Obama writes code

In this edition of the Worldwide Wrap: researchers are turning to anonymised social media to improve their ability to forecast emerging disease outbreaks; and a new app dubbed Iowa will allow Iowa residents in the US to display their driver's licence on their phone. Get the details on these stories and more below.

"MoveForward(100)" may now be the most famous line of JavaScript in history - it's what president Barack Obama wrote as he reportedly became the first US president to write a computer program.

The occasion marked the first day of 2014's Computer Science Education Week, which provides opportunities for students to learn computer science.
Via: Huffington Post

A new app dubbed Iowa will allow Iowa residents in the US to display their driver's licence on their phone.

The free app, under development by the Iowa Department of Transportation, will allow users to show the digital licence to law enforcement officers and at security checkpoints at airports.
Via: Daily Mail

Facebook is working on software that could prevent users posting unflattering photos of themselves.

Combining image recognition and artificial intelligence, the system would be able to distinguish between drunk and sober pictures. It will ask: "Are you sure you want your boss and your mother to see this?"
Via: BBC

Researchers involved in an infectious disease computational modelling project are turning to anonymised social media and other publicly available Web data to improve their ability to forecast emerging outbreaks and develop tools that can help health officials as they respond.

"When it comes to infectious disease forecasting, getting ahead of the curve is problematic because data from official public health sources is retrospective," says Irene Eckstrand of the National Institutes of Health.
Via: Live Science

Canadian police can search the contents of a mobile phone after arrest, the Supreme Court of Canada has ruled.

In a 4-3 decision, the court said a warrant was not needed as long as the search is directly related to the suspected crime and records are kept.

The outcome is the opposite of a similar case decided in the US Supreme Court in June.
Via: BBC

The Internet of things is going country, with everything from sheep to rivers getting hooked up in Conwy, north Wales. Computer scientists at Lancaster University are embarking on an 18-month project to look at how connected devices can help the countryside.

Researchers said they would be looking at problems ranging from flooding and agricultural pollution to animal movement and drought, with technology potentially providing crucial data.
Via: Wired