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Facebook is a community

22:43 26-01-2012; source: www.sciencedaily.com

Researchers in Italy have used two high-speed computer algorithms to analyze the connections between a large sub-set of the more than half a billion users of the social networking site Facebook to reveal that the system has a very strong structure. The study shows that Facebook has a well-defined community structure that follows a statistical power law in which there are a huge number of people with few connections and a much smaller number with a large number of connections.

Speed limit on the quantum highway: Physicists measure propagation velocity of quantum signals in a many-body system

22:43 26-01-2012; source: www.sciencedaily.com

A quantum computer based on quantum particles instead of classical bits, can in principle outperform any classical computer. However, it still remains an open question, how fast and how efficient quantum computers really may be able to work. A critical limitation will be given by the velocity with which a quantum signal can spread within a processing unit. For the first time, a group of physicists has succeeded in observing such a process in a solid-state like system.

How kids with autism spend screen time

21:43 25-01-2012; source: www.sciencedaily.com

Children with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) tend to be preoccupied with screen-based media. A new study looks at how children with ASDs spend their “screen time.” Researchers found a very high rate of use of solitary screen-based media such as video games and television with a markedly lower rate of use of social interactive media, including email.

Adolescents with autism spend free time using solitary, screen-based media

21:43 25-01-2012; source: www.sciencedaily.com

Children with autism spectrum disorders tend to be fascinated by screen-based technology. A new study found that adolescents with autism (64.2 percent) spend most of their free time using solitary, or non-social, screen-based media (television and video games) while only 13.2 percent spend time on socially interactive media (e-mail, Internet chatting).

New tool enhances view of muscles

01:43 24-01-2012; source: www.sciencedaily.com

New research is adding to the arsenal of increasingly sophisticated medical imaging tools with a new signal-processing method for viewing muscle activation details never seen before. A novel method using ultrasound imaging, 3-D motion-capture technology and proprietary data-processing software can scan and capture 3-D maps of the muscle structure in just 90 seconds. Previous methods took 15 minutes -- far too long to ask people to hold a muscle contraction.

Hedge fund paying $9 million in settlement

23:49 23-01-2012; source: www.topix.com

A hedge fund named in a massive insider-trading case will pay $9 million in settlements but won't be prosecuted by the Justice Department because it is cooperating in the government's investigation.