Content about high-performance computing

Ewan Birney, associate director of the European Bioinformatics Institute, says that biology has now transformed to become a 'big-data science'. Ahead of his keynote talk at this month’s EUDAT 2nd conference, he explains that the field faces both what he terms 'blue-' and 'white-collar problems' in handling this data deluge.

Plus, could DNA really be the future of data storage? Birney believes it could be. "DNA is remarkable," he says. "Just one gram of DNA can store about a petabyte’s worth of data… it's estimated that you could put the whole internet into the size of a van!"

Research at CERN featured prominently in discussion at ISC Big Data ’13, which was held last week in Heidelberg, Germany. The event focused on the future of handling big data, as well as big data as a crossroads where high-performance computing and enterprise meet.

iSGTW speaks to CERN openlab’s Sverre Jarp, ahead of this month’s inaugural ISC Big Data conference in Heidelberg, Germany. Jarp, who is the general chair of the event, picks his highlights from the conference program and tells us why big data presents exciting opportunities, but also poses challenges, for enterprise and HPC alike. 

The PRACE Scientific Conference was recently held in Leipzig, Germany. Delegates at the event highlighted the importance of training and spoke of the fundamental role high-performance computing has to play in driving innovation in Europe.

Horizon 2020, the European Commission’s next funding cycle, is set to launch in January 2014. With less than a year to go, you may be wondering: what is Horizon 2020? What makes it different to the frameworks that preceded it? And what are the implications, both for the e-infrastructure projects themselves and the researchers who benefit from them? e-Science Briefing’s Stefan Janusz gives an overview of the road ahead...

Sea level is projected to rise by up to a meter by 2100 due to human-caused increases in greenhouse gases. However, a new study indicates that cutting four kinds of heat-trapping emissions could have an impact this century. Such progress is possible because these pollutants cycle through the atmosphere relatively quickly.

Rossen Apostolov will be discussing some of the lessons learned from the ScalaLife project at ISC'13 in Leipzig next month. Since 2011, the EU-funded ScalaLife project has been working to help enhance the models used by life scientists.

One of the highlights of the recent TedxCERN conference was a talk given by Ian Foster, widely known as one of the founders of grid computing. He also spoke to an audience of CERN IT department staff about Globus Online and the challenges of big data.

The diatom species responsible for thick blooms in mountain streams and ponds – colloquially known as ‘didymo’ or ‘rock snot’ – can coat moist surfaces and promote bacteria by secreting a slimy substance, known as mucilage, that supports all types of growth. Read about researchers’ efforts to uncover the origins of these common algae.

Scientists at the University of Oklahoma are developing advanced data analysis techniques to discover why some storms generate tornadoes and others do not. Read about these techniques and their potential impacts on early warning systems and forecasts.

Renowned computer scientist Paul Messina delivers Peebles Memorial Lecture at Indiana University in Bloomington, US. The university awarded Messina the distinguished Thomas Hart Benton Mural Medallion at the dedication and launch of Big Red II, the fastest university-owned supercomputer in the nation.