Computer Automatically Deciphers Ancient Language
MIT News (06/30/10) Hardesty, Larry
Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and the University of Southern California have developed a computer system that deciphered much of the ancient Semitic language of Ugaritic in a matter of hours. The researchers say archeologists can use the system to decipher other ancient languages and it also could help expand the number of languages that automated translation systems can handle. "We iterate through the data hundreds of times, thousands of times, and each time, our guesses have higher probability, because we're actually coming closer to a solution where we get more consistency," says MIT's Ben Snyder. To decipher a language the system makes several assumptions, including that it is related to another language, that there is a way to systematically map the alphabet of language onto another, and that the language's words share at least some roots with each other. "Each language has its own challenges," says MIT professor Regina Barzilay. "Most likely, a successful decipherment would require one to adjust the method for the peculiarities of a language."
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Blog: Computer Automatically Deciphers Ancient Language
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Blog: Data Mining Algorithm Explains Complex Temporal Interactions Among Genes
Data Mining Algorithm Explains Complex Temporal Interactions Among Genes
Virginia Tech News (06/22/10) Trulove, Susan
Researchers at Virginia Tech (VT), New York University (NYU), and the University of Milan have developed Gene Ontology based Algorithmic Logic and Invariant Extractor (GOALIE), a data-mining algorithm that can automatically reveal how biological processes are coordinated in time. GOALIE reconstructs temporal models of cellular processes from gene expression data. The researchers developed and applied the algorithm to time-course gene expression datasets from budding yeast. "A key goal of GOALIE is to be able to computationally integrate data from distinct stress experiments even when the experiments had been conducted independently," says VT professor Naren Ramakrishnan. NYU professor Bud Mishra notes GOALIE also can extract entire formal models that can then be used for posing biological questions and reasoning about hypotheses. The researchers hope the tool can be used to study disease progression, aging, host-pathogen interactions, stress responses, and cell-to-cell communication.
Monday, June 21, 2010
Blog: Blogs and Tweets Could Predict the Future
Blogs and Tweets Could Predict the Future
New Scientist (06/21/10) Giles, Jim
Forecasts about social and economic trends could be generated through the analysis of blogs and tweets, building on earlier research by Google and others to mine the frequency of specific search terms to outline purchasing patterns. With blogs and tweets added to the equation, trends other than buying behavior--such as political sentiment and stock market patterns--could possibly be predicted. For instance, researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign were able to forecast stock market behavior by using more than 20 million blog posts to build an "Anxiety Index" that measures the frequency with which a range of words associated with apprehension, such as "nervous," show up in the posts. The appearance of these terms correlated with lower stock prices. Tools that quantify the national mood could prove useful to stock traders, who will be more likely to refrain from taking risks if they know consumers are fraught with pessimism, for example. Researchers say that Web data analysis methods could be used to make even more accurate predictions as researchers devise more refined techniques for measuring the emotional content of blogs and tweets.
Friday, June 18, 2010
Blog: Is Cloud Computing Fast Enough for Science?
Is Cloud Computing Fast Enough for Science?
Government Computer News (06/18/10) Lipowicz, Alice
The U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE's) Magellan cloud computing testbed has shown that commercially available clouds suffer in performance when operating message passing interface (MPI) applications such as weather calculations. "For the more traditional MPI applications there were significant slowdowns, over a factor of 10," says National Energy Research Scientific Computing's Kathy Yelick. However, for computations that can be performed serially, such as genomics calculations, there was little or no deterioration in performance in a commercial cloud, Yelick says. DOE is using the Magellan project to explore a wide range of scientific issues regarding cloud computing, and to advise DOE how to incorporate cloud computing into its research. "Our goal is to inform DOE and the scientists and industry what is the sweet spot for cloud computing in science; what do you need to do to configure a cloud for science, how do to manage it, what is the business model, and do you need to buy your own cloud," Yelick says.
Blog: Fighting Back Against Web Attacks
Fighting Back Against Web Attacks
BBC News (06/18/10)
The bugs and vulnerabilities in the kits used by cybercriminals could be exploited to identify hackers and even launch a counterattack, according to Tehtri Security's Laurent Oudot. The French computer security researcher has studied high-tech criminals' malware kits, which are widely available online, and concludes that the attack tools have vulnerabilities that should be easy to exploit. During a presentation at a recent security conference in Singapore, Oudot provided details on 13 unpatched loopholes in popular malware kits that have been used to attack Web sites. The vulnerabilities in the malware kits could be used to obtain more information on attackers, perhaps identify them, steal their tools and methods, or even follow their trail back to their own computers, according to Oudot. He acknowledges that using the loopholes might "lead to legal issues," but says the strategy should "open new way[s] to think about [information technology] security worldwide."
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Blog: Why Can't Johnny Develop Secure Software?
Why Can't Johnny Develop Secure Software?
Dark Reading (06/16/10) Wilson, Tim
Despite a wealth of security knowledge and developers' access to advanced tools, many software security risks remain. Analysts say that vulnerabilities arise because many software developers do not understand how to build security into their code. "There's a lot more acceptance of security as part of the process now, but historically developers have never been responsible for security," says Fortify chief scientist Brian Chess. Although there have been several initiatives aimed at educating developers about secure software development practices, "the talent coming out of schools right now doesn't have the security knowledge it needs," says SAFECode executive director Paul Kurtz. Some organizations are implementing secure development frameworks, such as the Building Security In Maturity Model (BSIMM), which impose secure best practices throughout the entire development team. "BSIMM is a good strategy if you have a formalized software development process," Chess says. The goal of the frameworks is to help developers identify and remediate the most common coding errors and fix them during development, rather than waiting until after the code is complete.
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Blog: 10 R&D Cybersecurity Initiatives Congress Seeks
10 R&D Cybersecurity Initiatives Congress Seeks
GovInfoSecurity.com (06/15/10) Chabrow, Eric
The Protecting Cyberspace as a National Asset Act of 2010, which was recently introduced in the U.S. Senate, lists 10 research and development (R&D) initiatives the government would support to secure information systems and networks. The bill would advance the development and deployment of secure versions of fundamental Internet protocols and architectures. A main goal is to improve technologies for detecting and analyzing attacks as well as improving mitigation and recovery methodologies. The bill also would back the development of infrastructure and tools to support cybersecurity R&D efforts. The government wants to assist the development of technology to reduce vulnerabilities in process control systems, as well as understand human behavioral factors that can affect cybersecurity technology and practices. Public officials also hope to test, evaluate, and facilitate the transfer of technologies associated with the engineering of less vulnerable software. Other research areas include assisting in the development of identity management and of technologies designed to increase the security of telecommunications networks. Finally, the government wants to advance the protection of privacy and civil liberties in cybersecurity technology and practices.