Technology

Comparing their invention to a bar-code scanner at a grocery store, scientists at the Johns Hopkins Oncology Center have developed a new method to rapidly detect genes and measure their activity in cells.The technology -- which melds new computer software, new techniques and equipment already found in advanced laboratories -- can scan about 1,000 genes in a few hours, gathering information that might otherwise take years to collect.Dr. Kenneth W. Kinzler, an oncologist who co-directed the project, said the technology is a research tool that should give scientists a sophisticated view of how genes interact in cells to cause and fight disease -- or create specialized organs and tissues.

Maryland corrections officials are taking advantage of new technology designed to block the use of contraband cellphones by inmates — a problem at the heart of recent indictments at the Baltimore City Detention Center. In a program being used at another prison facility in Baltimore, phones smuggled inside have been severed from the network and rendered inoperable, officials said. The new system, which the Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services hopes to expand, could supplement efforts to find the phones using metal detectors or trained dogs to sniff them out. The department says it is catching more illicit phones than ever — more than 1,300 were found in the last fiscal year — but the federal indictments show the limits of those efforts.

One of your readers recently wrote that "speed limits were developed before" power steering, anti-lock brakes, and other technological improvements in vehicles. The implication by that writer was that speed limits could be increased now, and that speed cameras were not needed. While it is true that, technologically, vehicles have had all kinds of safety improvements done by engineers and factories over the years, what remains in effect are the laws of physics. A 2-ton piece of metal traveling at 60 mph will still require a certain amount of minimum distance in order to come to a halt.

Calling all kids interested in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) related activities? The first annual HoCo STEM Festival is June 9, 1 to 4 p.m., at Howard Community College. This free community event is the brainchild of the Committee to Enhance STEM, a group of seven individuals with STEM backgrounds, including Ellicott City resident David Gertler, who want to stimulate and encourage students' interest in the emerging fields of science, technology, engineering and math.

Your editorial "Getting down to brass tags" (June 14) left out a few facts that might give your readers a clearer view of the value of adding microstamping technology to pistols as a way of tracing spent shell-casings found at crime scenes to a particular handgun. Independent studies by the National Academy of Science, by the University of California at Davis, and by George Krivosta of the American Society of Firearm and Toolmark Examiners concluded the technology is underdeveloped, producing inaccurate results that are easily circumvented, either on purpose or by simple use of the firearm within a few number of rounds fired.

Valedictorian: Ankur Vaidya Salutatorian: Boris Boiko Omar Abdelnaby, Tasnem Abukhdeir, Olalekan Adams, Jacob Adcock, Shirri Ade, Mabel Aina, Kathleen Ako, Gregory Alegbe, Tolulope Alegbeleye, Christina Allen, Jhane' Allen, Imari Alvarez, Mark Asefaw, Beverly Atueyi Sade Bagley, Jasmin Bailey, Mariah Bailey, Omar Ballesteros, Carly Barklow, Ciante Barr, Markus Beasley, Kabria Bennett, Siham Beshir, Darlene Bishop,...

I agree that distracted driving is a problem ("Pair propose way to stop distracted driving," March 10). However, making cellphones inoperable when they're in a moving car is problematic. Would this mean that in addition to the driver, no one else in the car could use their cell phone either? How would a device that made the driver's phone inoperable distinguish that phone from those carried by the vehicle's passengers? And when the software is part installed on the phone, how does it tell if the user is in a private vehicle or a passenger on a bus or Metro, where there's no reason people shouldn't be able to use their phones?

It's getting harder for a public school teacher to reach excellence. By "excellence," I mean being responsible for helping each student significantly develop his or her knowledge or learning capacity. This increased difficulty is not the fault of teachers. Rather, teaching now requires mastering two seemingly opposite responsibilities: developing the best and the brightest to regain America's educational standing in the world, while ensuring that each student learns the basic competencies assessed by state and federal testing - and applying them to classes increasingly diverse in a host of educational factors.

Apple CEO Steve Jobs was an inspiring man who changed the we look at technology. Virtually every project he created was a world-class success. His 2007 iPod changed the way we listen to music; his iPhone put a computer in customers' hand. And his iPad notebook bids fair to make laptop computers obsolete. Mr. Jobs made the lives of millions of people easier. He will go down in history as one of the greatest technology innovators and product designers of our time. Jeffrey Lowe

The O'Malley administration is proposing a regulation that in most of the state would require builders of new homes using septic systems to install more costly models that reduce water pollution. The Maryland Department of the Environment acknowledges that the requirement could add thousands of dollars to the cost of a new home. Maryland builders contend that the added cost is not justified by scientific findings. The proposal would accomplish by regulation a goal that environmental advocates tried to achieve in 2009 through legislation: to require use of the new technology virtually statewide.

