Dr. Dobb's Journal April 2004
British scientists are praising the performance of a laboratory robot, which correctly identified the function of specific genes within yeast after generating several hypotheses and eliminating the incorrect ones through experimental testing. The robot was built over three years by computer scientists and biologists from the University of Wales at Aberystwyth, the Robert Gordon University in Scotland, and Imperial College London. The robot consists of three computers controlling a mechanical arm that can squeeze out and mix liquids. For more information, see http://www .nature.com/nsu/040112/040112-9.html.
In related news, Cyberkinetics is working to bring a brainjack to market. The company says its BrainGate device lets monkeys control cursors via brainwaves; Cyberkinetics is asking the FDA for permission to test the device on humans. According to the company, "Plans for this trial involve implantation of a BrainGate device in up to five severely disabled patients. The implant will allow signals from the motor cortex to be collected, processed, and analyzed, eventually producing an interface with a personal computer. In this way, BrainGate should afford these patients the opportunity to use the computer as a gateway to communicate and control simple devices in their immediate environment" (http://www.cyberkineticsinc.com/).
The new National LambdaRail network (NLR), which connects Chicago and Pittsburgh, will eventually link universities in 12 U.S. cities with 40 optical wavelengths, each operating at 10 Gbit/sec. Current high-speed networks like Internet2 find much of their bandwidth consumed by file-trading among college students, but NLR's 40 separate wavelengths will let bandwidth be shared more equitably among scientists. Half the bandwidth will be specifically reserved for network research: "Network researchers will be able to develop and control their own dedicated testbeds with full visibility and access to underlying switching and transmission fabric" (http://www.nationallambdarail.org/).
The Department of Homeland Security, in partnership with CERT, has introduced a National Cyber Alert System, which sends out e-mails to subscribers when new computer security vulnerabilities are discovered. Two levels of alerts are planned: technically detailed reports for systems administrators and advanced users, and "common language" reports for home and corporate computer users. Biweekly updates will also be issued for both types of subscribers. The Cyber Security Bulletins summarize the security issues and their potential impact and list patches and workarounds, while the Cyber Security Tips give instructions for nontechnical users. To subscribe, go to http://www.us-cert.gov/cas/.
The Apache Software Foundation has issued Version 2.0 of the open-source Apache License, intended to make the license easier to understand and more reusable. The license can be included by reference instead of being listed in every file; and comments regarding Apache and other inherited attribution notices have been moved to a Notice file instead of remaining within the license itself. Also, the Apache License requires additional patent licenses for any contributions "that necessarily infringe the contributor's own patents" (http://www.apache.org/licenses/).
The revision of the Apache License also brings it closer to compatibility with the GPL. The Free Software Foundation is currently working on a new version of the GPL, which may eliminate the final areas of inconsistency.
At the end of last year, the IEEE 1364 Working Group, which created the Verilog Standard, released a revision of IEEE 1364-2001, "Standard for the Verilog Hardware Description Language (HDL)." The update marked the 10th anniversary of the working group's first meeting. Verilog itself, however, has been under commercial development for 20 years. It was developed in 1983 at Gateway Design Automation as a language for chip design, simulation, verification, and implementation. The copyright was donated 10 years later to the IEEE. According to the IEEE, more than 200,000 licenses for Verilog simulators are now in use, and over 100 companies sell Verilog tools. The IEEE 1364 Working Group is currently working on the next version of Verilog, which will use higher levels of abstraction and add new constructs and utilities. The new Standard is expected to be finished next year.