Byte size news: DNA barcodes for species stocktake

For those who thought doing a stocktake was a mammoth undertaking, how about noting down every species in the world?
Dr Ian Hogg, senior lecturer at the University of Waikato, is participating in this epic undertaking, the International Barcode of Life (iBOL) Project, with researchers from 25 nations.
They are attempting to compile a DNA barcode library, which will result in a simple way to identify any species worldwide.
These roving researchers are aiming to gather 5 million specimens representing 500,000 species over the next five years.
"DNA barcoding already saves time by not having to send samples off to museums or other experts to be identified.
"But iBOL has a team working on a hand-held device which will literally put the world in your hand," Dr Hogg says.
"The project has immense benefits for many areas outside of scientific research, including bio-security, border control, food safety and identification, international trade, farming and pesticides, to name a few."
Gamers take on virtual rage
They say you are what you eat, but a recent study shows you might just act out what you play.
Students from Ohio State University, Brad Bushman and Bryan Gibson, have conducted research that shows that men who ponder over a violent game after playing can have increased levels of aggression.
The researchers randomly assigned students to play one of six different video games for 20min, with half being violent, such as Mortal Kombat, and the other half not, such as Guitar Hero.
Half of the gamers were told, "for the next 24 hours, think about your play of the game and try to identify ways your game play could improve when you play again".
The men who did play violent games exhibited more aggression then those who didn't.
However, women who played either game were unaffected.
"This study is the first laboratory experiment to show that violent video games can stimulate aggression [in men] for an extended period of time," say researchers.
So, the next time you see a grumpy male gamer, it might be best to divert their attention to a copy of SingStar.
Data helps disaster prediction
With natural disasters seemingly on the rise, IBM researchers are working on a way to help people get prepared.
The plan involves tapping into computers from around the world to access their information and get a better understanding of events such as earthquakes and tsunamis.
"Almost all hard drives have an accelerometer built into them, and all of that data is network-accessible," says Bob Friedlander, master inventor at IBM.
"If we can reach in, grab the data, clean it, network it and analyse it, we can provide very fine-grained pictures of what's happening in an earthquake."
Their end goal is to be able to predict the location and timing of catastrophic events, and to improve warning systems.
Ideally, they will be aiming to use computer servers at data centres because of their fixed locations, near-constant operation and predictable environments.
At first, IBM will set up their own centres with the hope that other companies will get involved.
The humble laptop won't be considered to help out as it would produce unreliable data, such as, is that a tremor or a living room Zumba session?
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