<b><br /></b><ul><li><strong>The funds were then disbursed in January 2016 to the Delhi government, but were not utilised by the six implementation bodies.</strong></li><li><strong>The total number of household toilets the civic bodies had expected to construct was 11,117, which is woefully short of the Government of India’s target based on a 2011 census of 1,27,005.<span class="redactor-invisible-space"><br /></span></strong></li><li><span class="redactor-invisible-space"><strong>South Delhi Municipal Corporation, Delhi Cantonment Board and Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board did not see the need to construct any public toilets.</strong><br /></span></li></ul>A <a href="http://www.cag.gov.in/sites/default/files/audit_report_files/Chapter_3_Compliance_Audit_of_Report_No_3_of_2018_-_Social%2C_General_and_Economic_Sectors_%28Non-PSU%29_Government_of_Delhi.pdf">report tabled by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG)</a> at the <keyword id="6356117" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Delhi-Assembly">Delhi Assembly</keyword> had some astonishing revelations. Of the ₹403.1 million allocated for the construction of toilets, not one rupee has been spent. The money has been lying ‘idle’ in the non-interest generating current accounts of the government. <br /><br />The Modi government’s flagship mission was launched on October 2nd, 2014. The funds were then disbursed in January 2016 to the Delhi government, but were not utilised by the six implementation bodies -- South Delhi Municipal Corporation (South DMC), <keyword id="6356596" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="north-delhi-municipal-corporation">North Delhi Municipal Corporation</keyword> (North DMC), East Delhi Municipal Corporation (East DMC), Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB), New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) and the Delhi Cantonment Board (DCB).<br /><br />According to the report, the <keyword id="6354944" type="DEFINITION" weightage="20" keywordseo="aam-aadmi-party">Aam Aadmi Party</keyword> government had initially promised to construct 200,000 toilet blocks in slums/JJ clusters and unauthorised colonies in its manifesto but failed to deliver on the promise. In fact, the few toilets that were constructed were done from the <keyword id="75926" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="municipal-board">Municipal Board</keyword>’s own funds.<br /><br />The audit pointed to a lack of planning, the skewing of some guidelines and the failure of an adequate monitoring and evaluation mechanism as reasons for the government’s inability to follow through on its commitment. <br /><br /><strong>The key findings were as follows:-<br /></strong><br /><ul><li>The implementation bodies underestimated the number of toilets they needed to construct. The three types of toilets that come under this scheme include - household toilets, community toilets and public toilets. According to the audit, the total number of household toilets the civic bodies had expected to construct (September 2015) was 11,117, which is woefully short of the Government of India’s target based on a 2011 census of 1,27,005. </li><li>Out of the six civic bodies, only the East Delhi Municipal Corporation saw the need to construct household toilets in its area. And there too, only 11,117 toilets were projected to be constructed by East DMC whereas the government had projected a need for 56,734 toilets.</li><li>The South Delhi Municipal Corporation and Delhi Cantonment Board didn’t see the need to construct any community toilets but the government had projected a requirement of 718 and 408 community toilets respectively.</li><li>South Delhi Municipal Corporation, Delhi Cantonment Board and Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board did not see the need to construct any public toilets. However, the North Delhi Municipal Corporation and East Delhi Municipal Corporation found the necessity of constructing only 205 and 120 public toilets as against 4,116 and 1,972 respectively projected by the central government.</li><li>The South Delhi Municipal Corporation cited space constraints as a reason for not projecting any requirement for construction of community toilets and public toilets.</li><li>“South and North DMCs did not consider unauthorized colonies for projecting requirement of Individual Household Toilets stating that they do not have jurisdiction over them thereby leaving unauthorized colonies out of Mission coverage with regard to Household Toilets.”</li><li>The audit also pointed out that the Delhi government only spent ₹20.3 million on public awareness programme against ₹51.7 million released for this purpose. The audit said, ”this was indicative of inadequate efforts on the part of these implementing agencies to educate the households to avail the benefit of household toilets.”</li><li>The audit noted that the finances were irresponsible managed. There were delays in releasing funds to the implementing agencies, which was exacerbated by the fact that some funds were allocated incorrectly. Furthermore, the implementation agencies did not make use of whatever funds they did receive.</li><li>The report added that the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB), which is responsible for making slums and JJ clusters open defecation free, did not receive the state’s share from the government which accounted for 60% of the amount required. The DUSIB later refunded the entire amount of ₹68.6 million it had received from the centre under the Mission.</li><li>Finally, the audit noted that the oversight and monitoring mechanism set up to ensure the implementation of the Mission was ineffective. “The State level High Power Committee (HPC) headed by the Chief Secretary is responsible for approval of plan and projects, sanction of allocation of resources, and monitoring of outcome of the Mission. The audit noted that the HPC met four times since inception of the scheme; discussed the identification of beneficiaries; sought an action plan for scheme implementation, ordered the timely release of funds received from the GoI as well as the State share to the implementing agencies; and requested timely submission of utilisation certificate. Many of these issues were discussed repeatedly in every meeting without much progress thereon.”</li></ul>

