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A.
Flaw Found in Security System that Blocks Internet
Robots
Narrator:
This is Science Today. For every person who has
ever taken an online poll or signed up for free
web-based email, there are thousands of Internet
robots, or "bots," trying to do the same
thing. Jitendra Malik, a computer vision researcher
at the University of California, Berkeley, explains
the challenge of increasing security against "bot"
programs.
Malik:
This process of identifying the end of an Internet
connection-is it a human or a computer-should be testable
by a computer program. So it's sort of paradoxical;
it's a test administered by computers, but only humans
can pass it. Computers are supposed to fail the test.
Narrator:
Malik recently proved that one such screening
test called EZ-Gimpy, isn't secure enough.
Malik:
Now it turns out that the algorithm that we developed
here at Berkeley that can break EZ-Gimpy, meaning
that it can solve that puzzle something like 83%
of the time. So in that sense, this is not an effective
test anymore.
Narrator:
For Science Today, I'm Larissa Branin.
B.
The First Computerized Atlas of the Human Brain
Narrator:
This is Science Today. The first comprehensive, computerized
atlas of the structure and function of the normal
adult human brain will soon be launched by UCLA. Called
the Brain Atlas project, it's in many respects, the
neuroscience equivalent of the human genome project.
Dr. Arthur Toga, a professor of neurology at UCLA,
is one of the co-leaders of this huge database.
Toga: This project is an attempt
to incorporate information that we already have about
the brain and information that we will get in a way
that allows us to describe the human brain's structure
and ultimately, the human brain's function.
Narrator:
The
online atlas will allow researchers to access detailed,
all color, three-dimensional structured maps of individual
brains, based on a variety of characteristics.
Toga:
One could even do experiments via computer - you could
say, what are the differences in right handed middle
aged women versus left handed aged men. And it will
go and collect those subjects that match those demographics
and then compute the result and tell you what differences
there might be.
Narrator: For Science Today, I'm Larissa Branin.
C.
Understanding the Dark Energy Behind Supernovae
Narrator:
This is Science Today. Scientists have discovered
that the universe is expanding at an accelerating
rate, but little is known about the Dark Energy that
causes this phenomenon. Greg Aldering, an astrophysicist
at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, says
studying supernovae could be our greatest lead.
Aldering:
This Dark Energy makes about 70% of the universe.
And so it's this thing that we don't know what it
is, we know how it has made the universe expand. And
it's 70% of the universe, so it's this big unknown.
And so we're really excited about trying to figure
out what it really could be.
Narrator:
Aldering says that by identifying larger samples of
supernovae, we can map out how the universe has expanded.
Aldering:
So the essence of the experiment is to look at the
supernovae nearby, look at them very far away, and
compare the ratio of their brightnesses. This gives
us a ratio of their distances, which is all we need
to measure the expansion history.
Narrator:
For Science Today, I'm Larissa Branin.
D.
U.S. Plans to Launch a Bioterror Detection System
Narrator:
This is Science Today. In an effort to protect the
nation from the threat of bioterrorist agents, such
as anthrax, smallpox and other deadly germs, the U.S.
government is planning to launch an early warning,
bioterrorism detection system. Adapted after the September
11th attacks, the system was tested last year, including
at the Salt Lake City Olympics. The monitoring technology
is similar to the Biological Aerosol Sentry and Information
System, or BASIS that was developed at the Lawrence
Livermore and Los Alamos National Laboratories. Dennis
Imbro, BASIS project manager at the Livermore Lab,
explains.
Imbro:
BASIS has received a lot of visibility since the
Olympics and of course, because of the events following
9-11, and so there's, I think, a recognition in the
community that we need to do a lot more this environmental
monitoring, so if there were an incident, health authorities
could respond very quickly.
Narrator:
Monitors
currently run by the Environmental Protection Agency
will soon be adapted to check for a number of biological
agents. For Science Today, I'm Larissa Branin.
E.
Agricultural Scientists Work to Improve Farm Labor
Practices
Narrator:
This is Science Today. Although there are many advances
in mechanized agricultural technology, many farm labor
practices remain unchanged in the way workers perform
certain tasks. Agricultural engineering professor,
John Miles, of the University of California, Davis,
says this doesn't have to be the case.
Miles:
Many of our bad labor situations are the result of
a long history of people just believing what they're
believing or doing what Grandpa did, without challenging
what it was that Grandpa did. And I think we need
to recognize that there are jobs that people shouldn't
do.
Narrator:
This includes common stooped labor practices to cultivate
and harvest low-growing leafy vegetables. Miles says
new bioengineering technology may soon alleviate this
practice, but a University of California study focusing
on strawberry pickers proved there are simpler solutions
to reduce this type of lower back injury.
Miles:
On one-hour intervals people were required to stop
picking, stand up, stretch for about three minutes.
Crews liked it, the results, I think, were positive.
Narrator:
For
Science Today, I'm Larissa Branin.
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