Don't Even Think About It: Protective Policing
Significance:
An American company called PredPol has created a crime-prediction software. In the countries east of London, where a crime is likely to occur on any given day, PredPol’s maps highlight where the crime takes place by pink squares 150 meters on a side. The advantages of PredPol is that they seem to promise better law-enforcement and their range of tools use better data to predict a crime. However, they worry about privacy, and of justice systems run by machines not people. This software has so far been very helpful. During a four moth trial in Kent, 8.5% of all street crime occurred within PredPol’s pink boxes and only 5% of crimes were predicted by the police. Another trial in Los Angeles saw that the machine scored 6% compared with human analysts’ 3%. Cops working with predictive systems respond to call-outs as usual, but when they are free and have nothing to do, they look at the spots that the software suggests. Within six months of introducing predictive techniques in the Foothill area of Los Angeles, property crimes had fallen 12%; however, in neighboring districts the rose 0.5%.
This protective software works best against burglary and thefts of vehicles. However, adding extra types of information, like details of road networks, can allow people to solve more crimes other than burglary and theft. PredPol is still advancing and working on their software to help people in numerous neighborhoods.
Significance:
I think this article is important because we are always scared about crimes, which could effect any one of us. While we have police that protect us, they only can do so much. Therefore, this new software makes me feel more protected and safe, especially because crimes droped 12% close to where I live. I hope more technology like this can be created and advanced, to assure that everyone is protected wherever they are.
A Pile of Wood
Summary:
Teng Li and Liangbing Hu, scientists at University of Maryland, have described how wood may be used to make one class of batteries cheaper by allowing the lithium to be replaced with sodium. Lithium and sodium are chemically similar, being on top of each other on the periodic table. However, sodium ions are five times the size of lithium ions. That matters because in a battery, the bigger the ion, the shorter is the battery’s life. This proposes a problem, but engineers still would like to make a sodium battery because sodium is much more abundant than lithium. Dr Li and Dr Hu wondered if the problem of the battery life could be fixed by using a more flexible material for the frame. These frames would transmit current to and from the electrodes, which are normally made of metal, and are therefore rigid. The wood would help conduction while also providing more support for an electrode that was expanding and contracting ions. After testing their idea, the wooden battery was not perfect. However, this experiment of changing the batteries has allowed other scientists to concentrate on making man made materials more ad more sophisticated.
Significance:
This article was very interesting to me because my lab group is Lithium, and I recently researched about Lithium and about these batteries which contain Lithium. After researching with my group, I discovered that some scientists want to replace the lithium with zinc. Now that these two scientists at the University of Maryland want to replace it with sodium make me realize that there are numerous possibilities for how to change these batteries. Therefore, this article was significant because I have learned that if batteries can improve by changing the element in them, there is hope for other materials that need to change.
http://www.extremetech.com/electronics/149779-sodium-air-batteries-could-replace-lithium-air-as-the-battery-of-the-future
http://www.extremetech.com/electronics/149779-sodium-air-batteries-could-replace-lithium-air-as-the-battery-of-the-future
Orbital in Orbit
Summary:
In May of 2012, a Californian firms called SpaceX made the first privately run supply mission to the International Space Station. NASA decided to allow this private firm to start it’s mission. There was competition between these private firms; however, SpaceX was still the only firm capable of accomplishing their goal. However, recently another rocket was built by another Virginia based firm called Orbital Sciences. There were numerous instances where the firm could not launch because of high winds and because a data cable became loose. The third time the rocket safely launched which promoted cheers and sighs of relief on the ground. But this flight was only an initial test; the rocket did not reach the International Space Station. However, this launch was a crucial step because the Orbital’s first International Space Station mission could happen soon before the end of this year. This firm has a $1.9 billion contract with NASA to fly 8 cargo missions the station which is more expensive than SpaceX which will fly 12 cargo missions for $1.6 billion. But there is still a competition between the two firms.
http://www.aviationweek.com/Article.aspx?id=/article-xml/awx_12_05_2012_p0-524585.xml
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| SpaceX's rocket |
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| Orbital Science's rocket |
Significance:
This article was really interesting to me because I never knew that science firms would spend so much money on a rocket launch, and I didn't know how important the competition between firms is. Also, this is such an advance in technology, and the fact that these two firms actually accomplished their goal gives hope for other possible advancements in science and technology. Also, this rocket ship has the ability to discover so many new things in the future.
