Science Cheerleader

While we most commonly associate Google with its ability to search the Intertubes for our favorite science FAILs, the tech giant is also opening new doors for citizen science. A recent article in the Public Library of Science (PloS) ONE highlights a new mobile phone application, powered by Google Maps and Google’s Android operating system, that allows professional and citizen scientists to gather, submit, and access research data from the field.

The application, called EpiCollect, was initially designed for epedimiological and ecological studies but has potential for a number of other fields, including economics, public health, and resource allocation. Individual users can input data records (variables, photos, GPS location, etc) into EpiCollect from their mobile phone, which is synchronized to a central database. An accompanying web application, located at www.spatialepidemiology.net, provides a common location for mapping, visualization, and analysis of the data by everyone involved in the study. The two-way connectivity between the EpiCollect mobile application and the central database could increase the collection and collation of data for community projects, particular in resource-limited areas.

Importantly, EpiCollect was developed as a free software using Google’s open-source Android operating system. Anyone interested in using the software is encouraged to contact David Aanensen in the Department of Infectious Disease Epidemiology, Imperial College London.  The EpiCollect website also provides three sample epidemological datasets and a facility to geocode your own spatial data.

Heeeeere’s John! About a year ago, Google announced it’s “10 to the 100th Power” contest to celebrate its 10th anniversary.  The intent of the contest was to get ideas from around that would help the most number of people.  Google would invest a big pot of cash to help kick-start some of those ideas.  The contest was a pretty neat; even I submitted several ideas in the hope of becoming the savior of all humankind.

Semi-finalists were supposed to be announced by January 27th, 2009, but got delayed until March 17th, and then  was put on hold again.  Apparently the company that handles a bazillion search requests each day got swamped by 150,000 ideas, but I digress.  On September 24th the semi-finalists were announced, and the public is invited to vote on their favorites.  I’m a little miffed because none of my obviously world-changing ideas were among the chosen, but I’ll just have to get over that small disappointment.

All of the ideas are meritorious, however there are a couple that readers of “Science Cheerleader” might find especially interesting…

1. Enhance science and engineering education
2. Encourage positive media depictions of engineers and scientists

I’m really not trying to game the vote (well, OK, I am), but I encourage you to let your Google vote be heard.  Voting ends on October 8th, 2009.

Check out Google’s near-future power meter gadget designed to help you monitor your household energy consumption. Useful tool but the Flintstone’s Kazoo is whispering in my ear “I see big fines in your future! Beware!”
Silly Kazoo…. :/

From Google’s website:

How much does it cost to leave your TV on all day? What about turning your air conditioning 1 degree cooler? Which uses more power every month — your dishwasher or your washing machine? Is your household more or less energy efficient than similar homes in your neighborhood?

Its nearly impossible to make informed choices about electricity. This is a problem but also a huge opportunity for us all to save money and help the environment by reducing our power usage. Studies show that access to your household’s personal energy information is likely to save you 5–15% on your monthly bill. Even greater savings are possible if you use this information to see the value of retiring your old refrigerator, installing a new air conditioner or insulating your home. The potential impact of large numbers of people achieving similar efficiencies is even more exciting. For every six households that save 10% on electricity, for instance, we reduce carbon emissions as much as taking one conventional car off the road (see sources and calculation).

At Google we’re helping enable a future where access to personal electricity information helps everyone make smarter energy choices. Google PowerMeter shows consumers their electricity consumption in a secure Google gadget. Today we are testing the product with utility partners in the US, India and Canada. We plan to expand the rollout of Google PowerMeter later this year.

We think Google PowerMeter offers more useful and actionable feedback than complicated monthly paper bills that provide little detail on consumption or how to save energy. But Google PowerMeter is just a start; it will take a lot of different groups working together to create what the world really needs: a path to smarter power.

Yesterday, Google announced Google Flu Trends, which uses “aggregated search data in an effort to confront the challenge of influenza outbreaks.” (From the Google Flu Trends site):

“We’ve discovered that there is a close relationship between how many people search for flu-related topics and how many people actually have flu symptoms. Our estimates, based on up-to-date aggregated Google search data, may indicate flu activity up to two weeks ahead of traditional flu surveillance systems.”

It’s an important project but I wish it provided more opportunities for the public to participate in the scientific processes of observing, recording, and comparing data. Like the Great Influenza Experiment (a Citizen Science project) hopes to do. At least, I think that’s what it intends to do…not much information on their 2-page website.

A quick glance at today’s flu prediction map of the U.S. hints that folks in North Carolina and Tennessee might be eating more fruits and veggies than their bordering neighbors to the north and south.

Google’s Flu Trends can  accurately estimate current flu levels one to two weeks faster than published CDC reports.

Are we bearing witness to the transformation of “big government” in its traditional form to “personalized government” via web-enabled technologies? 

Before you answer, consider this: It’s not just the Flu Google is targeting: 
“Google.org’s Predict and Prevent initiative supports efforts to identify hotspots where new infectious diseases may emerge, detect new pathogens and outbreaks earlier, and respond quickly to prevent local threats from becoming global crises. The Google Flu Trends team worked closely with the Predict and Prevent team as the product was developed, and we continue to look for ways to use Google’s tools and products to predict and prevent infectious disease outbreaks and other emerging threats.”