Bacteria Turns Problem Solver

The E. coli bacteria doesn’t get a great press. Even though it’s often harmless, and can even be beneficial to its host, all you ever hear about it is when it causes food poisoning. That’s so unfair: what about its Sudoku skills?

That may seem like the strangest introduction you’ll ever read, but it’s true: a team at the University of Tokyo has proven that E. coli bacteria can be used to communicate information, solve problems and complete a Sudoku puzzle.

For those not in the know, Sudoku involves a 9 x 9 grid (in the standard form of the game) in which some of the squares already contain numbers. The player then has to use logic and deduction to fill in the other squares so that each horizontal line, each vertical line, and each of nine 3×3 grids contain the digits one through nine, each appearing once.

(Despite what those who dislike the game often claim, it has nothing to do with mathematics. It’s a logic puzzle that merely uses digits as they are easier to keep track of. One spoof comic in the UK even produced a working SuDocWho with the faces of William Hartnell through Christopher Ecclestone.)

The Tokyo team kept its experiment simple by working on a 4 x 4 grid, but says there’s no theoretical reason it wouldn’t work in the full-blown version of the game. The key to the “solution” of the puzzle was in two aspects of E. coli: recombinases, the enzymes used in genetic recombination such as when a damaged cell repairs DNA molecules; and antisense RNA.

With apologies to biologists for a gross oversimplification, RNA is the counterpart of DNA and includes a molecule type known as messenger RNA, which encodes the blueprint for creating proteins. Antisense RNA’s role is to, where necessary, block this blueprint from being passed on. (More info on DNA and RNA in Jimmy Roger’s article: Science Is Sexy: DNA You Say?)

The system the researchers built involved each bacteria having one of four recombinases, corresponding to the digit (1 through 4) that the particular bacteria represented. Bacteria can “broadcast” their recombinases, so the other bacteria were set up so that as soon as they received three different digits from such broadcasts, they recognized that logically they must represent the remaining digit, and in turn began broadcasting that information themselves.

However, that process only discovers the digit and not the position. To get round this, the researchers assigned antisense RNA corresponding to the lines and mini-grids. The antisense RNA blocked each bacteria from receiving digit information from bacteria that didn’t belong in its vertical line, horizontal line or mini-grid.

To run the simulation, the bacteria that represented digits already filled in at the start of the puzzle were set to broadcast their digit straight away. That kicked off a chain reaction (if physicists will forgive my hijacking that phrase) and hey presto: the puzzle was soon resolved!


Ten Tips for Geeks on the Job Search

Well, it’s time to move on. Whether you’re looking for new employment, seeking a job for the first time, or just need a change of pace, the job market is definitely a challenge right now. As someone who’s currently on the lookout for full-time employment, I know the difficulty. Not only is the job market far more challenging than it was the last time I sought traditional employment (I’ve been working as a freelance writer for the last few years, primarily), but technology is changing.

But maybe not that much, if you’re an informed geek. Since I’ve been entrenched in the full-time employment search the last few weeks, I thought I’d share some tips that are particularly good for the geeky sector. Because, after all, if I’m anything, I’m a geek, and I’d love nothing more than to be able to geek it out in my day job.

