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Issue no. 1, 2006 Published: Jan 06, 2006
Bang-bang: a step closer to quantum supercomputers
Developing nations set for huge IT growth
Asthma attack 'predictor' devised
Lamp-posts that let you surf the net
Enhanced speech-recognition
MP3 format gets surround sound
Male fertility kit goes on sale
The lie detector you'll never know is there

Bang-bang: a step closer to quantum supercomputers
Oxford scientists have come a step closer to quantum computers by creating a new technique called 'bang-bang' to hold quantum information. The idea behind quantum computing is based on quantum mechanics, which allow an entity, such as an atom, to exist in multiple states simultaneously. Each bit would exist in more than one state at once, making processing billions of times faster. The challenge is how to isolate quantum information from its surroundings, to prevent it from disintegrating. The team 'caged' the qubit in a buckyball (a Buckminster fullerene particle), a molecule which has a cage structure reminiscent of a football. This isolated the qubit to some extent, but not quite enough. The next step was to apply the 'bang-bang' method: the qubit is repeatedly hit with a strong pulse of microwaves which reverses the way in which it interacts with the environment. The result was a very high level of decoupling of the nuclear spin from its environment, freezing the information exactly as planned, according to the researchers.
Physorg / Nature Physics Jan 04, 2006	back to top

Developing nations set for huge IT growth
IT spending at small and medium sized business in Thailand and Indonesia will grow more than 20 per cent annually over the next three years, according to a recent report from New York-based market analysis group AMI-Partners. Western IT vendors are facing saturated markets in developed countries, and are looking to the huge untapped market in developing nations for future sales growth. However, many potential buyers in these regions cannot yet see the benefits of IT, and educational outreach by vendors and authorities is required to drive sales. Over 70 per cent of small businesses in nations such as Thailand and Indonesia do not have a PC. Much of Asia is ripe for a technology sales boom, but only if potential buyers can be convinced of the benefits, according to AMI-Partners. Small businesses in Indonesia invested USD 1.6bn in IT products and services last year, and the figure for Thailand was about USD 1.3bn.
VNUnet UK Jan 03, 2006	back to top

Asthma attack 'predictor' devised
An international team of researchers say they have found a way to predict asthma attacks using a mathematic model. The findings may help asthmatics control their symptoms more effectively and improve the testing of new drugs. The researchers were able to predict the likelihood of an asthma attack occurring over the next month by looking at peak flow readings. These readings give doctors an idea of how well a person's lungs are working - low readings mean poorer function. Essentially, they measure how fast a person can exhale air from the lungs. The model the team used is based on processes known as 'chaos' which are applied to complex systems, such as the weather, that despite appearing random, actually are not and are dependent on the interaction of many individual components. Indeed, the apparently random nature of the peak flow readings they looked at did conceal a hidden order in the 80 patients they studied over 18 months.
BBC News / Nature Dec 26, 2005	back to top

Lamp-posts that let you surf the net
Smart lamp-posts that could provide free light - and high-speed internet access - are to go on trial in Scotland. Backers of the project plan to install six of the solar-powered, internet-capable lights on a rooftop at the University of Abertay in Dundee. Later in the year they plan to install up to 4,000 more in a student village to be built for the university. The idea combines lamp-posts with solar energy and 'wi-fi' wireless internet access. The lamp-post use light-emitting diode (LED) technology to provide bright light using low power derived from solar cells which use daylight to recharge even in overcast weather. With only a fraction of the installation and running costs of conventional street lights, they could use smart lamp-posts to provide street light while selling internet access to local residents - or even providing it free in areas of need.
The Scotsman / Press Association Jan 04, 2006	back to top

Enhanced speech-recognition
Even the most accurate and intelligent speech recognition falls down when there is a lot of background noise, such as in a car, office or factory. But radar could help distinguish noise from speech, according to a patent from the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California, US. A microphone picks up sound from the speaker’s mouth in the usual way, while a wireless transmitter fixed alongside the microphone emits a low-power signal at 2 gigahertz and analyses the reflections that bounce off the speaker's neck. The lab found it can reliably detect movements of one-tenth of a millimetre or less, and these reveal the motion of the throat as sounds are formed. When there is no windpipe motion there is no speech, so the only sound picked up by the microphone is unwanted noise. This noise-only reading is used to construct a self-adjusting electronic filter that continually removes the noise, while letting the speech through.
New Scientist Jan 03, 2006	back to top

MP3 format gets surround sound
Thomson and the Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits have unveiled two additions to the MP3 music format. The extensions will enable backwards compatibility between current generation MP3 files and a forthcoming enhancement to the digital audio file standard that will enable surround sound. The new MP3 Stereo Extended standard allows existing MP3 files to be played in a surround sound setting. The Ensonido technology enables surround sound MP3 to be played on stereo headphones by transferring the multi-channel signal to regular stereo. The new additions will enable existing MP3 files to support the forthcoming surround sound technologies, providing for localisation of vocalists and solo instruments while properly handling ambient sounds.
VNUnet UK Jan 05, 2006	back to top

Male fertility kit goes on sale
The world's first over-the-counter home fertility test for men has been developed by scientists at Birmingham University. The Fertell test works in less than an hour and gives couples an early warning of potential fertility problems. Researchers looked at samples from 150 men and they claim the test provided an accurate result in 95 per cent of cases. They said the test could cut the wait for fertility treatment by up to a year, because many couples are advised to wait for around a year before seeking medical attention. The test works by forcing sperm to swim through a barrier mimicking the female cervix. It then measures the number of sperm which get beyond this point. If a high enough level of active sperm is present in the sample, a red line indicates a positive test.
BBC News Jan 04, 2006	back to top

The lie detector you'll never know is there
The US Department of Defense has revealed plans to develop a lie detector that can be used without the subject knowing they are being assessed. The Remote Personnel Assessment (RPA) device will also be used to pinpoint fighters hiding in a combat zone, or even to spot signs of stress that might mark someone out as a terrorist or suicide bomber. In a call for proposals on a DoD website, contractors are being given until 13 January to suggest ways to develop the RPA, which will use microwave or laser beams reflected off a subject's skin to assess various physiological parameters without the need for wires or skin contacts. If the RPA is ever produced, it is likely to prove controversial. A remote lie detector would face even more difficulties than standard polygraph tests, which were themselves the subject of a damning 2003 report from the US National Academy of Sciences.
New Scientist Jan 05, 2006	back to top