Researchers from A*STAR’s Institute of Microelectronics (IME) have developed the first compact high performance silicon-based cavity-backed slot (CBS) antenna that operates at 135 GHz. The antenna demonstrated 30 times stronger signal transmission over on-chip antennas at 135 GHz. At just 1.6mm x 1.2mm, approximately the size of a sesame seed, it is the smallest silicon-based …
Lunar space elevators are flexible structures connecting the lunar surface with counterweights located beyond the L1 or L2 Lagrangian points in the Earthmoon system. A lunar space elevator on the moon’s near side, balanced about the L1 Lagrangian point, could support robotic climbing vehicles to release lunar material into high Earth orbit. A lunar space …
IBM is working with several US hospitals to build a virtual physicians’ assistant using Watson, the AI that won the TV show Jeopardy. To test the system, Watson was first tasked with answering questions taken from Doctor’s Dilemma, a competition for trainee doctors that takes place at the annual meeting of the American College of …
The Diplomat tries to make a case that China’s Rise peaked in 2008. (BTW – thediplomat site is not visible from some common domain name servers.) This article was heavily discussed on reddit. They list of issues which they argue will prevent China from continuing to outperform economically or to otherwise rise in power are: …
In January 2011, the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) launched a Strategic Priority Research Program named “Advanced Fission Energy Program” to confront two grand challenges in the nuclear energy world – long-term nuclear fuel supply and permanent disposal of spent nuclear fuel. The program consists of two projects, the TMSR (Thorium Molten Salt Reactor) and …
What if there was a way to take plant waste (like corn husks) and turn it into bio fuels? What if this also removed carbon from our atmosphere? What if the same process also produced a substance that would help turn deserts back into productive crop land? What if this process could be done on …
The NIMS Photonic Materials Unit is developing an advanced self-assembly technique for semiconductor quantum dots called droplet epitaxy, which is an original NIMS technology, and recently succeeded in the development of a new self-assembly technique for quantum dots with the world’s highest surface density, greatly exceeding the previously reported value. Quantum dots have attracted heightened …
Techradar and BGR report that the Samsung Galaxy note 2 will be officially launched August 15, 2012 It should be available for purchase in September. Rumors have suggested that the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 will have a 5.5-inch Super AMOLED display, Android 4.1 Jelly Bean and a quad-core Exynos processor, and it may have a …
A graduate student and his team of researchers have turned the chemistry world on its ear by becoming the first ever to prove that tiny interlocked molecules can function inside solid materials, laying the important groundwork for the future creation of molecular machines. “Until now, this has only ever been done in solution,” explained Chemistry …
DARPA is seeking to make a lightweight, conformal under-suit that is transparent to the user (like a diver’s wetsuit). The suit seeks to employ a system (or web) of closed-loop controlled actuation, transmission, and functional structures that protect injury prone areas, focusing on the soft tissues that connect and interface with the skeletal system. Other …
1. DearAstronomer -Nearly a year ago, the Pluto-Charon Dwarf Planet system made headlines with the announcement that a fourth moon had been detected. Today, Alan Stern (SWRI) has announced via twitter ( @alanstern ) that a fifth moon has been detected in orbit around Pluto. 2. Supernova Condensate – So, with a newly discovered moon, …