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While the Singularity is not to be confused with the astronomical description of an infinitesimal object of infinite density, it can be seen as a technological event horizon at which present models of the future may break down in the not-too-distant future when the accelerating rate of scientific discovery and technological innovation approaches a real-time asymptote. Beyond lies a future (be it utopian or dystopian) in which a key question emerges: Evolving at dramatically slower biological time scales, must Homo sapiens become Homo syntheticus in order to retain our position as the self-acclaimed crown of creation – or will that title be usurped by sentient Artificial Intelligence? The Singularity and all of its implications were recently addressed at Singularity Summit 2011 in New York City.

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The future cometh: Science, technology and humanity at Singularity Summit 2011

In its essence, technology can be seen as our perpetually evolving attempt to extend our sensorimotor cortex into physical reality: From the earliest spears and boomerangs augmenting our arms, horses and carts our legs, and fire our environment, we’re now investigating and manipulating the fabric of that reality – including the very components of life itself. Moreover, this progression has not been linear, but instead follows an iterative curve of inflection points demarcating disruptive changes in dominant societal paradigms. Suggested by mathematician Vernor Vinge in his acclaimed science fiction novel True Names (1981) and introduced explicitly in his essay The Coming Technological Singularity (1993), the term was popularized by inventor and futurist Ray Kurzweil in The Singularity is Near (2005). The two even had a Singularity Chat in 2002.

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Computer animation

Computer animation is the art of creating moving images via the use of computers.

It is a subfield of computer graphics and animation.
Increasingly it is created by means of 3D computer graphics, though 2D computer graphics are still widely used for low bandwidth and faster real-time rendering needs.
Sometimes the target of the animation is the computer itself, but it sometimes the target is another medium, such as film.
It is also referred to as CGI (Computer-generated imagery or computer-generated imaging), especially when used in films. To create the illusion of movement, an image is displayed on the computer screen then quickly replaced by a new image that is similar to the previous image, but shifted slightly.
This technique is identical to how the illusion of movement is achieved with television and motion pictures. Computer animation is essentially a digital successor to the art of stop motion animation of 3D models and frame-by-frame animation of 2D illustrations.
For 3D animations, objects (models) are built on the computer monitor (modeled) and 3D figures are rigged with a virtual skeleton.
For 2D figure animations, separate objects (illustrations) and separate transparent layers are used, with or without a virtual skeleton.
Then the limbs, eyes, mouth, clothes, etc.
of the figure are moved by the animator on key frames.
The differences in appearance between key frames are automatically calculated by the computer in a process known as tweening or morphing.
Finally, the animation is rendered. For 3D animations, all frames must be rendered after modeling is complete.
For 2D vector animations, the rendering process is the key frame illustration process, while tweened frames are rendered as needed.
For pre-recorded presentations, the rendered frames are transferred to a different format or medium such as film or digital video.
The frames may also be rendered in real time as they are presented to the end-user audience.
Low bandwidth animations transmitted via the internet (e.g.
2D Flash, X3D) often use software on the end-users computer to render in real time as an alternative to streaming or pre-loaded high bandwidth animations

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3D computer graphics

Such images may be for later display or for real-time viewing.
Despite these differences, 3D computer graphics rely on many of the same algorithms as 2D computer vector graphics in the wire frame model and 2D computer raster graphics in the final rendered display.
In computer graphics software, the distinction between 2D and 3D is occasionally blurred; 2D applications may use 3D techniques to achieve effects such as lighting, and primarily 3D may use 2D rendering techniques.
3D computer graphics are often referred to as 3D models.
Apart from the rendered graphic, the model is contained within the graphical data file.
However, there are differences.
A 3D model is the mathematical representation of any three-dimensional object (either inanimate or living).
A model is not technically a graphic until it is visually displayed.
Due to 3D printing, 3D models are not confined to virtual space.
A model can be displayed visually as a two-dimensional image through a process called 3D rendering, or used in non-graphical computer simulations and calculations

