Month: October 2017

(credit: Julien GONG Min)

Microsoft has posted its results for the first quarter of its 2018 financial year. Revenue was $24.5 billion, an increase of 12 percent year on year, with an operating income of $7.7 billion, up 15 percent, a net income of $6.6 billion, up 16 percent, and earnings per share of $0.84, up 17 percent.

Microsoft currently has three reporting segments: Productivity and Business Processes (covering Office, Exchange, SharePoint, Skype, and Dynamics), Intelligent Cloud (including Azure, Windows Server, SQL Server, Visual Studio, and Enterprise Services), and More Personal Computing (covering Windows, hardware, and Xbox, as well as search and advertising).

The company also continues to report numbers from LinkedIn both as part of the Productivity group, and independently. No year-on-year numbers are offered for the social network, as it still hasn't been under Microsoft ownership for a full year. LinkedIn had revenue of $1.1 billion, with a cost of revenue of $0.4 billion and operating expenses of $1.0 billion, for a total loss of $0.3 billion.

Enlarge / A representation of how physically close feature recognition units are built hierarchically to create an object hypothesis. (credit: Vicarious AI)

Computer algorithms have gotten much better at recognizing patterns, like specific animals or people's faces, allowing software to automatically categorize large image collections. But we've come to rely on some things that computers can't do well. Algorithms can't match their image recognition to semantic meaning, so today you can ensure a human's present by asking them to pick out images of street signs. And algorithms don't do especially well at recognizing when familiar images are distorted or buried in noise, either, which has kept us relying on text-based CAPTCHAs, the distorted text used to verify a human is interacting with Web services.

Or we had relied on them 'til now, at least. In today's issue of Science, a Bay Area startup called Vicarious AI describes an algorithm they created that is able to take minimal training and easily handle CAPTCHAs. It also managed general text recognition. Vicarious' secret? They modeled the structure of their AI on information we've gained from studying how the mammalian visual cortex processes images.

Thinking visually

In the visual cortex, different groups of neurons recognize features like edges and surfaces (and others identify motions, which aren't really relevant here). But rather than viewing a scene or object as a collection of these parts, the neurons start communicating among each other, figuring out by proximity which features are part of a single object. As objects are built up and recognized, the scene is built hierarchically based on objects instead of individual features.

Bloodhound SSC

On Tuesday, what might well be the world's fastest-ever car completed its first public test at a runway in Newquay, England. Bloodhound SSC is designed to shatter the existing land speed record, aiming for a top speed of over 1,000 mph (1,600km/h). Achieving that goal will require more space than is possible on a runway in the UK, but today's shakedown test saw RAF Wing Commander Andy Green—the current Land Speed Record holder—hit 210mph in just eight seconds.

When Bloodhound SSC travels to South Africa's Hakskeen Pan to attempt to break the record, it will be powered by an EJ200 jet engine and a Nammo hybrid rocket. But for today's test, the vehicle made do with that Rolls Royce ex-Eurofighter engine. This was also Green's first opportunity to log some miles in the speed machine. The runs were livestreamed—scroll forward to the 50-minute mark in the video below to see Bloodhound SSC get its first taste of speed:

Enlarge (credit: Getty | BSIP)

To slather, or not to slather—that is the question that has been roiling doctors, scientists, and new parents recently. And a new ruling by a doctor’s group stands to muck up the debate further.

Amid the birth of microbiome research, some scientists have advocated for smearing bacteria-laden vaginal secretions on any newborns who missed out—namely those born via Caesarian section. Scientists keenly hypothesize that such a gooey glaze can “seed” a more-or-less sterile infant with life-long microbial companions. These wee chums may help train an infant's immune system and dodge issues like allergies and asthma later in life. Several studies have indeed found correlations between C-section deliveries and higher risks of those conditions.

With that, motherly coatings caught on. More and more parents are now requesting “vaginal seeding” for babies delivered via C-section. But infectious disease experts, pediatricians, obstetricians, and gynecologists have pushed back, questioning the safety and noting that there’s no evidence of a health benefit.