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Using search terms to track emerging influenza pandemics.When a handful of engineers can track the daily online searches of tens of millions of people (and protect their privacy) all for the betterment of humanity, one of the internet's great potentials has been fulfilled. And that's what Google.org, the search engine giant's philanthropic arm, is accomplishing through its Google Flu Trends initiative, which launched last November. By identifying a correlation between spikes in the number of queries for certain terms such as "flu," "cough," and "chills, and upticks in the influenza cases reported by public health outlets, Google has invented a sort of cyber-epidemiology.Billed as an early detection system for pandemics, GFT was put to the test in April as news spread worldwide about the H1N1, or swine flu, outbreak. Public health officials asked GFT to look at its search data from Mexico retroactively. While Google identified an increase in flu-related searches, Mexico doesn't have the public health infrastructure that would have allowed it to confirm that swine flu cases were indeed piling up. "There is certainly a bump in the April time period," says Google spokesperson Jamie Yood, "so we definitely picked something up."So far, GFT has detected flu trends up to two weeks sooner than the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Such success has encouraged Google.org to expand the program to Australia and New Zealand and to set its sights on other countries as well-Yood wouldn't name names, but Europe's high rates of internet usage make it a good bet. It's also considering how the technique might be used to track other diseases affecting large portions of the public-another initiative about which Google officials remain mum on specifics. "If it's successful, if it's accurate, and that's helpful, that's our goal," says Yood, "to supply health officials with more information."Photo courtesy of GoogleReturn to interactive site
A technology that is speeding up the developing world's internet connections.Internet connections in the developing world are getting a boost thanks to a technology conceived to improve corporate IT. In Africa's colleges, for example, internet connections are split between so many users that speeds would remind Americans of surfing on Prodigy. HashCache, a computing method developed by a team at Princeton University to store internet data in a more efficient way, could jolt those connections and cut costs.Here's how it works: When you call up a website, you don't download all the content directly from the site. Rather, the request goes through a proxy server, which stores oft-accessed information on web pages-a process called "caching." "If you go to CNN.com now and then go to CNN.com later, the proxy stores pages on CNN.com that haven't changed," explains Anirudh Badam, a computer science graduate student at Princeton. Proxies store data using a process involving expensive random access memory. A lot of RAM requires a bigger box, so proxies are typically large and hard to maintain. In the developing world, one proxy typically serves multiple schools, further slowing connection speeds.HashCache uses a more efficient method to access stored files, cutting all but a tenth of the RAM out of the caching process. This makes the information easier for multiple computers to access more quickly, speeding up slow connections and taking up less space. A push from One Laptop Per Child's former VP of software engineering, Jim Gettys, convinced the Princeton group that the developing world needed its tech. Using HashCache, a school can use a single laptop (capable of caching the entirety of Wikipedia) as its own proxy. Universities in Ghana and Nigeria are currently using HashCache, and Badam reports that the technology is now bundled with OLPC's efforts. "As soon as OLPC deployed, we made arrangements to deploy HashCache," says Badam, adding that schools in Peru and Uruguay are now making arrangements to procure laptops. "By the end of August or September this year, we may make a huge deployment."Photo by One Laptop per Child (via Flickr)Return to interactive site
Health providers are essential to preventing deaths from childbirth and disease. But "health providers" can refer to anything from nurses to midwives to physicians. Here we look at the relationship between doctor density and two key health metrics: life expectancy and infant mortality rate. Click here to see the doctor density infographic.A collaboration between GOOD and Life of the Mind.
In the complex web of our world, each part of the system affects all the others. Today, multiple areas need improvement. Luckily, there are people, organizations, and businesses working to reset the balance and create greater harmony.To explore how this ecosystem is functioning, we've identified nine key components of our interconnected world. Explore GOOD's interactive road map to see how we're currently doing as a society, learn about efforts to improve the situation, and find actions that you can take to help steer us toward a better future.This interactive site features videos and articles on people working towards greater harmony, infographics explaining the current state of each component, and some simple actions you can to to help improve the situation.Today, we'll be exploring Education, Sustenance, and Energy. On Saturday, check back to learn more about the status of the Earth, Flora and Fauna, and Health. Finally, next week, we'll examine Coexistence, Connectivity, and Exchange. Plus, we'll be dropping more stories and videos in the weeks ahead. Stay tuned.
