The illustration shows the layerstructure of the coupled quantum well(CQW)device used in the paper. Physicists at UC San Diego have successfully created speedy integrated circuits with particles called “excitons” that operate at commercially cold temperatures, bringing the possibility of a new type of extremely fast computer based on excitons closer to reality. Excitonic switches operating …
1. Paralyzed rats (with severed spinal cords) given electrical stimulation on the skin by the spinal cord separation and a drug to enhance response to the electricity and were able to run on a treadmill. Balance is not restored so if this were to work on people, they would need a walking frame for balance. …
From the Wall Street Journal: American and Chinese officials said all the right things during this summer’s inaugural round of their Strategic and Economic Dialogue. President Barack Obama pledged to “forge a path to the future that we seek for our children.” Chinese State Councilor Dai Bingguo wondered aloud whether America and China can “build …
MIT Technology Review reports that friendly gut microbes that have been engineered to make a specific protein can help regulate blood sugar in diabetic mice, according to preliminary research presented this week at the American Chemical Society conference in Washington, D.C. While the research is still in the very early stages, the microbes, which could …
According to the director of EV [electric Vehicles] solutions at the California based company Aerovironment, full EVs currently in the development stages and expected to be ready for production within the next three years outnumber the plug-in hybrids and EREV [extended range electric vehicle] expected to reach the market within the same time frame.Aerovironment director …
1. Platform for Controlled Supramolecular Nanoassembly We here present a two-dimensional (2D) micro/nano-fluidic technique where reactant-doped liquid−crystal films spread and mix on micro- and nanopatterned substrates. Surface-supported phospholipid monolayers are individually doped with complementary DNA molecules which hybridize when these lipid films mix. Using lipid films to convey reactants reduces the dimensionality of traditional 3D …
Usain Bolt set a new world record. The 22-year-old Jamaican recorded a time of 9.58 seconds to shave 0.11 off the mark he set last year when winning gold at the Beijing Olympics. American Tyson Gay was second in a time of 9.71, with Jamaica’s Asafa Powell claiming bronze in 9.84. UPDATE: Usain Bolt has …
Nuclear fuel burnup is measured in gigawatt-days per tonne and its potential is proportional to the level of enrichment. Hitherto a limiting factor has been the physical robustness of fuel assemblies, and hence burn-up levels of about 40 GWd/t have required only around 4% enrichment. But with better equipment and fuel assemblies, 55 GWd/t is …
Nanoparticulate zirconia (ZrO2) catalyzes both growth of single-wall and multiwall carbon nanotubes (CNTs) by thermal chemical vapor deposition (CVD) and graphitization of solid amorphous carbon UPDATE: Prior non metal catalyst work (H/T to reader at cheaptubes): In a process patented by NASA Goddard is the ability to produce bundles of CNTs without using a metal …
This is a follow up to “How Independent Could a Seastead or Space Colony Be?” If one is a libertarian inclined billionaire (like Peter Thiel) or a larger group of people who want to have a city where you want to have more freedom is it better to start a seastead city or become mayor …
The blog Capacity Factor has several excellent articles and overall the entire site has excellent analysis and research. Sustainable energy and the Kardashev scale analyzes different energy sources to maintain civilization energy levels over time. The Nextbigfuture analysis of seawater uranium for fission is ten times the world’s current electricity needs for 100 million years. …