News and Awards

Microsoft Research says it is close to perfecting software that can measure tumours accurately in 3D from normal Computerised Tomography (CT) scans. The job of determining the extent of tumours is currently done by hand…

Bill Thies was named a 2016 Fellow (opens in new tab) of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation for his work creating communication and digital technologies to advance the social and economic well-being of…

Josh Benaloh received the 2016 Pioneer Award (opens in new tab) in August 2016 from the Electronic Frontier Foundation for his contribution to the “Keys Under Doormats (opens in new tab)” report. The publication argues against requests…

Microsoft says its eventual goal is to make cells into living computers that could someday be programmed—and even reprogrammed—to treat diseases like cancer.

In the summer of 2015 a team of hackers attempted to take control of an unmanned military helicopter known as Little Bird. The helicopter, which is similar to the piloted version long-favored for U.S. special…

Although individual projects vary widely, Microsoft’s overarching philosophy toward solving cancer focuses on two basic approaches: one is rooted in the idea that cancer and other biological processes are information processing systems, and the other…

There are hundreds of new cancer drugs in development and new research published minute to minute, helping doctors treat patients with personalized combinations that target the specific building blocks of their disease. The problem is…

Simon Peyton Jones and Dimitrios Vytiniotis have won the 2016 ACM SIGPLAN Most Influential ICFP Paper Award (opens in new tab), which recognizes the impact of a paper presented at the International Conference on Functional Programming (ICFP) 10…

A new project aims to use sensors and clever algorithms to deliver water, fertilisers and pesticides only to crops that actually need them.