The Delhi government has failed to make even one toilet under the Swachh Bharat Mission

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Carlye Calvin/UCAR</span></p></div><p></p></div></div>President Obama issued an executive order Wednesday for the United States to build the world's fastest computer over the next decade.</p><p>Mr. Obama has created the National Strategic Computing Initiative to help the country lead in the development of High-Performance Computing (HPC) systems.</p><p>Competitiveness in this field remains "essential to economic competitiveness, scientific discovery and national security," the <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2015/07/29/advancing-us-leadership-high-performance-computing" target="_blank">White House announced</a> Wednesday. </p><p>The initiative includes two key goals.</p><p>First: to increase the speed of calculations to one exaflop (10<sup>18</sup>  arithmetic operations per second). This is about <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2015/07/29/advancing-us-leadership-high-performance-computing" target="_blank">30 times quicker</a> than today's fastest machines, according to Wired.</p><p>Second: to "efficiently manipulate vast and rapidly increasing quantities of both numerical and non-numerical data."</p><p>"By strategically investing now, we can prepare for increasing computing demands and emerging technological challenges, building the foundation for sustained US leadership for decades to come, while also expanding the role of high-performance computing to address the pressing challenges faced across many sectors."</p><p>To date, the use of HPC has focused on simulating complex natural and technological systems, such as "galaxies, weather and climate, molecular interactions, and electric power grids," according to the White House press release.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque </span></p><p class="caption">U.S. President Barack Obama is shown digital learning programs during a visit to Mooresville Middle School in Mooresville, North Carolina June 6, 2013.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>The computer could also aid the <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-33718311" target="_blank">development of personalized medicines</a>, tailored to specific individuals, Richard Kenway, a mathematical physicist at the University of Edinburgh in Britain told the BBC.</p><p>"Today, drugs are designed for the average human and they work OK for some people but not others," Professor Kenway said.</p><p>According to Wired, "the specifics [of the program] are thin on the ground at the moment" but government agencies are on course to collaborate.</p><p>Wired reports this initiative will "bring together scientists and government agencies such as the Department of Energy, Department of Defense and the National Science Foundation to create a common agenda for pushing the field forward."<span class="eos_marker" id="end-of-story"></span></p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/rocket-league-dlc-2015-7">The best game of the year is about to get much bigger</a></h3>        <div>            <div>        <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="lkN2RsdjqY4jNcRJzTEN37h0RP1t6adV" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>        </div>        </div>            </div>