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Engineer Develops Method To Combat Congenital Heart Disease In Children

Marsden’s work focuses on designing and using simulation tools to provide a way of testing new surgery designs on the computer before trying them on patients, much like, for example, engineers use computer codes to test new designs for airplanes or automobiles. Certain severe forms of congenital heart defects leave a patient with only one functional heart pumping chamber. These “single ventricle” defects are uniformly fatal if left untreated, and require a patient to undergo multiple heart surgeries, ending with a Fontan procedure.
In the Fontan surgery the veins returning blood to the heart from the body are directly connected to the arteries that send deoxygenated blood to the lungs, forming a modified t-shaped junction. This bypasses the heart on the one side so that the resulting circulation puts the single pumping chamber to optimal use. Using models derived from MRI image data, Marsden has come with a way to optimize a Y-Graft model for the Fontan procedure which can help pediatric surgeons determine whether this procedure will benefit a patient, as well as and determine how a patient’s heart will perform during moderate exercise.
An advantage of Marsden’s proposed Y-Graft design is that it can be optimized or modified for an individual patient by custom manufacturing the graft portion prior to surgery.
“Our goal is to provide a set of personalized tools that can be used in collaboration with surgeons to identity the best procedure for patients,” Marsden said.
Pediatric surgeons at Stanford University plan to use Marsden’s Y-Graft computer models for a Fontan procedure for the first time later this year. One of the pediatric cardiologists working with Marsden is Dr. Jeff Feinstein, an associate professor of Pediatrics (Cardiology) at Stanford University with a specialization in interventional cardiology, and director of the Vera Moulton Wall Center for Pulmonary Vascular Disease at Stanford.

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'4D MRI' Technology Helps Predict Outcome Of Pediatric Heart Surgery

The technology, known as image-based surgical planning and developed with the help of pediatric cardiologists and pediatric surgeons at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) and Emory University, creates a three-dimensional model of the child’s heart with data from the child’s MRI scans at different times in the cardiac cycle, also called a 4D MRI. The models allow surgeons to visualize the direction of blood flow and determine any energy loss in the heart. So if a surgeon were planning a certain correction to an area of a child’s heart, a model created by the system would show the surgeon how well blood would flow through the newly configured heart.
The goal of the Georgia Tech/Emory project is to create a complete system that allows surgeons to get a

detailed look at the child’s heart functions with the new MRI system, design surgical procedures for optimum post-operative performance and evaluate the heart’s performance with a sophisticated blood flow computer simulation

Patients with this defect often undergo multiple surgeries to reconfigure the pulmonary and systemic systems in operations called Fontan repairs, a reconfiguration that diverts the blood flow coming to the right side of the heart directly to the lungs so that the heart no longer has to pump blood to the lungs. Staged over several years, these surgeries are a common, but not always successful, option used for treating a single-ventricle defect.
After a less-than-optimal operation, children sometimes experience a reduced capacity to perform physical activities and may experience blood clotting and ventricle arrhythmias. The Georgia Tech/Emory surgery planning system could eliminate the need for additional surgeries by optimizing early surgeries.
“The research is meant to get at the root of the ‘failing’ Fontan, investigating why these pumping chambers fail in the hopes of devising new strategies to give these children a second chance in life. Using advanced imaging and bioengineering tools, the project hopes to describe how blood flows in this type of circulation and how this blood flow might be altered to extend the life of the patients,” said Mark Fogel, M.D., director of cardiac MR in the Cardiac Center at Children’s Hospital and a key collaborator on the project

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Predicting Successful Surgeries

Bioengineers Combine Mathematical Equations, Data to Simulate Surgeries

STANFORD, Calif.--People are as different on the inside as they are on the outside, making it difficult to predict which heart surgery will help which patient. Now, a new, high-tech approach may predict which patients will and will not have successful surgeries.
Heart attack survivor, David Lesesky says, "When I started having problems, I just didn't want to take the chance." He didn't take a chance. Lesesky made it through the heart attack and survived surgery and is doing just fine. The outcome, however, is not always the same: Each patient and each surgery brings its own risks

