
Big Data & Archaeology: Peering into Lost Worlds
When we see archaeologists on the big screen, we think of them running through tombs, outrunning traps laid centuries ago and narrowly avoiding being flattened by boulders. Rarely do we think of them sat in front of a computer, combing satellite images to find the next great dig site. But

Saving Lives and Saving Money: The Heart Failure Risk-O-Meter
It’s often said (with a slight tone of disdain) that American hospitals are run like businesses. What better way then to improve efficiency and healthcare than with financial sticks-and-carrots? This was the idea behind part of the Affordable Care Act, otherwise known as Obamacare. Heart failure re-admissions alone cost Medicare

LinkedIn Acquires Machine Learning Startup Newsle
LinkedIn just announced they have acquired Newsle, a startup which uses algorithms to drown out social network noise and deliver only the most relevant updates to its users. On their blog, LinkedIn stated the following about their latest acquisition: Over the past year or so, we’ve introduced several new ways

IEEE Ranks Programming Languages, Java Comes Out on Top
IEEE, the “world’s largest professional association for the language of technology”, have released an interactive ranking of programming languages. In the overall list, as well as many of the sub-rankings, Java emerges as the victor. The IEEE blog details how they went about creating their definitive rankings. “Starting from a

NYPD Go Terminator, Trial Google Glass in Law Enforcement
America has once again hit the headlines for using the latest technology to clean up its streets. A few months ago, we reported on how the LAPD are using sophisticated algorithms to predict crime before it happens, garnering comparisons to the Minority Report. Now, NYPD are going Terminator- there officers

Exonar Helps You Discover How Much Data You Really Have
Exonar have released a big data calculator to discover how much data you really have. By inputting an estimate of how much you have (in terabytes or gigabytes), you can discover metrics such as what word count your data equates to, and how far it would stretch if printed out

Foamtree Makes Massive Hierarchical Data Look Beautiful
Your average Javascript library is pretty capable of dealing with moderate-sized hierarchical data. But what when you’re dealing with thousands of levels and thousands of groups? One solution is Foamtree. It executes computation and rendering on the fly, meaning load & run times are much faster. It’s also multilingual, runs

The Observatory of Economic Complexity
Living in an increasingly globalised world, imports and exports play have a huge stake in a country’s prosperity. The Observatory of Economic Complexity shows us just how significant these trade is, showing the staggering amounts of goods which pass from country-to-country each year, as well as exactly which commodities form

“During the World Cup, Silence Tells the Story”
Twitter has released a tweet analysis of online activity during the penalty shootout of Brazil vs. Chile quarter final face-off. The last penalty kick sparked the highest rate Twitter activity in a single minute seen during the World Cup, with 388985 TPM. “However,” the Twitter blog post points out, “sometimes

Newsflash: England are Godless Heathens
Datashine, a data visualisation platform developed by Oliver O’Brien at UCL’s Centre for Advanced Spatial Analytics, has harnessed the data from the UK’s 2011 census to give us some insights into the Great British people. The interactive map allows you to explore a variety of metrics, including population, health and