President Obama has ordered the building of the world's fastest supercomputer

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/moia/14266642578/in/photolist-nJGgNb-ZL62PW-QXLts6-QVdAg3-QXLRUk-dqRE9e-DSoVkq-DSrAB7-DU3dYS-edhswK-21Xq1pY-hFwJsC-ZDQstx-ZUTF2w-ZDQmP6-ZUU2fs-H6kARB-21XpUtE-DU3fof-DSn1A9-DU3hpj-RY9AEE-S98Sr5-edhu7Z-ZM8x7m-ZDQqm6-CoqCPa-ZUUXfb-CoqCmg-ZUTJMh-fKssoo-222WEjk-21XpTL7-H4EsvT-H4EjdR-22b9bWJ-edo3nm-221hn4F-H4EDuB-222WBY8-H4Eboc-fyyS9h-hR2PDr-21XpQkj-ZDQ8uR-ZDPYNc-DSmC33-fbgifv-21dvC1z-jBbHjf">Marko Ahtisaari/Flickr</a></span></p></div><p></p></div></div></p><ul><li><strong>None of the 10 fastest supercomputers in the world are currently located in Europe. </strong></li><li><strong>The European Commission wants to change this by investing €486 million (£432 million) in high performance computers. It hopes that member states will contribute an additional €500 million (£445 million). </strong></li><li><strong>Computer scientists in the UK are concerned the UK will miss out on the benefits of the new supercomputers as a result of Brexit. </strong></li></ul><p><br />Europe is planning to spend €1 billion (£890 million) on supercomputers that "bring benefits to society," <a href="http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-18-64_en.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according to an announcement</a> on the European Commission's website. </p><p>The European Commission said on Friday that it intends to fund world class high performance computers (HPC) in Europe through the "EuroHPC" initiative so that European companies and scientists don't have to process their data outside the EU.</p><p>"Supercomputers are the engine to power the digital economy," said Andrus Ansip, European Commission Vice-President for the Digital Single Market in a statement. </p><p>"It is a tough race and today the EU is lagging behind: we do not have any supercomputers in the world's top-ten. With the EuroHPC initiative we want to give European researchers and companies world-leading supercomputer capacity by 2020 - to develop technologies such as artificial intelligence and build the future's everyday applications in areas like health, security or engineering."</p><p>The Commission is willing to invest €486 million (£432 million) in high performance computers and it wants member states to contribute an additional €500 million (£445 million) plus by 2020. Companies are also being invited to make contributions. </p><p>Today, the two fastest supercomputers are in China. Most of the others in <a href="https://www.top500.org/lists/2017/11/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the top 10</a> are found in the US and Japan. The Commission hopes that the EuroHPC will result in Europe having two supercomputers that are among the top 10 in the world and capable of tens of millions of billions of calculations per second. </p><p>Computer scientists in Britain are concerned that they will miss out on the benefits that the supercomputers bring as a result of Brexit, <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-01-11/eu-launches-effort-to-catch-u-s-china-japan-in-supercomputing" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Bloomberg reports</a>. The UK is yet to formally join the initiative. </p><p>Simon McIntosh-Smith, a computer scientist at the University of Bristol, told Bloomberg: "Brexit has thrown a lot of uncertainty around the UK's participation and it is really unfortunate and causing delay and confusion." </p><p>Mariya Gabriel, Commissioner for Digital Economy and Society, said in a statement: "Supercomputers are already at the core of major advancements and innovations in many areas directly affecting the daily lives of European citizens. They can help us to develop personalised medicine, save energy and fight against climate change more efficiently.</p><p>Gabriel added: "A better European supercomputing infrastructure holds great potential for job creation and is a key factor for the digitisation of industry and increasing the competitiveness of the European economy."</p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/monster-machines-changing-construction-2017-12">These monster machines are changing the world of construction</a></h3>        <div>                    </div>    </div>

Europe plans to spend €1 billion on supercomputers as it looks to keep pace with the US and China

<br /> The Indian Institute of Technology (Kanpur), one of the top educational institutions, has unveiled a new <keyword id="6537818" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="supercomputer">supercomputer</keyword> on June 3. It is the second supercomputer that has been developed by the institute and cost around Rs 48 crore. <br /><br />

	The computer has been ranked fifth in the country in terms of performance and 130th in the list of the world’s top 500 supercomputers. 
<br /><br /> The supercomputer was assembled at <keyword id="6438603" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="IIT-Kanpur">IIT-Kanpur</keyword> by a team of engineers, headed by the institute's deputy director, SC Srivastava. The wonder machine was unveiled by Srivastava, along with Ashish Dutta, the head of the institute’s computer centre. According to them, the new machine would be used for regular education, research and training purposes. <br /><br /> Srivastava also claimed that the machine operates at a peak performance of 307.2 <keyword id="2296606" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Terra-Flops">Terra Flops</keyword> (TF) and a realised performance of about 249 TF. <br /><br /> Supercomputers are used in many areas of science and engineering research, and many researchers across disciplines have used supercomputers for <keyword id="6600167" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="High-Performance-Computing">high performance computing</keyword> (HPC), added Dutta. <br /><br />

	He also asserted that HPC can simulate nuclear explosions, evolution of galaxies, effects of pacemaker redesign, genetics and related diseases, medical drug discovery, aircraft light, aerodynamics, etc.<br />
	(Image: Wikipedia)

