'Prescient' project probes tech privacy

A European Union (EU)-funded research project, dubbed Prescient, will consider the privacy implications of emerging technologies such as new identification and surveillance technologies, biometrics, on-the-spot DNA sequencing, and technologies for human enhancement, reports Info4Security.

Prescient is the acronym for 'privacy and emerging sciences and technologies', the project's ultimate aim being the establishment of a new framework for privacy and ethical considerations arising from the emerging technologies listed.

“New technologies can often be used in a way that undermines the right to privacy because they facilitate the collection, storage, processing and combination of personal data by security agencies and businesses,” explained Michael Friedewald, overall co-ordinator of the project.

Hospital patients' records in Scotland will be replaced with a £44 million (R489 million) computer system upgraded with the latest technology, according to e Yugoslavia.

The evolving technology aims to provide a paper-free environment and also improves the security systems, thereby enhancing the work productivity of the staff members in NHS, Scotland.

The patient management system will administer bookings, waiting lists, report test results and allow the staff to maintain the patient records more easily, the Scottish government said.

Medicine bottles that alert patients when a prescription needs updating and computer screens which can be rolled up to fit in a briefcase are a step closer thanks to research by De Montfort University Leicester (DMU), states Printed Electronics World.

Researchers at DMU's Emerging Technologies Research Centre are exploring the potential of gold nanoparticles and small molecules to create memory chips that are so flexible they can be used in paper and clothing.

Tests at DMU have shown the nanoparticles can be charged when an electric field is applied and retain that charge when the field is taken away. This ability is essential for use in memory devices as it allows information to be stored in the form of charged and uncharged particles.

Nanoparticles are part of the