Rufus Pollock
1,002 followers
1,002 followers
Rufus Pollock's posts
Post has shared content
Regular Open Knowledge Labs Hangout - https://pad.okfn.org/p/labs-hangouts
Post has shared content
Global Witness and Open Knowledge collaborating against corruption in extractive industries!
Post has shared content
Mining open data from home, 15 year old wins Intel science prize.
From +Intel: "Because of his age, Nathan Han had difficulty finding a Boston area research lab willing to overlook liability issues and allow a fifteen-year-old to conduct research in its facility. But that didn’t stop the high school freshman from forging ahead on his own. Han was determined to study mutations of a gene linked to ovarian cancer, after learning that a family friend had been diagnosed with the disease. The upside for Han? The kind of research he wanted to conduct had far more to do with computer technology and data than traditional lab-ware such as test tubes and petri dishes. So, working from home, Han mined data from publicly available [i.e. open-access] databases and developed a machine learning software tool to study mutations of a gene linked to many kinds of cancer, including ovarian. The BRCA1 tumor suppressor gene has an important function as it is vital in protecting cells from developing cancer. Han detailed the characteristics of this gene and known mutations in order to “teach” his software to differentiate between mutations that cause disease and those that do not. In testing, Han’s device exhibited an 81 percent accuracy rate, demonstrating its potential as a breakthrough tool for accurately identifying cancer threats from BRCA1 gene mutations. Applications for Han’s research are vast, extending to research on other diseases, as well as to advancements in the developing fields of genomics, bioinformatics and big data. For this work, Han beat out nearly 1,800 other global finalists competing at the 2014 Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (Intel ISEF), a program of Society for Science and the Public, when he won the Gordon E. Moore Award, including a $75,000 scholarship."
http://iq.intel.com/biotech-whiz-kid-wins-worlds-largest-science-fair/
Comment. I love this. First, it's a beautiful example of initiative and ingenuity. Congratulations to Nathan Han. Second, it's a compelling example of the benefits of open data. This kind of research by a 15 year old, working from home, without an affiliation at a well-endowed institution, would be impossible if the relevant data were locked behind paywalls. It would be equally impossible for a 45 year old. For researchers affiliated with well-endowed institutions, the research would still be impossible if the relevant data were sitting offline on a private hard drive. It reaffirms one of +Rufus Pollock's arguments for open data: the best use of your data will be discovered by someone else.
#oa #openaccess #opendata #mining
From +Intel: "Because of his age, Nathan Han had difficulty finding a Boston area research lab willing to overlook liability issues and allow a fifteen-year-old to conduct research in its facility. But that didn’t stop the high school freshman from forging ahead on his own. Han was determined to study mutations of a gene linked to ovarian cancer, after learning that a family friend had been diagnosed with the disease. The upside for Han? The kind of research he wanted to conduct had far more to do with computer technology and data than traditional lab-ware such as test tubes and petri dishes. So, working from home, Han mined data from publicly available [i.e. open-access] databases and developed a machine learning software tool to study mutations of a gene linked to many kinds of cancer, including ovarian. The BRCA1 tumor suppressor gene has an important function as it is vital in protecting cells from developing cancer. Han detailed the characteristics of this gene and known mutations in order to “teach” his software to differentiate between mutations that cause disease and those that do not. In testing, Han’s device exhibited an 81 percent accuracy rate, demonstrating its potential as a breakthrough tool for accurately identifying cancer threats from BRCA1 gene mutations. Applications for Han’s research are vast, extending to research on other diseases, as well as to advancements in the developing fields of genomics, bioinformatics and big data. For this work, Han beat out nearly 1,800 other global finalists competing at the 2014 Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (Intel ISEF), a program of Society for Science and the Public, when he won the Gordon E. Moore Award, including a $75,000 scholarship."
http://iq.intel.com/biotech-whiz-kid-wins-worlds-largest-science-fair/
Comment. I love this. First, it's a beautiful example of initiative and ingenuity. Congratulations to Nathan Han. Second, it's a compelling example of the benefits of open data. This kind of research by a 15 year old, working from home, without an affiliation at a well-endowed institution, would be impossible if the relevant data were locked behind paywalls. It would be equally impossible for a 45 year old. For researchers affiliated with well-endowed institutions, the research would still be impossible if the relevant data were sitting offline on a private hard drive. It reaffirms one of +Rufus Pollock's arguments for open data: the best use of your data will be discovered by someone else.
#oa #openaccess #opendata #mining
Post has shared content
School of Data is gearing up for OKfest, School of Data Summer Camp as well as planning activities for the coming fall season. Join us to share how you'd like to be involved in School of Data. Or, share what you are working on or need help with.
There will be two sessions to help with timezones. It is a Hangout to Air. If you want to join the video portion, please be sure to provide your G+ associated email address so that we can add you.
Date: Thursday, July 3, 2014
Time: 08:00 BST/ 07:00 UTC/09:00 CEST/15:00 PHT
About School of Data
http://schoolofdata.org/
About School of Data Summer Camp
http://schoolofdata.org/school-of-data-summer-camp/
There will be two sessions to help with timezones. It is a Hangout to Air. If you want to join the video portion, please be sure to provide your G+ associated email address so that we can add you.
Date: Thursday, July 3, 2014
Time: 08:00 BST/ 07:00 UTC/09:00 CEST/15:00 PHT
About School of Data
http://schoolofdata.org/
About School of Data Summer Camp
http://schoolofdata.org/school-of-data-summer-camp/
Post has shared content
We're hosting a skillshare all about photos. If you have photography skills and would like to share with us, join us. If you are here to learn, great. (me too!)
To join the video conversation, be sure to provide your email address associated with G+ so that we can add you
Date: Thursday, June 26, 2014
Time: 9:30 EDT/ 13:30 UTC/ 14:30 BST/15:30 CEST
OKFestival is less than a month away. We want to capture moments and stories. Photos can be great with a touch of skill.
About OkFestival :
http://2014.okfestival.org/
To join the video conversation, be sure to provide your email address associated with G+ so that we can add you
Date: Thursday, June 26, 2014
Time: 9:30 EDT/ 13:30 UTC/ 14:30 BST/15:30 CEST
OKFestival is less than a month away. We want to capture moments and stories. Photos can be great with a touch of skill.
About OkFestival :
http://2014.okfestival.org/
Post has shared content
Get your ticket now to Open Knowledge Festival in Berlin this July!
OKFestival is a buffet of all things open. The Open Knowledge community is converging on Berlin in a month. We will participate, present, share, make and learn. What will you be doing at OKFestival? Have questions before you buy your ticket? Want to volunteer to build OKfest?
Join this 1 hour session with the community and festival team.
Date: Thursday, June 19, 2014
Time: 08:00 EDT/12:00 UTC/13:00 BST/14:00 CEST.
We will record and save this session to youtube for those of you at work or in various global timezones.
Join this 1 hour session with the community and festival team.
Date: Thursday, June 19, 2014
Time: 08:00 EDT/12:00 UTC/13:00 BST/14:00 CEST.
We will record and save this session to youtube for those of you at work or in various global timezones.
Post has shared content
Please welcome the newest additions to the Open Knowledge network: http://blog.okfn.org/2014/05/21/announcing-our-newest-round-of-local-groups/
Post has attachment
Delighted to see the CKAN “Association” announced. The Association will manage and oversee the CKAN project going forward, supporting the growth of CKAN, its community and stakeholders.
Post has attachment
Post has attachment
Wait while more posts are being loaded