Tech

Armies of networked computers that have been compromised by malicious software are commonly known as Botnets. Such Botnets are usually used to carry out fraudulent and criminal activity on the Internet. Now, writing in the International Journal of Information and Computer Security, US computer scientists reveal that the honeypot trap designed to protect computers from Botnets are now vulnerable to attack because of advances in Botnet malware.

Strikers and defenders furiously compete for the ball. Suddenly, the forward drops into the penalty area. Penalty shot. The penalty taker carefully sets the ball just right. Cut to the goal camera. Like a cannon ball, the leather flies over and past the heads of the spectators, who are completely awestruck. Except that these soccer fans are not sitting in the stadium, but rather in front of a 3D television, far away from the hustle and bustle of FIFA World Cup football in South Africa.

Johns Hopkins researchers have developed a noninvasive infrared scanning system to help doctors determine whether pigmented skin growths are benign moles or melanoma, a lethal form of cancer.

The prototype system works by looking for the tiny temperature difference between healthy tissue and a growing tumor.

A gene signature, first identified in mouse colon cancer cells, may help identify patients at risk of colon cancer recurrence, according to a recent study by Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center researchers.

The findings, published in the March issue of Gastroenterology, could help personalize treatments for colon cancer — the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the United States — by identifying patients most likely to benefit from chemotherapy.

By November 1, 2010 the ID card hitherto in use in Germany will be replaced by the new personal identity card, with built-in electronic identification and signature functions. At first glance, the new ID card differs from the old one only in form – it will be the same size and shape as an everyday debit card. But an RFID chip located on its inside stores the data that today can only be read optically from the document. The new cards can also be read wirelessly.

Graphene, a one-atom-thick layer of a carbon lattice with a honeycomb structure, has great potential for use in radios, computers, phones and other electronic devices. But applications have been stymied because the semi-metallic graphene, which has a zero band gap, does not function effectively as a semiconductor to amplify or switch electronic signals.

A discovery by Monash University scientists could see humble cotton thread emerge as a core material in low-cost 'lab-on-chip' devices capable of detecting diseases such as kidney failure and diabetes.

In a world first, the researchers have used ordinary cotton thread and sewing needles to literally stitchtogether the uniquely low-cost microfluidic analytical device, which is the size of a postage stamp.

For dialysis patients, high scores on a new fatigue rating scale predict an increased risk of heart attack or other cardiovascular events, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Clinical Journal of the American Society Nephrology (CJASN).

PHILADELPHIA –- Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Wisconsin-Madison and IBM Research-Zürich have fabricated an ultra sharp, diamond-like carbon tip possessing such high strength that it is 3,000 times more wear-resistant at the nanoscale than silicon.

BOZEMAN, Mont. -- Visitors to national parks and forests are encouraged to use bear spray when they encounter grizzlies, but disposing of the bear spray canisters is a problem that three Montana State University engineering students addressed for their senior capstone project, sponsored by the Gallatin National Forest.

Ashley Olsen, a Butte native who graduated from MSU in December, returned to campus Wednesday to demonstrate a bear spray recycling machine she developed over the past year with Seth Mott of Helena and Kyle Hertenstein of Great Falls.

MADISON — A team of University of Wisconsin-Madison engineers has developed a highly efficient, environmentally friendly process that selectively converts gamma-valerolactone, a biomass derivative, into the chemical equivalent of jet fuel.

The simple process preserves about 95 percent of the energy from the original biomass, requires little hydrogen input, and captures carbon dioxide under high pressure for future beneficial use.

PITTSBURGH—Just think, every time you feed Fido or flip a spoonful of sugar into your coffee cup, you use more than 300 gallons of water.

Checking the amounts of water it takes to make a $1 worth of sugar, cat and dog food or milk is part of a comprehensive study by Carnegie Mellon University researchers to document American industry's thirst for this scarce resource.

The maximal standardized uptake value (called SUVmax) measured from FDG PET readings taken from the primary tumor in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma patients before treatment is a strong predictor of disease-specific survival, overall survival and disease-free survival, while pretreatment SUVmax for lymphodenopathy is strongly associated with distant metastasis, according to a study presented at the Multidisciplinary Head and Neck Cancer Symposium, sponsored by AHNS, ASCO, ASTRO and SNM.Since the head and neck area of the body is very rich in lymphatic drainage, it is common for head

INDIANAPOLIS – Whether an individual is treated for a hip fracture at a hospital reimbursed by Medicare or is treated at a Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center makes a significant difference in what happens to the patient after release from the medical facility, according to a large study which may contribute to the ongoing debate on how to pay for health care.