CQ Politics | Innovations - Search Results

Digitizing Health Records Still a Challenge

September 27, 2008 10:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Healthcare could be dramatically improved if every doctor a patient ever saw had access to all that patient's health records, which could happen if the records were all digital. But only 15 to 18 percent of U.S. doctors use electronic records, partly because of the upfront costs of going digital. Technology Review talks to Karen Bell, who's in charge of promoting digital records at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, about what the problem is.

Web pick posted by Neil Savage, Xconomy.com

Tags: health IT, HHS, Karen Bell, Technology Review

Software Could Aid in Hurricane Evacuations

September 10, 2008 2:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Researchers at MIT are testing new software that uses vast amounts of information to guide officials in planning how and when to evacuate a city if a hurricane is coming. After Katrina, officials at the Federal Emergency Management Agency started using software that estimates how long it would take to evacuate a city. But according to Technology Review, the new MIT computer model goes much further, combining information about current weather conditions and projected hurricane paths with data on how many elderly, hospital patients, and tourists have to be moved, and makes recommendations based on those inputs.

Web pick posted by Neil Savage, Xconomy.com

Tags: FEMA, hurricane, Technology Review

Wastewater Technique Makes Ethanol Cheaper

August 19, 2008 11:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

By borrowing a technique used in wastewater treatment plants, scientists from Washington University say they can make ethanol production more efficient. The technique involves mixing waste from the ethanol plant into an oxygen-free vat of bacteria, which digest the waste and produce methane gas, according to Technology Review. Capturing the methane and burning it as fuel could allow the production facility to cut its use of natural gas in half.

Web pick posted by Neil Savage, Xconomy.com

Tags: ethanol, Technology Review, Washington University, wastewater

New Material Could Turn Waste Heat into Power

July 26, 2008 1:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Researchers at Ohio State University have created a new alloy with double the ability of previous materials to turn waste heat from power plants or car engines into electricity. Technology Review reports that the researchers added trace amounts of thallium to lead telluride, changing the material's electrical properties. The material could potentially convert 10 percent of the energy in heat into electricity.

Web pick posted by Neil Savage, Xconomy.com

Tags: electricity, Ohio State University, Technology Review, thallium

McCain's Battery Prize Gets Mixed Reception

June 27, 2008 7:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Republican Presidential Candidate John McCain this week suggested offering $300 million to the person who can build the next generation of battery for plug-in hybrid automobiles. Technology Review asks a pair of MIT battery experts what they think of the idea. While one says the prize will focus attention on a key problem, the other feels that, without benchmarks, the idea is mainly a political stunt.

Web picks posted by Neil Savage, Xconomy.com

Tags: battery, John McCain, MIT, Technology Review

Behavior Changes Can Reveal Worms (the Digital Kind)

June 16, 2008 7:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

posted by Neil Savage, xconomy.com

A new model for monitoring the Internet to identify computer infected with worms could reduce the threat of worms such as Code Red, which caused $2.6 billion in damages. Technology Review reports that researchers found they could catch worms earlier if they looked at the number of times a machine scans the Internet looking for new hosts. The key was finding the scanning rate high enough that it indicated infection without catching uninfected computers just going about their business.

Tags: internet, Technology Review, viruses, worms