Research

In an effort to discover the effectiveness of DNA scans, Microsoft has funded a research study, along with Scripps Translational Science Institute, Navigenics, and Affymetrix, which will attempt to answer that question. The study will involve up to 10,000 people who will receive scans of their…

OK, right up front, I’m not so sure about the name, but these are scientists and engineers, not brand marketers, over there at Microsoft Research, so I’ll give them a pass. In any event, the “RearType” project is definitely an interesting idea, whether or not it makes it into mainstream consumer…

At the 9th annual Microsoft Research Faculty Summit, Tony Hey, corporate vice president of Microsoft's External Research Division, revealed some new tools for improving the process of doing research. The tools consist of a set of free software programs that let researchers and scholars seamlessly…

MapCruncher is a Microsoft Research project which uses the Virtual Earth API to import entire supplemental maps into Virtual Earth. By supplemental maps, they mean any drawn-to-scale maps you can find, be they bicycle maps, transit maps, national park maps, university maps, or antique city maps,…

HD View is a technology developed by Microsoft Research specifically for the purpose of viewing and interacting with large scale images on the web. As the HD Team describes it, it’s a “camera for the web.” But really what it does is allow you to interact with large, panoramic images that don’t fit…

A new service called Eduify launched on the Windows Azure platform. This service is designed to help students with their writing by providing tutorials, samples, and information about how to verify and cite sources in research papers. Edufiy also adds a social element to the writing process as…

Remember U Rank? Microsoft Research’s experimental search engine? The service is still around although it has probably been overshadowed by the much slicker Bing as of late. With U Rank, searchers can reorder search results, add notes, create lists of search results and share those lists with…

Blogger Long Zheng noticed something cool at the National Retail Federation Convention & Expo this week – a digital screen that brings to mind the intelligent signage featured in the movie “Minority Report.” Many of us have long since looked to that popular sci-fi film starring Tom Cruise for…

ScholarLynk is a new tool for scientists and other researchers which Microsoft Research is unveiling this week at ECDL, the European Conference on Research and Advanced Technology for Digital Libraries. The project has roots in Lewis Shepherd’s 2008 project called “Research Desktop” which combined…

When you think of natural disaster, software programs rarely come to mind. But Ted Okada and Robert Kirkpatrick of Microsoft’s Humanitarian Systems know from experience that where there's a crisis, software can be a life-saver. On the front lines of war, earthquakes and floods Ted and Robert…