IIT-Kanpur Unveils Its 2nd Supercomputer

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Slaven Vlasic/Getty Images</span></p><p class="caption">Sir Martin Sorrell, CEO of WPP.</p></div><p></p></div></div>The <a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/high-pay-centre-ftse-100-ceo-pay-versus-average-salary-2015-8">High Pay Centre's latest report on the pay of British CEOs is out</a>, showing that the chief executives of FTSE 100 firms got paid 183 times what the average Briton did last year.</p><p>In the 2014 financial year, the average pay packet ran to £4.96 million ($8.22 million).</p><p>But many are paid much more than that - the HPC lists the top ten, most of whom took home between twice and ten times the average even for their peers.</p><p>The dollar salary amounts are converted using HMRC's average exchange rate figures for the 2014 financial year.</p><p>Take a look at who topped the tables last year.</p>

RANKED: The 10 best-paid CEOs of Britain's biggest listed companies

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>HPE</span></p><p class="caption">HPE CEO Meg Whitman</p></div><p></p></div></div>Hewlett Packard <keyword id="6356323" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Enterprise">Enterprise</keyword> <a href="https://www.hpe.com/us/en/newsroom/news-archive/press-release/2016/08/1272793-hewlett-packard-enterprise-to-acquire-sgi-to-extend-leadership-in-high-growth-big-data-analytics-and-high-performance-computing.html">announced plans to buy</a> an iconic maker of high-end computers, Silicon Graphics, for $7.75 per share, or $275 million net of cash and debt.</p><p>This was basically bargain shopping to take out a long-time competitor.</p><p>SGI brought in $521 million in revenues in its last fiscal year, and lost nearly $39 million (net income). SGI's revenues had been diving in recent years, down from $767 million in 2013, and the stock reflected investors' displeasure. Share prices had been struggling to stay above $5.</p><p>Taking on a company with shrinking revenues is an interesting choice. HPE CEO's Meg Whitman's nearly five-year reign, first as CEO of HP and now of the spin-off company HPE, has been dominated by her attempt to rightsize HP, divest the company of its own shrinking business units, and find some growth markets.</p><p>To that end, she split HP into two companies, HP Inc. (printers and PCs) and HPE (servers, software, data center tech). And, in May, she entered an agreement <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/hpe-employees-shocked-and-relieved-about-enterprise-services-spinoff-2016-5">to spin out HPE's consulting unit</a>, Enterprise Services, into a new company half owned by HPE and half by one-time rival CSC.</p><p>Clearly she's also ready to start shopping, especially if the price is right.</p><p>HPE's <a href="https://www.hpe.com/us/en/newsroom/news-archive/press-release/2016/08/1272793-hewlett-packard-enterprise-to-acquire-sgi-to-extend-leadership-in-high-growth-big-data-analytics-and-high-performance-computing.html">press release</a> says buying SGI will increase HPE's presence in the $11 billion high performance computing (HPC) market, growing at 6-8% annually (CAGR), and in the data center market, growing at "over twice that rate."</p><p>SGI has about 1,100 employees.</p><p> </p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/electoral-college-math-donald-trump-clinton-battleground-state-polling-2016-8">This animated map shows the most probable path to a Trump victory</a></h3>        <div>            <div>        <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="g5d3Y3NTE6jzjPUt5d-5SB3KkohNLpN-" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>        </div>        </div>            </div>