Seeking part-time faculty Anne Arundel Community College is seeking part-time faculty to teach credit and noncredit courses. Qualified persons should have at least a master's degree or a bachelor's degree or certified technical expertise. Adjunct faculty recruitment fairs will be held at these times and places: •5 p.m.-7 p.m. Wednesday, May 8, at the AACC Center for Cyber and Professional Training, 7556 Teague Road in Hanover, across from Arundel Mills mall. Check-in from 5 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.; overview of the college, 5:30 p.m. to 6 p.m.; break-out rooms for departments, 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. •8:30 a.m.-11 a.m. Saturday, May 11 at the Center for Applied Learning and Technology, 101 College Parkway in Arnold.

Pixelligent Technologies, a maker of miniscule crystal additives used in electronics and plastics products, said Friday it has raised more than $5.1 million in new funding from the Abell Foundation and others. The funding will allow the Baltimore company to increase manufacturing capacity and hire application, engineering and business development employees, Pixelligent said. The company, which got its start in a College Park incubator, now has more than 30 commercial customers and hopes to open additional plants in Baltimore, Pennsylvania and Delaware.

Baltimore-based technology company Barcoding Inc. said Wednesday it has acquired Lake Zurich, Ill.,-based Miles Technologies Inc. for an undisclosed amount in a move to increase its presence in the central United States. The Baltimore company sells bar-coding equipment and other devices. Miles, which has offices in St. Louis and the Chicago market, provides barcode and radio frequency identification equipment used to track products and locate individuals. The company, which has 14 employees, also develops software for warehouse tracking and management.

Baltimore's Emerging Technology Center will relocate from Canton to Highlandtown when its lease expires this fall. The city's technology incubator announced Friday that it chose new digs at 101 N. Haven St., a former King Cork and Seal Co. facility. The recently renovated building boasts easy access to I-95 and is within the Enterprise Zone and a HUBZone. "ETC moved to Canton in 1999 in an effort to spur growth in this part of the city, and it is time to say job well done and do it again," said Deb Tillett, the center's president, in a statement.

More than 100 people, including 63 students, attended an informational session at Battelle that included demonstrations about the growing field of cyber security. The interactive sessions April 18 included mobile forensics on android, cryptography, robotics and cyber-hygiene, which focused on strategies for staying safe and employable while using social media. The purpose of the event was to expose students to the possibilities of career opportunities in cyber security and it included a session on cyber degree programs and related careers.

City school officials said they will take extra security measures at a Southeast Baltimore charter school after five fires were set this week at the school, which also had an altercation that injured an administrator and a student arrest. Officials said they will increase the presence of school police officers and district staff at the Friendship Academy of Science and Technology Middle/High School, which they acknowledged has had "significant safety issues" this week. Among them were five trash-can fires - two Wednesday and three Thursday.

I first want to commend The Sun's editorial board for their spot on assessment of expanding same-day voter registration to include change of party affiliation ("Voting early and easily," Jan. 22). As an independent voter and advocate of open primaries, this alternative is probably the closest compromise third party voters will get with a Democratic legislature. And please don't take my sincere compliment of this position lightly, as it comes rarely for the positions taken by this paper.

NEW YORK -- U.S. stocks closed mixed yesterday as investors shifted money from large manufacturers into smaller technology issues, causing the Dow Jones industrial average to tumble and the Nasdaq combined composite index to climb.Better-than-expected earnings at Applied Materials Inc., a maker semiconductor-manufacturing equipment, fueled the stampede into technology companies. Investors said semiconductor and software companies are poised to post better earnings growth than older companies in the telephone, retail and food industries, investors said.

A Wednesday bankruptcy filing by Synagro Technologies Inc. means growth and new jobs for the Baltimore area as the waste recycler consolidates its headquarters in White Marsh. The Carlyle Group LP-owned company, which had been co-headquartered in Baltimore and Houston, said Wednesday that it would use bankruptcy to restructure debt and sell its assets to EQT Infrastructure in a $455 million deal. The company filed for a Chapter 11 reorganization of its debts in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware and said it expects the sale to be completed in two to three months.

The Western School of Technology and Environmental Science in Catonsville is scheduled to reopen Friday after an early-morning fire Thursday damaged two portable classrooms and the roof of the high school's main building, school officials said. Staff worked Thursday to prepare the building for reopening and ensure that it would be safe for students, school system spokesman Mychael Dickerson said. Firefighters responded to the school in the 100 block of Kenwood Avenue about 2:34 a.m. Thursday for reports of a possible fire and found one portable classroom engulfed in flames, with the fire spreading to a second portable classroom, according to the Baltimore County Fire Department.