Technology

For years, volunteer doctors and missionaries have worked to test and treat malaria cases in developing countries. The infectious disease continues to run rampant throughout Sub-Saharan Africa, Asia and parts of the Americas. Now, a doctoral student ... at the University of California is building an efficient testing and treatment system that will feature Windows Phone 7. In parts of Africa, where 90 per cent of malaria death occurs, health workers test patients with a diagnostic assessment tool that works in a similar manner to that of a home pregnancy test (a blood sample on a small plastic ... (view more)

A coalition of mechanical engineers in Iran are reporting that sometime in the near future, dental patients will actually be able to print off their own custom tooth prosthetics, thanks in large part to the innovations made in three-dimensional ... printing. The current dental prosthetic procedure usually takes a few weeks for a dentist to take x-rays of the jaw and later, make the necessary cast for dental implants or replacement crowns that are unique to the patient's mouth. 3D Printing Drastically Cuts Waiting Time The new innovation is currently in the testing phase of development and is said ... (view more)

From Family Matters to The Simpsons and, of course, Back to the Future, the idea of time travel has become a common theme in American pop culture. There's no doubt, then, that many will be disappointed to hear of a new report from a group of Hong ... Kong scientists which suggests that traveling through time is simply impossible. The report comes from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, where researchers under the direction of Professor Shengwang Du have concluded that single photons (the absolute smallest particle of light) simply can't travel faster than light. The finding is ... (view more)

A few years ago it was hard not to think of the BlackBerry when someone mentioned the word "smartphone" -- and with that came recognition of the firm responsible for developing and marketing the device, Research in Motion (or "RIM"). Flash forward a ... few years, and now the term 'smartphone' is much more commonplace, thanks to the introduction of Apple's iPhone and various Google Android devices. So popular are these rival products that the BlackBerry's market share has started to dwindle. For RIM, it's a troubling and frustrating trend that on Monday culminated in Monday's ... (view more)

A pair of summer interns at Microsoft have collaborated on a project to create an Android application capable of interpreting photographs -- complete with the identities and activities of the individuals involved -- via a smartphone camera without ... any human input whatsoever. 'TagSense', as it's called, is the brainchild of Microsoft Research interns Chaun Qin and Xuan Bao. The software works by utilizing Android's accelerometers to determine the exact physical activity the person in the photograph is involved in. This is supported by built-in microphones that can determine whether the ... (view more)

Terrafugia's flying car , which has been in development for some time, has been given the 'thumbs up' by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) -- meaning it should start appearing on U.S. highways soon. The NHTSA has granted ... Terrafugia's drive-able plane -- called the Transition -- a special exemption that will allow the company to begin shipping units from its Massachusetts plant (after final testing, that is). Terrafugia says the Transition will be ready for manufacturing this year, with the first completed units being shipped out early in 2012. (Source: foxnews.com ) ... (view more)

A senior Research in Motion (RIM) employee has publically snubbed the management of his (or her) own company, recommending that executives to "stop shipping incomplete products that aren't ready for the end user." The embarrassing letter comes ... amidst rumors that Microsoft may buy up the flagging firm. Open Letter Asks CEOs to Step Aside The open letter was sent to both RIM co-CEOs Mike Lazaridis and Jim Balsillie as well as online news site BGR. It makes a number of shocking statements, highlighted by a demand that management lay off unproductive workers. It also encourages Balsillie and ... (view more)

It's been two decades now since The Rocketeer soared into U.S. theatres and we're still walking, biking, and driving to work. But not all is lost: so long as you can come up with $100,000, you might soon be able to propel yourself to and from the ... office with a Martin Aircraft jetpack. Our hopes of zig-zagging through the sky are up this week after word that the Martin Aircraft company recently conducted a successful field test of its jetpack prototype. The real victory during the test, however, was the demonstration of the jetpack's emergency parachute. The chute worked exactly as it was ... (view more)

An international health agency has reported it sees possible links between cellphone use and the onset of brain cancer. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) is an important body in directing World Health Organization (WHO) and ... American Cancer Society policy. The problem the IARC has with cellphones is the radiofrequency electromagnetic fields emitted by the devices. Dr. Jonathan Samet, chair of preventive medicine at the USC Keck School of Medicine, said that for this reason the IARC considers cellphones "possibly carcinogenic to humans," adding that "We reached this ... (view more)

In computer science, session hijacking is the exploitation of a valid computer session (commonly known as a "session key") used to gain unauthorized access to information or services in a computer system. For example, when a user logs in to a web ... site, the user's PC is tagged with a session key using a browser cookie (a cookie is a small file stored on the users PC that the browser reads). Any time the user requires access to a restricted area of a website (usually requiring login), the session key is extracted from the users' PC and compared to the key stored on the web server. If valid, the ... (view more)