Hewlett Packard Enterprise is buying a long-time rival with a declining business

In computers, the term <keyword id="22518" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="flop">FLOP</keyword> stands for Floating Point Operations Per Second, telling you exactly how many operations a processor is capable of performing each second. A teraflop means one million million FLOPs, while a petaflop represents one thousand million million FLOPs. Remember this as you read further.<br /><br />Around 2007-08, the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM) was conducting <keyword id="6359992" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="weather">weather</keyword> research using a 7 teraflop computer. In 2018, it uses the power of <keyword id="3658" type="COUNTRY" weightage="20" keywordseo="India">India</keyword>'s fastest <keyword id="6537818" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="supercomputer">supercomputer</keyword>, named Pratyush, and its whopping 6.8 petaflops of power. That's 6800000000000000 FLOPs, in case you were wondering.<br /><br />It's mind-boggling math, Isn’t it?<br /><br /><strong>So much power<br /></strong><br />Contrary to what many believe, Pratyush is composed of two different High Performance Computing (HPC) units. The name Pratyush is given to the unit at IITM, while there's another unit (called Mihir), at the National Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasting (NCMRWA) in Noida, Uttar Pradesh. Together, the two HPCs, contribute 4 petaflops and 2.8 petaflops respectively, bringing the total power up to 6.8 petaflops.<br /><br />This is the fourth fastest supercomputer in the world in the weather and climate domain.<br /><br />And all of this power is used to predict the weather as accurately as possible.<br /><br /><strong>Why weather?</strong><br /><br />Weather in India is no small talk. The inclement weather events are fast mutating the economic misfortunes of the country. The Indian <keyword id="6358301" type="DEFINITION" weightage="20" keywordseo="monsoon">monsoon</keyword> is a critical driver for the country's farm-dependent $2 trillion economy, as at least half the farmlands are heavily dependent on rain. <br /><br />With the recent spate of unpredictable weather events, climate change stakes are becoming real for India. According to an economic survey published in 2017, these weather events are costing India anywhere between $9-10 billion annually and climate change is projected to impact agricultural productivity with increasing severity from 2020 to the end of the century.<br /><br />And to make matters worse, the Indian monsoon is one of the most complex climate systems of the world. The geographic location of India make the system more difficult to simulate and predict. <br /><br />Pratyush with its super computational capacity, though, has been able to make it significantly accurate. Its vast computing ability helps map regions of the country at a 12km resolution for weather forecasts.<br /><br /><strong>Why do you need a supercomputer to predict weather?</strong><br /><br />A few years ago, scientists at IITM had to wait for about six hours for calculations to be completed. With their brand new computer, this takes four hours. "Weather and climate forecasting are computationally intensive," says Dr. Suryachandra A. Rao, Project Director at Pratyush.<br /><br />You're probably wondering why two hours matter, right? Well, it likely doesn't. Not without context anyway. The supercomputer allows scientists to predict the weather significantly more accurately and in lesser time, which is what matters.<br /><br />Weather forecasting is done using equations, Rao explained. These equations are solved at different imaginary points on the globe. Earlier, the IITM used to predict data using points placed at every 200 square kilometre, which was later brought down to 100 sq. km. With the help of Pratyush, they have now brought the distance down to 12 square kilometres.<br /><br />These points are akin to pixels on a camera sensor, represented by megapixels. Higher megapixel count (theoretically) allows better quality images. Similarly, closer the dots are placed, more accurate the weather forecast can be. And just like pixels are to cameras, this is just one aspect of weather forecasting.<br /><br />Furthermore, the Earth's atmosphere consists of different layers, 64 to be precise, and the equations have to be run for each of these layers. So, the equations aren't just performed at each dot, but at different layers on these dots. The dots are spread over the entire globe, meaning the actual number of combinations is unimaginable.<br /><br />In fact, Rao says there are 40 levels of the ocean that aren't considered at the moment. To take those into account, the computational power required will be even more, and weather prediction would be more accurate too.<br /><br />See why all that power is required? No? There's more. <br /><br />Scientists don't just run the calculations once. That would be most inefficient. The calculations are run 20 to 30 times, changing variables like temperature, humidity etc. This is done to reduce uncertainty and keep predictions as accurate as possible.<br /><br />But the supercomputer is just a kernel of the weather forecasting process. Reams of data that is sputtered out is then matched with the human computational genius, when chief scientist Rao and his team rack their heads to interpret and compare this data. <br /><br />A rare scene where big data and humans do not bristle, but align to reach a common goal.<br /><br />With a supercomputer worth a whopping Rs. 450 crores (approx. $65 million) brought on and tasked to do weather forecasting, weather conversations should bump itself up from their ‘small talk’ status.<br />

