dan Reed. He says Microsoft is prepared to invest millions of dollars in the program, which could provide thousands of scientists with access to the cloud computing service. "It's all about data," says Jeannette M. Wing, NSF's assistant director of computer and information science and engineering directorate. "We are generating streams and rivers of data."

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Blog: Grid Computing for the Masses

Grid Computing for the Masses
ICT Results (02/04/10)

A European research team has developed KnowARC, middleware that enables any computer running any operating system to access grid-based computers. The KnowARC project, led by the University of Oslo's Farid Ould-Saada, wants to make grid computing as easily accessible as information is on the Internet. "Getting access to the grid should be as simple as installing a new browser to get on the Internet," says Ould-Saada. "Only then will the survival and expansion of the grid be assured." KnowARC is based on Advanced Resource Connector (ARC) middleware, which provides interoperability between computing systems, architectures, and platforms. Ould-Saada says that ARC has great potential for wide deployment in new domains due to its ease of installation and interoperability. ARC middleware also is being used in grid computing for medical research, bioinformatics, and geographical data. "In a matter of years, I hope to see resources and storage being as easy to access remotely as information is on the Internet today," Ould-Saada says.

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Blog: Code Defends Against "Stealthy" Computer Worms

Code Defends Against "Stealthy" Computer Worms
Penn State Live (02/01/10) Messer, Andrea

Pennsylvania State University (PSU) researchers have developed an algorithm that defends against the spread of local scanning worms that search for hosts in "local" spaces within networks or subnetworks. The algorithm works by estimating the size of the targeted host population and monitoring the occurrence of infections. It then sets a threshold value just equal to or below the average number of scans necessary to infect a host. "By applying the containment thresholds from our proposed algorithm, outbreaks can be blocked early," says PSU postdoctoral fellow Yoon-Ho Choi. The algorithm was tested and proved to be able to determine the size of the susceptible host population as well as an efficient estimator of worm virulence. "Our evaluation showed that the algorithm is reliable in the very early propagation stage and is better than the state-of-the-art defense," Choi says.

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