New Software to Help Cloud Computing Become More Accessible

Cloud computing is extremely powerful. Many companies dedicate a large portion of hardware processing power and data centre storage for this type of application – however, for many developers it is not easily accessible or usable as a viable means of centralised storage or application sharing. This is why there needs to be a standardised platform available for developers to easily access their cloud’s that may be spread over multiple data centres or clouds. The University of California (Berkeley) is tackling this problem with a great deal of interest. They are attempting to modify existing database programming languages and integrating the modifications into a single client platform that is able to access a variety of clouds.

New Software to Help Cloud Computing Become More Accessible

Database languages aren’t really a difficult application domain – however, the diversity of languages out there make it difficult for a novice developer to really get into the specifics of a number of different languages and many novice or smaller developers stick to a single database platform because it is not feasible for them to employ database consultants that specialise in any single database language. If you consider the range of clouds out there that are relevant to social networks, communications providers, search providers and any other data storage relevant niche then you can easily see the range of specific technologies required to access clouds from such a variety of sources.

You also have to keep in mind that cloud data is not exactly static. It is dynamic because it changes constantly. Having a single software tool (such as that developed by Berkeley) will enable developers to access a variety of clouds and scour for changes in the data in a quick and efficient manner. It will also allow them to develop a range of applications that are usable on a variety of domains … Read More

Light Controlled Heartbeats

Light Controlled Heartbeats

Pace makers are wondrous things. They prolong the lives of many people – however they are not without fault. Pace makers are typically controlled by electrical impulses delivered to the heart via a series of electrodes. These electrical impulses can do a lot of damage to the muscles surrounding the heart over the course of a few years. The method utilised to do this also requires direct contact with the heart. Because installing the pace maker requires a great deal of time and expertise because surgeons need to actually cut their way into the chest means that in order to tweak the settings or location of the electrodes can be quite a difficult task.

This is where recent research comes into play that has allowed researchers to control the speed of an embryonic heartbeat with pulses of light. Although the technology used to train cells via interaction with light is not a new field, researchers finding ways of controlling a heartbeat via light impulses is. It was discovered by researchers who placed a laser fibre cable above the heart of a young quail embryo. The pulse density was altered and researchers noted that as the pulse rate changed so did the heart rate of the embryo.

The research team have now moved to adult quails and are having mixed results. Because the opacity of the tissue surrounding the heart is much darker, controlling the heart is a little more difficult because the light doesn’t penetrate the tissue as much. It is also much more difficult to find the sweet spot or perfect spot to get the technique to work correctly. While the research is still in early days, it will be interesting to see how it progresses and how it is implemented in clinical trials involved with humans. It has … Read More