Big Data

Mary Lee Kingsley is waiting for a bus in Montgomery County, Md. The bus stop has a big LED screen with a map displaying the current location of buses and when they will arrive.

National

Apps, Maps And Head Counts Transforming Public Transit

5:41pm October 29, 2015

by Franklyn Cater

Transit decisions are made by political bodies, and the results are often that the communities with the most political and economic power drive the bus, so to speak. Big data may change that.

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Bacillus subtilis may look like pasta under the microscope, but the bacteria are common in the gut of humans. Could the microbes be contributing to our belly fat? Too soon to tell, scientists say.

Does This Phylum Make Me Look Fat?

10:35am August 20, 2015

by Katherine Harmon Courage

The relationship between the types of microbes in our gut and belly fat is turning out to be a lot more complicated than scientists first thought.

Carol and John Iovine say the health coach their insurer assigned John after he had a torrent of grave health problems in 2014 has helped them get the medical care he still needs. And it's helped keep him out of the hospital.

Insurer Uses Personal Data To Predict Who Will Get Sick

5:31pm June 09, 2015

by Todd Bookman

A Philadelphia health insurance company analyzes its clients' health data and other factors to find the frailest and assign them health coaches. That may improve health, but is it a breach of privacy?

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The Allen Cell Types Database catalogs all sorts of details about each type of brain cell, including its shape and electrical activity. These cells, taken from the visual area of a mouse brain, are colored according to the patterns of electrical activity

A Database Of All Things Brainy

7:52pm June 01, 2015

by Jon Hamilton

Researchers in Seattle are busy cataloging what scientists have learned. For now that includes detailed information on 240 mouse cells. Next up: a data trove of details on human brain cells.

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Taser International is now selling police departments the technology to store videos from body cameras.

National

As Police Body Cameras Increase, What About All That Video?

8:27pm May 31, 2015

by Martin Kaste

Police cams have suddenly become a big business. But the real money is in selling departments a way to store each day's video. Firms are offering easy uploads to the cloud but costs are bound to grow.

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With the technology to conduct more nuanced tests, some companies say they can provide more useful detail about how people think in dynamic situations.

Recruiting Better Talent With Brain Games And Big Data

1:50pm February 26, 2015

by Yuki Noguchi

Some companies are using surveys or brain games to assess what kind of workers candidates are. Employers say the tests can help reduce turnover and surface talent recruiters might otherwise overlook.

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A global positioning receiver on the top of a combine harvester at a farm in Warwick, Md., in June. The equipment uses sensors and computers to help drive the combine along the route where the crops were planted, judge the composition of a crop and genera

Science

Big Data Companies Agree: Farmers Should Own Their Information

6:28am November 16, 2014

by Dan Charles

Farmers depend on "Big Data" these days, but some worry the companies collecting information about their operations might misuse it. New privacy guidelines are supposed to protect farmers' interests.

Tennis Players Are Getting Their First Servings Of Sabermetrics

2:27pm November 12, 2014

by Kevin Fixler

Players and managers in major team sports have leveraged sophisticated data analyses for years to improve game-time performance. Now one-on-one athletes are picking up Moneyball tactics, too.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella speaks at the Future Decoded conference in London on Nov. 10. The company hopes to create new social tools to increase productivity in and out of the workplace.

Microsoft Wants To Mine Data Like A Social Network

7:23pm November 10, 2014

by Aarti Shahani

Microsoft is going social. With more than a billion people using Office, the company hopes to gather data and create social tools to help users be more productive in their workplaces and lives.

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The NSA says the site's location near Salt Lake City will simplify staffing and the largely treeless surroundings will make the center relatively easy to secure and monitor.

National

Booting Up: New NSA Data Farm Takes Root In Utah

8:38pm September 23, 2013

by Howard Berkes

Even as it continues to grapple with concerns about its data-gathering operations, the National Security Agency is poised to open a massive facility where cellphone, text message, email and landline data can be stored and analyzed.

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