Tomorrow
in Brief
edited by Cindy Wagner
Data Dump from Space
Future spacecraft will generate staggering amounts of data; the challenge will be to
collect, analyze, and use it. In 2010, the European Space Agency's Gaia mission
will seek new objects in space and collect data about known objects, potentially
generating a database of one petabyte (2 to the 50th power [1.1 quadrillion] bytes). Such
a database would take 30 years to process with today's computers, so onboard software will
help narrow the range of objects observed, cutting the flow of data back to Earth.
Source: European Space Agency, 8-10 rue Mario Nikis, 75738 Paris Cedex 15, France. Web
site www.esa.int.
Detecting Skin Cancer
A new imaging device to detect the early stages of skin cancer might also help prevent
blindness. The SIAscope, developed by the University of Birmingham in England, uses image
analysis to differentiate skin cancer from other types of skin damage, allowing doctors to
identify cancer earlier and treat it sooner. Since the scope analyzes the interaction of
light with tissue, it could potentially be used in an enormous range of applications, such
as diagnosing eye diseases associated with diabetes. The incidence of both skin cancer and
diabetes are on the rise, note researchers working on the device.
Source: The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, Polaris House, North
Star Avenue, Swindon SN2 1ET, United Kingdom. Web site www.epsrc.ac.uk.
Singing Computer Bugs
Computer codes that are assigned theme songs could soon help users identify bugs in the
system--codes playing out of tune. Programmers would learn the musical scores of their
applications, and errors would be easily identified because the music they emit deviates
from the correct pattern. British researchers testing the musical bug-finding system
report that computer-science students who could hear the code as well as see it found more
bugs than those who only had visual representations. A similar approach providing
audio-enhanced computer program development could benefit visually impaired programmers,
according to computer science professors Paul Vickers of Northumbria University and James
Alty of Loughborough University.
Source: Northumbria University, Press Office, 22 Ellison Place, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1
8ST, United Kingdom. Web site www.northumbria.ac.uk.
Energy or Fish?
People in the Pacific Northwest may soon have to choose between energy and fish. As global
warming alters the regional climate in the decades ahead, residents will discover they
don't have enough water for both hydroelectric power and salmon runs, says Dennis
Lettenmaier, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at the University of
Washington. Average snowpack in the Washington and Oregon Cascades could be cut in half by
the middle of the century, dramatically reducing water flows in rivers and streams vital
for hydroelectricity and salmon reproduction, according to a model developed for the
Accelerated Climate Prediction Initiative. Colorado and California may face similar
dilemmas, especially since population and economic growth are already straining water
resources.
Source: University of Washington, News and Information Office, B-54 Gerberding Hall,
Box 351207, Seattle, Washington 98195. Web site. ww
Cooking with Light and Vacuum
Light pulses and vacuum cooking could make future food healthier and meal preparation
faster and easier. With light-pulse treatment, food is blasted several times with
high-intensity light (20,000 times more intensive than sunlight hitting the earth) for
less than a millisecond. The treatment reduces up to 90% of harmful microorganisms in the
food, according to researchers at AZTI, a food and fishing-industry technology institute
in the Basque Country. Cooking food in vacuum packages allows thermal treatment equivalent
to pasteurization, with a faster cooling phase. The process could extend the shelf life of
packaged foods (about 28 days for fish) and permit faster food preparation since different
food packages can be heated up at the same time without intermingling aromas.
Source: AZTI, Txatxarramendi Ugartea z/g, 48395 Sukarrieta, Bizkaiab, Basque Country,
Spain. Web site www.azti.es.
