Tomorrow in Brief, November-December 2009

Making Personal Data Vanish

Denizens of online social networking sites have long been warned about leaving unflattering (or even incriminating) information about themselves where it could later be found and used against them by future employers, loved ones, or voters. Even deleting posts does not eradicate them from Internet archives. Now, computer scientists at the University of Washington have put expiration dates on data: After a set time, e-mails, chat messages, and Facebook postings would self-destruct. The prototype system, called Vanish, tags a time limit to any text uploaded to a Web service through a Web browser. The system encrypts messages with a secret key that is divided and spread among random computers in a file-sharing network; as turnover occurs in the network, those leaving the network unknowingly take parts of the key with them, leaving the message undecipherable.

Source: University of Washington, www.u.washington.edu .

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Cancer Mortality Rates Are Declining

The war on cancer rages on. The incidence of cancer continues to rise across many types; however, deaths caused by cancer have declined steadily over the past three decades, particularly among younger patients, reports the Van Andel Research Institute in Grand Rapids, Michigan. In the United States, the youngest age groups have experienced the steepest decline in cancer mortality, at 25.9% per decade, according to the researchers. And even the oldest groups have experienced a 6.8% per decade decline, thanks to improved screening and treatment.

Source: Van Andel Institute, www.vai.org .

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Smart Cane Will Help Visually Impaired

More freedom of mobility may be ahead for people whose vision is impaired. Radio-frequency identification (RFID) technology is now being embedded in the traditional white cane used by people with little or no vision. The new Smart Cane will help users get around more safely and independently. Now under development at Central Michigan University, the Smart Cane incorporates an ultrasonic sensor, and the user carries a miniature navigational system in a messenger-style bag. The device detects obstacles in the user’s path and provides navigational cues, with voice alerts as well as vibration-based alerts for individuals who are also hearing impaired.

Source: Central Michigan University, www.cmich.edu
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Portable Food Tester

New sensing technologies developed by researchers at Germany’s Fraunhofer Institute may enable food suppliers to determine the right time for bringing produce to market for purchase by fussy consumers. The system, based on metal-oxide sensors, checks the emission of volatile gases that reveal ripeness, over-ripeness, or rottenness of produce. The goal is to make more-portable devices that have the same levels of sensitivity as equipment used in food laboratories, reducing waste if fresh produce is purchased before (or after) its time.

Source: Fraunhofer Gesellschaft, www.fraunhofer.de .

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WordBuzz: Complexipacity

How well can you or your organization handle complexity?

Coined by designer Tom Snyder in 2008, the term “complexipacity” refers to the capacity to “assimilate complex ideas, systems, problems, situations, interactions or relationships.”

In his WorldFuture 2009 presentation on the topic, futurist consultant David Pearce Snyder argued that complexipacity will become a key issue, and that today’s schools are not equipping tomorrow’s adults with the skills necessary to deal with complexity.

Source: David Pearce Snyder, Snyder Family Enterprise, www.the-futurist.com.