Department of Energy’s ARPA-E selects 37 projects to pursue breakthroughs that could fundamentally change the way we use and produce energy. This is the first round of projects funded under ARPA-E, which is receiving total of $400 million under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Five of the 37 Projects are for Carbon CaptureCarbon capture …
For high frequency electromagnetic light waves in the frequency range of several 100,000 gigahertz (500,000 GHz corresponds to yellow light with 600 Nm wavelength), one needs very small antennas, which are not larger than a half light wave length, thus maximally 350 nanometers (1 nanometer = 1 millionth millimeter). The scientists of the DFG Heisenberg …
Michael Neilsen’s “Mathematics of Quantum Computing In Ten Minutes” presented on Quantum Computing at the 2009 Singularity Summit. He thinks an AI would probably have to build a quantum AI. He explained how a quantum AI would have completely different reasoning, and that having quantum AIs could bring about a “Quantum Singularity” — the likes …
A study on the ethics of human enhancement has been completed. Entitled “Ethics of Human Enhancement: 25 Questions & Answers,” the 50-page report serves as a convenient and accessible starting point for both public and classroom discussions, such as in bioethics seminars. The 50 page pdf is here and is available for free download. Some …
Wired reports that Tom Baker [the fourth of 11 actors who have played Dr. Who] stars in Doctor Who: Hornet’s Nest, a five-part adventure series for BBC audio dramas. The first episode (”The Stuff of Nightmares”) will be released Thursday in the United Kingdom, with subsequent episodes arriving Oct. 8 (”The Dead Shoes”) and Nov. …
ACS Nano reports that a step toward high throughput continuous nanoimprinting has been made. Nanoimprinting could eventually achieve 2 nanometer features. Currently this higher volume method is at about 50-300 nanometer features. The research team has performed some 50 nm large area nanoimprinting but this roll to roll process (higher speed) is at 300 nanometer …
WHO estimates that better use of existing preventive measures could reduce the global burden of disease by as much as 70%. 2008 World Health Report. Accelerating the improvement in lowering deaths from infectious disease. The top chart shows that acute respiratory infections, diarrhoeal disease, Malaria, HIV/Aids and Tubercolis kill about 9 million people in 2009. …
In Russia, 59% of deaths in men and 33% of deaths in women between the ages of 15-54 were caused by alcohol. Most of these alcohol-attributed deaths were from alcohol poisoning, accidents, violence, or one of eight disease groups strongly related to alcohol, such as TB, pneumonia, pancreatitis or liver disease. Professor Sir Richard Peto …
The gold posts in this colorized micrograph, averaging 450 nanometers in diameter, are used to anchor individual biomolecules such as DNA for studies of their mechanical properties. The background surface is glass coated with a protein to prevent unwanted sticking. Credit: D.H. Paik/JILA Successful use of gold in optical-trapping experiments, reported in Nano Letters, could …
IMEC, Europe’s leading independent nanoelectronics research institute, reports a method to integrate high-speed CMOS electronics and nanophotonic circuitry based on plasmonic effects. Metal-based nanophotonics (plasmonics) can squeeze light into nanoscale structures that are much smaller than conventional optic components. Plasmonic technology, today still in an experimental stage, has the potential to be used in future …
A surviving cluster of transplanted neurons at the graft extremity (top) with axons in the center (bottom). In both images, transplanted nerve cells are labeled green and axons are stained red. These axons are a mix of the transplanted axons and host axons, which intertwined as regeneration occurred directly across the transplanted tissue. – Researchers …