Here's how the  fastest supercomputer in India helps predict the weather

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right click-to-enlarge"><div><div class="image on-image"><a title_source="Met Office " title_caption="The new Met Office supercomputer." class="zoomin" href="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/544f902ceab8ea1254b3adc2-960/new-met-office-supercomputer-1.jpg"><span class="sprites click-to-enlarge-icon" title="Click to enlarge"></span></a><p class="source"><span>Met Office </span></p><p class="caption">The new Met Office supercomputer.</p></div><p></p></div></div>Weather is highly unpredictable. But now a new supercomputer, weighing the equivalent of 11 double decker buses, will change the UK's weather uncertainty forever. </p>
<p>The UK's Met office unveiled on Tuesday a £97 million new system, which will be fully operational in 2017. </p>
<p>The new supercomputer will "cement the UK's position as a world leader in weather and climate prediction," <a href="http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/news/releases/archive/2014/new-hpc">the Met Office said in a statement</a>. </p>
<p>Hopefully this will limit the number of weather prediction errors as there have been many forecasting <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqs1YXfdtGE&amp;noredirect=1" target="_blank">blunders in the past</a>. </p>
<p>The system will be 13 times more powerful than the one used now, granting meteorologists the ability to perform more than 16,000 trillion calculations per second, the office explains. </p>
<p>Rob Varley, chief executive of the Exeter-based organization, said: "We are very excited about this new investment in UK <keyword id="41551" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="100" keywordseo="science">science</keyword>. </p>
<p dir="ltr">"It will lead to a step change in weather forecasting and climate prediction and give us the capability to strengthen our collaborations with partners in the South West, UK and around the world.</p>
<p><span id="docs-internal-guid-88060262-5690-1a56-c4fa-1dbe0cc87470"> "The new supercomputer, together with improved observations, science and modeling, will deliver better forecasts and advice to support UK business, the public and government."</span></p>
<p><span id="docs-internal-guid-88060262-5690-1a56-c4fa-1dbe0cc87470"><span><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table click-to-enlarge"><div><div class="image on-image"><a title_source="Met Office" title_caption="The new supercomputer from above." class="zoomin" href="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/544f86e06bb3f7782cb3adcc-960/met_landscapeview.jpg"><span class="sprites click-to-enlarge-icon" title="Click to enlarge"></span></a><p class="source"><span>Met Office</span></p><p class="caption">The new supercomputer from above.</p></div><p></p></div></div></span></span></p>
<p>The new computer, which will have 120,000 times more memory than a top-end smartphone, will do more than giver a better indication of whether to wear a coat, though.</p>
<p>With the world's <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/r-us-military-lays-out-plan-for-coping-with-climate-change-2014-10" target="_blank">climate rapidly changing</a>, the Met Office says its new kit will "deliver £2 billion of socio-economic benefits to the UK" by improving the chance to prepare for disruptive weather. </p>
<p>The 'High Performance Computer' (HPC) will also enable more precise information for geographical areas, and will be better equipped to predict disruptive weather such as flooding. </p>
<p>And it has the capability of pinpointing weather on a smaller-scale, leading to scientists being able to assess specific regions more accurately. </p>

Britain's New Supercomputer Will Provide The Most Accurate Weather Predictions In The World

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<p><em>This post is sponsored by <a href="http://servedby.flashtalking.com/click/3/38270;944559;50126;211;0/?ft_width=1&amp;ft_height=1&amp;url=5862982" target="_blank">AWS &amp; Intel</a>.</em></p>
<p>Is it possible to take advantage of the latest CT technology while also lowering the risks associated with radiation exposure? One team in Michigan found a way to do so, using the cloud. </p>
<p>Over 68 million CT scans are performed each year in the US alone. CT scans can detect life-threatening conditions far better than previous imaging techniques, but the small amount of radiation absorbed during the scans has been tied to the risk of developing cancer.</p>
<p>The new helical CT scanners are able to capture "slices" of images to produce detailed 3D images of organs. With the development of these more sophisticated scanners and advances in imaging reconstruction, the risks associated with exposure to radiation can be lessened with lower doses. But because these safer approaches are incredibly data-intensive, centers aren't always able to evaluate helical CT scanner results in a timely and cost-effective manner.</p>
<p>Despite those challenges, a team from the University of Michigan was able to demonstrate striking success with low-dose scans. In their effort to improve quality, they used <a href="http://servedby.flashtalking.com/click/3/38270;944559;50126;211;0/?ft_width=1&amp;ft_height=1&amp;url=5862982" target="_blank">Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud</a> (Amazon EC2) to show how the CT reconstruction of a typical helical chest scan could be handled in the cloud.</p>
<p>In their test runs, the team used 10 Amazon EC2 HPC cc2.8xlarge nodes, outfitted with two 8-core, 2.6GHz Intel® Xeon® processors and stocked with 60.5GB of memory. These instance types were then strung together with 10GbE for the demanding I/O requirements of their code. To address the communication between nodes, they used open source Message Passing Interface (MPI). The result was a cost-effective, low-dose scan in ultra-high resolution in just around five minutes.</p>
<p>Cases like this demonstrate how the medical field can benefit by using Amazon Web Services (AWS) and powerful Intel Xeon processors. Ultimately, it opens the door to reduced radiation exposure for those getting vital CT scans - which can detect tiny anomalies and lead to timely, more focused courses of treatment.</p>
<p><a href="http://servedby.flashtalking.com/click/3/38270;944559;50126;211;0/?ft_width=1&amp;ft_height=1&amp;url=5862982" target="_blank"><strong>Learn how Amazon Web Services and Intel are powering the next generation of CT scans.</strong></a></p>
<p><span>Find out </span><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/sponsor-posts">more about Sponsored Posts</a><span>.</span></p></body></html>

