A malicious software program, the "Kneber botnet," has infected the computers of more than 2,500 corporations around the world. The purpose appears to be to gather login credentials to online financial systems, social networking sites and e-mail systems, and then transmit that information to the system's controllers. The investigation by NetWitness determined that the botnet has been able to compromise both commercial and government systems, including 68,000 corporate log-in credentials. It has also gained access to e-mail systems, online banking accounts, Facebook, Yahoo, Hotmail and other social network credentials, along with more than 2,000 digital security certificates and a significant cache of personal identity information. (Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/19/technology/19cyber.html)

Researchers from Children's Hospital Boston found that reprogramming skin cells from patients with a premature aging disease (dyskeratosis congenita) to an embryonic state lengthened the telomeres* in the cells. The researchers found that the induced pluripotent cell reprogramming appeared to activate a specific component of the telomerase enzyme, a discovery that they hope to use to develop new treatments for this and other telomerase-related diseases. Reprogrammed skin cells from patients with a premature aging disease (Suneet Agarwal) * A region of repetitive DNA at the end of a chromosome that protects it from destruction (Source: http://www.technologyreview.com/biomedicine/24604/)

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is proposing a "100 Squared" initiative, which would bring 100-megabit-per-second broadband to 100 million U.S. households by 2020. (Source: http://www.networkworld.com/news/2010/021610-fccs-100-megabits-to-the.html?page=2)

"Cyber Shockwave," which simulated a a massive cyberattack -- mobile phone worm and power grid attack -- on Tuesday, found that the U.S. is ill-prepared to handle a large-scale cyberattack. (Source: http://www.informationweek.com/news/government/security/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=222900723&cid=RSSfeed_IWK_News)

Filmmaker Noah Hutton has released a mini-documentary on the first year of IBM's Bluebrain Project to simulate a brain in a computer.

Bluebrain | Year One from Couple 3 Films on Vimeo.

(Source: http://singularityhub.com/2010/02/12/10-year-documentary-to-follow-bluebrain-project-video/)

Researchers at North Carolina State University have developed a lightweight "metal foam" with an elasticity similar to bone. It could mean a new generation of biomedical implants that avoid the bone rejection that often results from more rigid implants. (Source: http://www.physorg.com/news185537540.html)

Israeli company InSightec has developed a device that surrounds the head with an array of transducers that can focus ultrasound beams on a 4 mm spot in the brain to dissolve an artery-blocking clot without damaging the skull. (Thilo Hoelscher) (Source: http://www.technologyreview.com/biomedicine/24548/)

Novozymes, the world's largest industrial enzyme producer, has launched a new line it says will yield ethanol from plant wastes at an enzyme price of about 50 cents a gallon -- a 80 percent price drop from two years ago. This will help bring cellulosic ethanol production prices to under $2 a gallon by 2011, a cost on par with both corn-based ethanol and gasoline at current U.S. market prices. (Source: http://www.nytimes.com/cwire/2010/02/16/16climatewire-economics-improve-for-first-commercial-cellu-93478.html)

If tissue engineers can provide the right physical environment, it should make it easier to transform stem cells into specific tissues and create complex, three-dimensional organs that are as good as the real thing, researchers say. Examples: Expose stem cells to flowing fluid and they turn into blood vessels. Grow human mesenchymal stem cells -- the precursors of bone, muscle and many other tissue types -- on gels. The cells turn into the tissue that most closely matches the stiffness of the gel. Rhythmically squeeze cartilage as it grows, mimicking the stress of walking, to grow cartilage that matches its natural counterpart strength for strength. Video: Regenerating bodies (Source: http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20527471.100-healing-touch-the-key-to-regenerating-bodies.html)

Researchers at the University of Washington looked at signals on the brain's surface while using imagined movements to control a cursor, finding that watching a cursor respond to one's thoughts prompts brain signals to become stronger than those generated in day-to-day life. The finding holds promise for rehabilitating patients after stroke or other neurological damage. It also suggests that a human brain could quickly become adept at manipulating an external device such as a computer interface or a prosthetic limb. The new findings also provide clues about which brain signals to tap. Researchers compared the patterns in low-frequency signals, usually used to control external devices, and high-frequency signals, typically dismissed as noise. They discovered that the high-frequency signals are more specific to each type of movement. Because each one occupies a smaller portion of the brain, several high-frequency signals could be tapped simultaneously to control more sophisticated devices. (Source: http://www.physorg.com/news185470589.html)