Catching Up
Summary:
Much research has figured out that gap between when men die and woman die is shrinking. For example Reg Dean, a man living in England, lived until he was 110 years old. In England, the difference between life expectancies for men and woman used to be 6.3 years; however, now it is 4.1 years and is falling. Other countries around the world show similar results, except Japan and Russia. The biggest changes for men and women are due to the use of tobacco. Over the past half-century, more men have given up smoking than woman. As a result, male smoking-related deaths fell by 64%. Another reason for the gap between sexes is because of alcohol. In this case, however, the gap is wideing. In 1979, two men died from alcohol related causes for every woman. In 2009, it was 2.4. Another factor that contributes to the gap between sexes is obesity which has to do with high blood pressure and type-2 diabetes. While alcohol kills more men than woman, obesity has a greater impact on woman because it increases the risk of hypertension and diabetes in their sex more than it does in men. Females have an advantage because they are barley affected from genetic mutations, due to their “spare” X chromosome. Men on the other hand, have one X chromosome and one Y chromosome. Therefore, males have no such protection. The biggest biological difference between men and woman is testosterone, which defines men. It promotes aggression and risky behavior, meaning men are more likely than woman to die in accidents, and die from the violence of others. Testosterone may also explain the differences between sexes in risky behaviors such as smoking and drinking. Therefore, while the gap between sexes is getting smaller, there still are some important factors which cause men to usually always have a shorter life.
Significance:
If this research has proved that there are so many factors that contribute to why men die earlier than woman, we can find ways to control how long we live. While we cannot control the diseases we get or testosterone in men, we all need to make smart decisions in life to stay healthy. I think that if more people start living healthier lives,maybe the gap between men and woman will almost be nothing.
If this research has proved that there are so many factors that contribute to why men die earlier than woman, we can find ways to control how long we live. While we cannot control the diseases we get or testosterone in men, we all need to make smart decisions in life to stay healthy. I think that if more people start living healthier lives,maybe the gap between men and woman will almost be nothing.
Look who's listening
Summary:
The Guardian, a British newspaper, reported that America’s national security agency (NSA) will be collecting the telephone records of millions of americans not suspected of crimes. In addition, NSA will also start a program named PRISM which will collect emails, photos, videos, file transfers, and social-networking date from big internet companies like Google, Facebook, Apple, YouTube, Skype, and Microsoft. These telephone records have been going on for years. Edward Snoden, a man who had worked as a security contractor at the NSA, reveals how he feels about this plan. He mentioned how he does not feel safe living in a world where everything he says and does is recorded. Not everyone is a criminal, thus not everyone’s every move should be analyzed, he says. NSA has been listening in on the world’s communications, like soviet leaders to Osama bin Laden’s satellite phone. Therefore, although this plan to “spy” on people might make people not feel safe because they are constantly being checked on, it also makes people feel protected. NSA has the ability to use their system to protect their citizens from dangerous people like Osama bin Laden, before he died. However, Barack Obama has ordered for this plan to not listen on the content of calls, but to collect data of the records of who people call, when, for how long, and so on.
Significance:
It makes me feel a little uncomfortable how NSA can find out tons of information about me; however, it makes me feel protected that NSA can use their system to protect americans from dangerous criminals. So, this system is a bigger advantage than a disadvantage. I just hope that NSA does not try to find out more information, but keeps it the same.
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| NSA uses verizon to find their information. |
Ancient Animal Behavior: Jurassic Lark
Summary:
While research about long-extinct animals may not be common, scientists at USC and the University of Portsmouth have discovered interesting information about the pterosaur (Anurognathus).These scientists have worked to figure out how the pterosaur earned its living in the Jurassic. These peculiar flying reptiles have been known for 90 years. Most people originally believed they were the size of swifts and they chased around the sky after insects. However, after more intense research, these scientists suspect that the pterosaur sat and waited for its prey, then quickly intercepted it. They would dive for fish and soar hundreds of miles across the ocean to hunt. This conclusion was reached by comparing the pterosaur with 36 birds and 20 bats. They assessed that the lengths, widths, thickness, densities, and bending potential of the bones of modern animals and compared them with the pterosaur fossils. They realized that these reptiles legs and wings were indeed stronger than a bird or bat, confirming that the pterosaur did earn their living by intercepting their pray in the air.
Importance and what interests me:
Although extinct animals may not be important or interesting for most people, research about them helps us discover valuable information about current living animals. Also, extinct animals can help us find a cure for a cold or even an organism that would usually take lots of money to accomplish. I find this article interesting because not only do I love animals, but I'm interested in animal's behavior from the past compared to now.
Click this link for more information:
http://science.nationalgeographic.com/science/prehistoric-world/pterosaurs/
Good job! I learned a lot from your summary and I liked the photos you included.
ReplyDeleteWow Nina this is great! I learned so much!
ReplyDeletegood job nina! i learned a lot!
ReplyDelete