"The question we have for this patient is that would she benefit from a procedure -- bypass procedure -- to improve blood flow down to the legs?" Taylor says after examining a patient's 3D model on the computer. The yellow on the model shows the potential bypass path. When blood flow is simulated, it's revealed that two of the vessels going into the legs were clotted off -- the surgery would not have been successful.
"What it will mean for the patient is fewer operations -- conceivably more successful operations," Taylor says. And it will help keep hearts beating -- longer.
The computer model is being tested right now, retrospectively, on patients who are already planning to have surgery. So far results show it will be successful in predicting the outcome of cardiovascular surgeries

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Security at Your Fingertips

Electrical Engineers Develop Pocket-Size Fingerprint Recognition

A new pocket device reads fingerprints and validates them by wireless access to a computer. With this biometrics system, users can avoid using passwords, and get simpler and more secure access to bank balances, credit cards, and even buildings.

Dominic DeSantis dares anyone to try and hack into his personal PC files. "I have different files on my desktop that you can't open without passwords," he says.
Tough password tactics may slow down a cyber thief, but it's not foolproof. Now, electrical engineers have developed this new security device that uses a one-of-a-kind access code -- your fingerprint.
"It becomes a personal identification device that you carry with you, and the device only works for you," says Barry Johnson, an electrical engineer at Privaris, Inc., in Fairfax, Va. "The fingerprint, being something that you are, is something you that you will not forget."
With the touch of a finger, online access is a cinch for credit card purchases, viewing bank balances, or checking e-mail -- all without remembering or typing a single password or PIN number. Once you scan your finger, the device compares the scan to your fingerprint data, or biometrics already stored in the device.
"The ability to not only store the fingerprint on the device, and only on the device, but to do that securely is a unique feature of the device," Johnson says. He says the new device can work with existing security systems and also works for access into buildings.
It's a unique way to help consumers like DeSantis stay secure with something he'll never lose.
BACKGROUND: "Spoofing" is the process by which individuals test a biometric security system by introducing a fake sample. This can help companies improve those systems in order to better protect their information and employees. The goal is to make the authentication process as accurate and reliable as possible.
HOW IT WORKS: Digits from cadavers and fake fingers molded from plastic, or even play dough or gelatin, can potentially be misread as authentic by biometric security systems. Electrical and computer engineers are addressing this issue by trying to "spoof" such systems in hopes of designing more effective safeguards and countermeasures. One such study found a 90 percent false verification rate; the scanning machines could not distinguish between a live sample and a fake one. The system was modified to detect the pattern of perspiration from a live finger, which reduced the false verification rate to less than 10 percent.

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Computer security

Computer security is a field of computer science concerned with the control of risks related to computer use. The means traditionally taken to realize this objective is to attempt to create a trusted and secure computing platform, designed so that agents (users or programs) can only perform actions that have been allowed.

This involves specifying and implementing a security policy.
The actions in question can be reduced to operations of access, modification and deletion.
Computer security can be seen as a subfield of security engineering, which looks at broader security issues in addition to computer security.

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Cyber security standards

Cyber security standards are security standards which enable organizations to practice safe security techniques in order to minimize the number of successful cyber security attacks..

For more information about the topic Cyber security standards, read the full article at Wikipedia.org, or see the following related articles

Security engineering is the field of engineering dealing with the security and integrity of real-world systems. It is similar to systems engineering

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Blue Skies Thinking for Cloud Security?

As cloud computing moves data and services from local systems to remote centres, the question of security for organisations must be addressed. A research paper published in the International Journal of Services and Standards suggests that a cloud-free security model is the best way forward and will circumvent the fact that cloud service providers are not yet meeting regulations and legal standards.