The number of cell phone subscribers will reach five billion people this year, and the number of mobile broadband subscriptions will exceed one billion this year, up from 600 million in 2009, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) has said. (Source: http://www.physorg.com/news185467439.html)

An implantable sensor designed to detect the release of dopamine and adenosine could help scientists measure the impact of deep brain stimulation and perhaps provide a way to enhance the effectiveness of the treatment for Parkinson's and other disorders. The device consists of a custom-designed sensor electrode that is implanted along with the stimulating electrode, a microprocessor, a Bluetooth module to send data to a computer, and a battery. Release of dopamine (lower green and purple band) and adenosine (upper green and purple band) chemical messengers (Kendall H. Lee, MD, PhD, director of Mayo Neural Engineering Laboratories, and Kevin Bennet, Chair of Mayo Division of Engineering) (Source: http://www.technologyreview.com/biomedicine/24540/)

Self-publishing site FastPencil has launched a new program aimed at helping aspiring thought leaders publish the books in their heads:

A personal book authoring team to manage the entire book writing process. You run your business, they co-write your book.

Full print and eBook distribution services to Amazon and elsewhere.

Social media promotion services. (Source: http://venturebeat.com/2010/02/16/fastpencil-thought-leader/)

John Underkoffler, who helped create the gesture-based computer interface imagined in the film "Minority Report," has brought that technology to real life in the new g-speak Spatial Operating Environment from Oblong Industries.

g-speak overview 1828121108 from john underkoffler on Vimeo.

(Source: http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/02/15/you-too-can-soon-be-like-tom-cruise-in-minority-report/?ref=technology)

A pan-European team of robotics researchers has begun a project this year that could give humanoid bots the social skills necessary to deal with small groups of people by by building algorithms that will enable bots to mimic the "cocktail party effect" -- the human ability to focus attention on just one person in the midst of other people, voices, and background noise. The team will also explore the possibility of using gesture recognition algorithms to help the bot identify which people want to communicate with it. (Source: http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2010-02/12/humanoid-robots-to-gain-advanced-social-skills.aspx)

Controversial climate scientist Phil Jones admitted to the journal Nature that his much-criticized failure to keep records about the location of Chinese weather stations, used in a major paper constructing a global record of thermometer measurements over the past 160 years, was "not acceptable." In effect, Jones conceded that British climate skeptic Doug Keenan had been right in some of his criticisms of a 20-year-old paper that had used the Chinese data in an analysis that ruled out local urban influences as a significant factor in global warming, and that he might submit a correction to Nature. (Source: http://www.newscientist.com/blogs/shortsharpscience/2010/02/climategate-scientist-attacks-bloggers.html)

Using flexible materials could generate power from the motion of the human body, extending battery life (for applications like pacemakers) or eliminating the battery altogether. Princeton University researchers have developed a way to flex a usually inflexible piezoelectric (voltage-generating) crystal material, lead-zirconate-titanate (PZT), by making it into strips that could be attached to conducting silicone rubber to produce a flexible sheet that converts motion to electricity. University of California at Berkeley researchers have created fibers from a piezoelectric polymer called PVDF with similar properties. (Source: http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20527475.500-pliable-power-pack-will-let-gadgets-feed-on-your-body.html)

Young people with a apolipoprotein E gene variant that increases the risk of developing Alzheimer's tend to be smarter, more educated and have better memories than their peers, Rush University Medical Center researchers have found. (Source: http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20527474.000-a-gene-for-alzheimers-makes-you-smarter.html)

Harvard researchers have created a diamond-based nanowire device that offers a bright, stable source of single photons at room temperature, an essential element in making fast and secure computing with light practical. The device can be readily replicated and integrated in parallel with a variety of nano-machined structures, overcoming limitations of current nanoscale light sources -- fluorescent dye molecules, quantum dots, and carbon nanotubes. Artist's illustration (Jay Penni) (Source: http://www.physorg.com/news185372725.html)

University of Calgary researchers have succeeded in mounting two entangled photons on top of one another to construct a variety of quantum states of light. (Source: http://www.physorg.com/news185372336.html)