ScienceDaily () -- Computer scientists have designed technologies to help the elderly maintain their independence. One device uses optical sensors to oversee people as they pick up and use items. Another device uses radio frequency identification technology to track which medications have been taken and when. Additionally a variety of sensors at a house can send information on the weather, activity of a person, and other information over the internet to another house, where a picture frame displays the findings graphically.

Selfish dictators may owe their behaviour partly to their genes, according to a study that claims to have found a genetic link to ruthlessness. The study might help to explain the money-grabbing tendencies of those with a Machiavellian streak — from national dictators down to 'little Hitlers' found in workplaces the world over.

Security cameras churn out so much data that they can overwhelm storage facilities and clog networks, but most of that data is pretty boring. Thanks to novel computer vision and machine-learning algorithms, ­VideoIQ's cameras can tell when something suspicious or unusual is happening on screen. At that point, they start recording at a higher resolution and send an alert over the network. Otherwise, they record at such low resolution that they can store months of footage locally, saving disk space and network bandwidth.

"Nanotope is a regenerative medicine company that leverages a core set of proprietary technologies to address multiple therapeutic markets. This highly flexible and customizable platform was first developed at Northwestern University by Dr. Samuel I. Stupp, Professor of Materials Science & Engineering, Chemistry and Medicine and Director of the Institute for BioNanotechnology in Medicine (IBNAM). Nanotope is developing a suite of products, each customized to regenerate specific tissues; including neuronal, vascular, bone, myocardial, and cartilage. The products are injectable compounds that work with surviving cells in and around the point of damage to initiate and support tissue regeneration and growth. Once regeneration is complete, the compounds are safely broken down and removed by the body. Nanotope’s lead products target neuron regeneration for prevention or reversal of paralysis associated with spinal cord injury and angiogenesis for advanced wound healing and the treatment of peripheral artery disease."