In the early days of computing, users accessed resources using desktop terminals connected to a mainframe. The personal computer changed all that uniting the input, processing and output devices in a single machine.
Recently, however, the merits of separating the computers on our desks and in our pockets from the processing workhorses has re-emerged especially as broadband and mobile networks have got faster. Today, countless business and individuals access their email and documents on remote web-based systems. Social networking tools, such as MySpace, Facebook, and Twitter maintain data on remote servers accessed through a web browser. Data storage and back up too are often undertaken on remote servers

Yunis has developed a model to assess all the various risks associated with relocating an organisation's data and services to remote computer servers in the clouds. "The model can be applied in assessing the security issues emanating from cloud computing, identifying the security countermeasures needed to address these issues and coordinating the efforts of the various participants to enhance information security in organisations adopting cloud computing," explains Yunis.
She points out that there are six important issues that must be addressed to ensure an organisation or individual's use of cloud computing is not compromised.
The first is "resource sharing. On shared services, there is the possibility that another user on the same system may gain access inadvertently or deliberately to one's data, with potential for identity theft, fraud, or industrial sabotage. Second, because data is held offsite data ownership might be compromised. Third, the intrinsic latency of transferring data back and forth for processing in the cloud means that some users might lower encryption levels to cut send and receive delays, giving rise to additional security concerns. Fourth, the issue of Service Line Agreements (SLAs) may lead to an organisation being refused access to data and services if there are technical, security or commercial disagreements between them and the cloud service provider. Fifth, data might be lost or otherwise compromised because of a technical or other failure on the part of the provider. Finally, negative aspects of interoperability and portability in which failure or attack of a virtual component in the processing and storage may compromise security.

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Galaxy DNA-Analysis Software Is Now Available 'in the Cloud'

Galaxy -- an open-source, web-based platform for data-intensive biomedical and genetic research -- is now available as a "cloud computing" resource.

A team of researchers including Anton Nekrutenko, an associate professor of biochemistry and molecular biology at Penn State University; Kateryna Makova, an associate professor of biology at Penn State; and James Taylor from Emory University, developed the new technology, which will help scientists and biomedical researchers to harness such tools as DNA-sequencing and analysis software, as well as storage capacity for large quantities of scientific data. Details of the development will be published as a letter in the journal Nature Biotechnology. Earlier papers by Nekrutenko and co-authors describing the technology and its uses are published in the journals Genome Research and Genome Biology
Now, Nekrutenko's team has taken Galaxy to the next level by developing an "in the cloud" option using, for example, the popular Amazon Web Services cloud. "A cloud is basically a network of powerful computers that can be accessed remotely without the need to worry about heating, cooling, and system administration. Such a system allows users, no matter where they are in the world, to shift the workload of software storage, data storage, and hardware infrastructure to this remote location of networked computers," Nekrutenko explained. "Rather than run Galaxy on one's own computer or use Penn State's servers to access Galaxy, now a researcher can harness the power of the cloud, which allows almost unlimited computing power." As a case study, the authors report on recent research published in Genome Biology in which scientists, with the help of Ian Paul, a professor of pediatrics at Penn State's Hershey Medical Center, analyzed DNA from nine individuals across three families using Galaxy Cloud. Thanks to the enormous computing power of the platform, the researchers were able to identify four heteroplasmic sites -- variations in mitochondria, the part of the genome passed exclusively from mother to child.
"Galaxy Cloud offers many advantages other than the obvious ones, such as computing power for large amounts of data and the ability for a scientist without much computer training to use DNA-analysis tools that might not otherwise be accessible," Nekrutenko said. "For example, researchers need not invest in expensive computer infrastructure to be able to perform data-intensive, sophisticated scientific analyses."

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French Digitial Kitchen Is a Recipe for Success

From pear clafouti to croque monsieur, real-time cooking instructions for preparing each recipe are delivered in a similar way to an in-car sat nav.
Motion sensor-technology on the kitchen equipment and ingredients then help track whether each step has been completed successfully.
Developed by language experts and computer scientists at Newcastle University, the kitchen breaks new ground by taking language learning out of the classroom and combining it with an enjoyable and rewarding real-life activity.
It is supported by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council's Digital Economy Programme

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