How One Medical Team Used The Cloud To Reduce The Radiation Risk Of Advanced CT Scans

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LdvQTwjVmrE">YouTube / BitcoinInvestor.com</a></span></p><p class="caption">Dr Craig Steven Wright.</p></div><p></p></div></div>Dr Craig Steven Wright, <a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/craig-steven-wright-may-be-inventor-of-bitcoin-2015-12">the Australian named as the alleged creator of bitcoin</a>, runs a company that spent tens of millions building the fastest computer in the Southern Hemisphere.</p><p>And it was working on blockchain technology - the software that underpins bitcoin.</p><p>His company was in the process of commercialising work on "smart contracts" and other applications using the blockchain when he disappeared.</p><p>He was also trying to revive another bitcoin company he set up that had fallen into administration, according to documents uncovered by Business Insider.</p><p>Dr Wright, <a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/incredible-career-of-craig-steven-wright-australian-scientist-suspected-of-creating-bitcoin-2015-12">an unknown Australian computer science and cyber security entrepreneur</a>, was this week named by <a href="http://www.wired.com/2015/12/bitcoins-creator-satoshi-nakamoto-is-probably-this-unknown-australian-genius/">Wired</a> and <a href="http://gizmodo.com/this-australian-says-he-and-his-dead-friend-invented-bi-1746958692">Gizmodo</a> as the potential anonymous creator of bitcoin.</p><p>Somebody or a group of people using the name Satoshi Nakamoto invented bitcoin in 2009. Bitcoin is a type of digital currency that uses cryptography to move money and records it in a ledger without the need of a bank.</p><p>Dr Wright has disappeared in the wake of the accusations, scrubbing all digital records of himself and unreachable at his home.</p><p>But snooping by Business Insider has revealed some interesting details about what he was up to before he disappeared.</p><h2>'The fastest computer managed in the southern hemisphere'</h2><p>A document dated May 11, 2015 on the website of Australian company DeMorgan - which Dr Wright is CEO of - shows the company was due for a tax refund worth A$54 million (£25.8 million, $39.1 million) for building a supercomputer to work on blockchain and cryptocurrency projects.</p><p>The blockchain is the software that underpins bitcoin, recording who owns what and enabling transactions. It's the "Trust machine" in the system that has got everyone from <a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/goldman-sachs-the-blockchain-can-change-well-everything-2015-12">Goldman Sachs</a> to <a href="http://www.economist.com/news/leaders/21677198-technology-behind-bitcoin-could-transform-how-economy-works-trust-machine">The Economist</a> excited.</p><p>The document, since removed from DeMorgan's website, says: "Under the scheme, companies with a turnover of less than A$20 million (£9.5 million, $14.5 million) are entitled to a cash refund of up to 45 cents per dollar spent on eligible research and development activity."</p><p>That implies that DeMorgan spent at least A$120 million (£57.3 million, $86.9 million) developing the supercomputer, assuming the company received the full 45 cents per dollar rebate.</p><p>The computer is included in the TOP500, a list that ranks the 500 most powerful computers in the world, and the document states that the rebate, and other R&amp;D refunds to related group companies, will allow DeMorgan to fine-tune its computer to "place us in the top 20 supercomputers globally and the fastest computer managed in the southern hemisphere."</p><p>Both Wired and Gizmodo noted that Dr Wright had supercomputers, with <a href="http://www.wired.com/2015/12/bitcoins-creator-satoshi-nakamoto-is-probably-this-unknown-australian-genius/">Wired saying he had two</a> - including Co1n, the most powerful privately owned supercomputer in the world.</p><p>The document on DeMorgan's website goes on to say (emphasis ours):</p><p style="padding-left: 30px;">Our CEO, Dr Wright is excited that this will allow us to start <strong>accelerating cryptocurrency and smart contract and property research to new levels</strong> in the southern hemisphere and to create opportunities in Australia that have not been imagined before</p><p>The rebates relates to work already done on "the development of smart contract and Blockchain-based technologies." The statement says it hopes investment of the money can make "Australia a global leader in HPC [high-performance computer] technology as well as in the emerging crypto-currency financial fields."