I'm sure you have your own database, even if it is a simple address book. And some of your entries are wrong because you enter a wrong phone number for instance.
Of course, it's not that important. But what about public gene databases where entries are not seriously checked and data is totally wrong?
Read carefully this story which -- mainly -- concentrates on the GenBank public database operated by the U.S. National Center for Biotechnology Information.
There are widespread errors in GenBank and some other global databases, agrees Mike Poidinger, head of the Australian National Genomics Information Service (ANGIS).
GenBank's system only examines submissions for syntax errors and accepts them if they pass that relatively rudimentary check.
Cleaning up corrupted databases as large as GenBank will not be an easy task, predicts Poidinger. "GenBank is doubling in size every seven to nine months. We are talking millions of base pairs. You would need a team the size of a small country to check submissions by eye," he says.
If you consider the fact that most people think they can trust computer data, this is a pretty scary story.
Source: Pete Young, Australian Biotechnology News, May 6, 2002
I know you like programming, and here is a contest for you: discover the intentions of a "malicious" program.
The idea is to simulate the crises network administrators face whenever a rogue program, also known as a Trojan or zombie, is uploaded into a computer system by an intruder. These programs are designed to capture passwords or probe the system for further weaknesses on the intruder's behalf.
The program has been released on May 6 and you can find it here.
Competitors must not only determine the purpose of the program but also figure out ways it could be stopped in its tracks. They will even be asked to guess what kind of person wrote the program.
Good luck!
Source: Will Knight, New Scientist, May 3, 2002
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