The Discovery Files: Power Nap

A new "subconscious mode" for smartphones and other WiFi-enabled mobile devices could extend battery life by as much as 54 percent for users on the busiest networks.

Credit: NSF/Karson Productions

Audio Transcript:

(Sound effect: Smart phone ring) A Smarter Smart Phone.

(Sound effect: theme music) I'm Bob Karson with the discovery files--new advances in science and engineering from the National Science Foundation.

When your smart phone is waiting for your next hookup, it's on alert looking for messages and searching for clear communication channels. Did you know that it could be using as much power then as when it's sending and receiving messages? Researchers at the University of Michigan are working to make that idle time a lot less of a drain.

Meet "E-MILI," which stands for "Energy Minimizing Idle Listening." A way to have smart phones go into a slower, deeper mode of sleep, but still be ready to jump to full power when needed. The team believes that by using this new technology most smart phones could still keep one eye open for incoming messages while using as much as 44% less power.

E-MILI slows the clock in your Wi-Fi card to one-sixteenth of its normal frequency, that's easy, the hard part is to get the phone to recognize incoming messages while almost in a coma, so it can jolt back to full speed. Their solution was to get it to recognize just the headers of incoming messages. So they found a new way to encode the address header. To do this, it's going to require firmware modifications by the Wi-Fi chipset manufacturers, as well as getting the makers of smart phones onboard to install the chips in new phones. The project is in the proof-of-concept stage and could be reality soon.

Smart phones taking a real "power nap" -- would that make them "sleeper cells?[1]"

The Discovery Files" covers projects funded by the government's National Science Foundation. Federally sponsored research -- brought to you, by you! Learn more at nsf.gov or on our podcast.

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Notes:

[1] sleeper cells
It is used as a pun here. Sleeper cells originally means secret people who receive specialized training in their home countries and are then assigned to assimilate into another country's culture and society. These sleeper cells may spend years performing their regular duties while living deep undercover, then suddenly receive orders from their overseas handlers to either commit an act of terrorism or provide aid to those who will.

The Discovery Files: Game Changer

The Discovery Files: Game Changer[1]
Gamers have solved the structure of a retrovirus enzyme whose configuration had stumped scientists for more than a decade. The gamers achieved their discovery by playing Foldit, an online game that allows players to collaborate and compete in predicting the structure of protein molecules.

Credit: NSF/Karson Productions

Audio Transcript:

(Sound effect: online gaming sounds)High-stakes Gamers[2].
(Sound effect: theme music)

I'm Bob Karson with the discovery files--new advances in science and engineering from the National Science Foundation.

Here's a first--online gamers have solved a molecular biology problem in just 3 weeks, one that scientists couldn't unravelin 10 years. The project is the brainchild of scientists at the University of Washington Department of Biochemistry and the UW Center for Game Science.

The mission was to model the structure of a retrovirus enzyme from an aids-like virus. If scientists can determine its structure, they'll be better able to create anti-aids drugs to deactivate it. For over a decade, the usual methods of solving the puzzle were tried but science couldn't get a handle on what the enzyme's structure looked like.

The team turned to an unlikely group--online gamers. Reasoning that human intuition is something computers don't have, they used an online game created at UW called "fold it," and enlisted thousands of players worldwide to take a crack at cracking it.

Groups of players were soon rotating 3-d chains of amino acids in cyberspace and were able to generate models good enough for the researchers to refine and within a few days determine the enzyme's structure.

The game of science meets the science of gaming. Look for other 'gamely' collaborations that may change the way we teach math and science. In the article that published the findings in a scientific journal, the gamers were listed as co-authors.

"It's not a game--it's molecular biology, mom."


The Discovery Files" covers projects funded by the government's National Science Foundation. Federally sponsored research -- brought to you, by you! Learn more at nsf.gov or on our podcast.

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Notes:

[1] Game Changer
A person, an event or a new and different idea that completely changes the way a situation develops.A person, an event or a new and different idea that completely changes the way a situation develops.

[2] High-Stakes Gamers

Most high stakes gamers are experienced people who have an aptitude for gambling. In this article, a gamer indicates a computer game player and high stakes gamers means experienced people who show a talent for computer games.

Yes or no, that’s a question!(C4 Speech Script by April Chung)

Good evening, ladies and gentlemen,

In our life, we can heard someone persuade somebody to do something every day. Excuse me; could you do me a favor? Could you hire me? Could you lend me money? Or when could you deliver your speech? Are you afraid of being rejected, too? Don’t worry; just give them a good reason for your purpose. Because, the meaning of persuasion is to make someone decide to do something, especially by giving reasons why they should do it. Yes or No is depend on your question or reason.

One day, my supervisor gave me a task to count the customer complaints from our Japanese customers. I told him, “I only can read simple sentences in Japanese. Could you ask Ms. Kao who speaks fluent Japanese to deal with the document and I still have to do something important and urgent.”
He said, “But it’s a good chance to improve your Japanese ability.”
I said, “Thank you, Sir. I know it’s a good chance to improve my Japanese ability, but my ability is not good enough to deal with those documents. I have to look up the dictionary word by word, analyze the grammar, and ask others to help me. I will spend too much time on this matter.”
At that moment, my supervisor seems a little angry and said coldly, “…………hum, let me think over your suggestion.”
After working, I received a call from my supervisor, he was very angry and shout at me, “April, I want to tell you something, if you can’t accept the assignment, please tell me in private, not in public. Remember that I’m the supervisor in this office, you refuse to do my order quickly in public, how can I have the power to lead the team?”
I said, “Sorry, sir, I don’t have that meaning. I apologize to you for my rude action. Next time, I will notice my behavior.”

General speaking, persuader doesn’t have advantage of psychology. Before the communication, you can follow the word “5P”: Patience, Personality, Position, Pride, and Place. You must have the patience and know the personality, especially his or her position is higher than you, please take care of their pride in a good place to make them feel free. Then, make sure 3W: What happen; Who has the connection to the case; and What’s the effect of this matter. In the end, take the good timing to persuade them.

When you discussed how to promote cooperation, please don’t criticize each other, please find out the advantages of each other and balance point. Please be clear, simple and forceful. You have to get the point in a short time, otherwise the listener not only feel confused but also hit back at your point easily. Yes or No is to depend on your question and good reason. Guess what! What happen to those hot potato documents? I persuaded my supervisor successfully; I passed the difficult task to my coworker who speaks excellent Japanese.