  1. Start outside the mass job search engines. Sure, CareerBuilder and Monster are the big names out there. And they do list millions of jobs. Unfortunately, plenty of them are total bunk, meaning they don’t pay (or pay minimally) or are just plain scams. Same goes for Craigslist. The big job aggregates are a good second-string, but the truth is that they’re so burdened down with advertisements, sponsorships, and trying to get you to purchase “premium” memberships (yeah, because if you had a ton of extra cash right now you probably wouldn’t be looking for jobs) that almost everything gets lost in the shuffle. Instead:
  2. Start where your dreams are. Yes, this sounds as hokey as Pollyanna under a lace umbrella. However, I’ve noticed that the coolest jobs out there aren’t advertised in the big name search engines. In fact, they’re quietly listed on the websites of the companies you actually want to work for. Plus, the websites give you a much better idea of benefits and health plans and whatnot, while the built-in application system with the big search engines is usually pretty inadequate. Not to mention, you can learn a great deal about a company from their website. If you’re like me, the way a company looks on the web makes a big difference as to whether or not I want to work for them.
  3. Start local. Of course, not everyone can relocate at a whim. But even if you are considering relocation for your new job, I’d recommend looking locally first. For instance, here in Raleigh-Durham, NC, there are tons of great jobs in tech and general geekery, from video game companies like Epic and Red Storm to geek legends like Red Hat and IBM. Relocating isn’t just hard on new employees, it’s also hard on companies who often end up shelling out relocation costs. Plus, many companies are invested in improving their local economies.
  4. Accentuate your geekiness. No, this doesn’t mean to tell your potential employer how many level 80s you’ve got going in WoW currently. (Unless they specifically ask for it, that is, or you think it’d be an asset to the application–in some places I could see this working.) One of the really cool things about being a geek is the ability to learn many things. We’re polymaths. I know plenty of geek friends who’ve become central to their company’s workings simply because they know how to do so many things. Some have had jobs created for them; others have changed their jobs for the better. Even if you’re self-taught, make sure you mention your coding and computer capabilities. Even if you aren’t a total expert, chances are you’re head and shoulders above an average, non-geek candidate.
  5. Be social. Yes, the stereotype of the non-social geek is alive and well. And for some of us out there, the term “social” is never going to be one to apply. If you are outgoing, however, make sure your resume speaks to that. Talk about your communication skills, your friendliness, your comfort around people in general. If you’re not the best face-to-face, consider elaborating on your writing skills. Make sure your employer knows you’re good at getting your meaning across somehow. And while enumerating your two thousand Facebook friends isn’t the best way to go, mentioning your social media background is always a plus.
  6. Be current. Current trends. Social media. Web 2.0. Yes, the terms seem a little forced. But remember, you’ve probably got the edge when it comes to the Internet. Even if you aren’t applying for a job in the tech industry, being well-versed in your market is truly important: it’s not just about knowing your job, it’s knowing where your job is going.
  7. Look at the big picture. Sure, contract jobs are nice from time to time. But that’s the problem: time passes. Sooner or later they’re out. While I know of some geeks who do very well on a contract basis, and always have something new on the horizon, for many it’s not a good long-term strategy. Even in this market, it’s important to really measure an employer. Yes, finding a job is tough. But finding a job and then learning that the company is corrupt or that it makes you miserable with their policies is even harder. Put your time and energy into companies that are rated best places to work and have high BBB ratings; start where you’d be proud to work. That extra effort can make all the difference.
  8. Avoid the conveyor belt approach. It’s tempting to draft very generic resumes and cover letters and just shoot them off one after the other. But trust me: there are people reading these (and yes, in most cases human beings still read the resumes). And they can tell when you’re just shucking them out the door. Employers are pickier than ever, and even if your resume is stellar, if the cover letter looks like something a word bot spat out, they’re going to pass. Spelling and grammar is a no-brainer, but make sure the tone is appropriate. No l33t speak, no pwning n00bs. Unless, like I said, there’s a chance the company will appreciate that sort of thing. Be sure you use phrases in the job description and attend to all the essential job duties.
  9. Don’t let technology limitations limit you. Geeks come in all stripes these days. You’d be surprised how many non-coding jobs there are out there. Writing, public relations, sales, and even support are all jobs that many geeks will find a good fit. Don’t rule out a particular employer before you take a good look at their website. You’d be surprised. And even if you fit a job at a dream company but the job itself isn’t your dream, getting your foot in the door is a great first step. Many companies love promoting from within.
  10. Don’t sell yourself short. So you didn’t get your dream job. So you’re not doing what you love. Yet. Even if things didn’t turn out like you hoped, you can always move on to bigger and better things. But first? Get every achievement you can in your current job. Explore every facet of your environment. Make sure you complete all the quests. At the end, you’ll get a great reference. Then you can level!

Do you have any job-related suggestions to add? Do you have your geek dream job?

[Image CC by kennymatic via Flickr]

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China denies “hijacking” traffic

A Congressional report claims a state-run communications firm in China “hijacked” internet traffic for 18 minutes in April. China Telecom has denied the charge.

The claims come in the annual report of the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission, which appears to be based on the policy that “If you can’t beat them, join them… but keep your eyes open.”

As well as discussing the fact that US businesses have (like many other websites around the world) been affected by China’s government filtering system for the web, and that US firms such as Google were hit with hacking attacks earlier this year in the country, the commission claims that:

For about 18 minutes on April 8, 2010, China Telecom advertised erroneous network traffic routes that instructed U.S. and other foreign Internet traffic to travel through Chinese servers. Other servers around the world quickly adopted these paths, routing all traffic to about 15 percent of the Internet’s destinations through servers located in China.

The “erroneous network traffic routes” issue effectively means that China Telecom was falsely telling the Internet as a whole that the best way to reach the sites was through its servers. The basis of how the net works means that each server trusts information from other servers, including such claims about routing options.

The report says a range of US military and government websites were those whose inbound and outbound traffic was misrouted. It acknowledges that there is no way of knowing whether this was a deliberate attack or a genuine error.

It also says it cannot “determine what, if anything, Chinese telecommunications firms did to the hijacked data,” though that doesn’t stop it speculating. One named contributor, Danny McPherson of Arbor Networks, speculates that the idea may have been to divert such a huge amount of traffic to disguise an attempt to access a specific data source.

The report also details the botched attempts of Chinese officials to block domestic users from accessing a variety of leading sites such as YouTube: the attempts went wrong and wound up blocking access to users in other countries including the US.