</p><p>It would also help DeMorgan commercialise the blockchain research it had done, according to Dr Wright. He is quoted in the statement as saying:</p><p style="padding-left: 30px;">This rebate will strengthen the group's cash position and is an important source of funds for our development activities. We acknowledge the Government's support of important R&amp;D activities, and we look forward to the successful commercialisation of our Blockchain and smart contract systems research.</p><p>The document concludes by saying DeMorgan is:</p><p style="padding-left: 30px;">A pre-IPO Australian listed company focused on alternative currency, next generation banking and reputational and educational products with a focus on security and creating a simple user experience. In the six years since the first company in the group started, we have completed several Bitcoin-based research projects that have lasted over six years and are now ready to start commercialisation</p><p>DeMorgan's website has been taken down since its website and the related documents but you can see screengrabs of the release that Business Insider got before it was taken down below.<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image"><p class="source"><span>DeMorgan/Business Insider/Screenshot</span></p></div><p></p></div></div><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image"><p class="source"><span>DeMorgan/Business Insider/Screenshot</span></p></div><p></p></div></div></p><h2>Reviving Hotwire</h2><p>Meanwhile, it looks like Dr Craig Steven Wright was in the process of trying to revive another defunct bitcoin company he founded when he was allegedly unmasked by the press.</p><p>Hotwire, one of several companies set up by Dr Wright, was put into administration in June 2014 with debts of A$12 million (£5.7 million, $8.7 million) last year.</p><p>Wright owned just over 75% of the business, putting in A$23 million (£11 million, $16.6 million) worth of bitcoin. But it ran up debts of A$12 million (£5.7 million, $8.7 million) it couldn't meet and was taken over by administrators McGrathNicol last year.</p><p>The company, which had 40 staff, was set up in 2013 to try and set up a bitcoin bank, <a href="http://www.wired.com/2015/12/bitcoins-creator-satoshi-nakamoto-is-probably-this-unknown-australian-genius/">according to Wired</a>. McGrathNicol <a href="http://www.mcgrathnicol.com/app/uploads/D14-150415-HOTWPRE02-Update-to-creditors-CJ.pdf">lists the business of Hotwire as</a>: "Research and development on e-learning systems and e-payment systems and software. Hotwire acquired its software through a range of complex bitcoin-related transactions."</p><p><a href="http://www.mcgrathnicol.com/app/uploads/D14-151123-HOTWPRE02-Circular-to-creditors-DRCJ.pdf">A document dated two weeks ago</a> from McGrathNicol shows DeMorgan is currently trying to reach a deal with its creditors to re-take control of Hotwire.</p><p>DeMorgan and the company directors are offering an immediate 10 cents on the dollar to creditors, with the promise of a further 20 cents on the dollar once a A$5.5 million (£2.63 million, $3.9 million) tax rebate comes through. That rebate covers "complicated, related party transactions involving Bitcoin and software research and development."</p><p>The company doesn't have much in the way of assets, with McGrathNicol listing only a tax rebate claim and job contracts of "minimal realisable value." And, as revealed by Business Insider Australia, the Australian tax office was challenging the tax rebate and <a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/australias-tax-office-hit-suspected-bitcoin-creator-craig-steven-wrights-company-with-massive-penalty-2015-12">fined Hotwire A$1.7 million (£810,000, $1.23 million)</a>.</p><p>Like most of the tech journalists in the world, we've tried to reach Dr Wright for comment but have been unable to.</p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/online-banking-security-mistakes-2015-12">The biggest security mistakes people make with online banking</a></h3>        <div>            <div>        <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="pxaXU5eTokSBzvRq_J9RCczvjYLlGrTx" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>        </div>        </div>            </div>

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