Reddit Futurology is determining what futurist websites to list on the sidebar of their subreddit. The vote on futurist sites appears to be at this link. Please go and vote up Nextbigfuture. Thanks If you liked this article, please give it a quick review on ycombinator or StumbleUpon. Thanks Brian WangBrian Wang is a Futurist …
A new method of manufacturing short, single-stranded DNA molecules can solve many of the problems associated with current production methods. The new method, which is described in the scientific periodical Nature Methods, can be of value to both DNA nanotechnology and the development of drugs consisting of DNA fragments. “We’ve used enzymatic production methods to …
In 2008, Scott Aaronson said Even if D-Wave managed to build (say) a coherent 1,024-qubit machine satisfying all of its design specs, it’s not obvious it would outperform a classical computer on any problem of practical interest. This is true both because of the inherent limitations of the adiabatic algorithm, and because of specific concerns …
The EPA has updated protective action guidelines in regards to radiation. The government’s legal safety standards haven’t changed. The new guidelines aren’t enforceable rules — they are suggestions to help local officials make tough decisions. In fact, the guidance repeatedly refers to meeting existing standards, not flouting them. The question, though, is how to handle …
The University of NSW (New South Wales) researchers have come up with improvements in photovoltaic panel design that had not been expected for another decade. The breakthrough involves using hydrogen atoms to counter defects in silicon cells used in solar panels. As a consequence, poor quality silicon can be made to perform like high quality …
Ion trap technology are a scalable option for quantum computers. Trapped atomic ions are a promising architecture that satisfies many of the critical requirements for constructing a quantum computer. At the heart of quantum computers are qubits, systems maintained in two or more quantum states simultaneously. Here, the qubits are manifested in the internal energy …
Venture Capitalist Steve Jurvetson (Draper Fisher Jurvetson is an investor in Dwave Systems) describes the speedup for Dwave Systems’ Adiabatic Quantum computers. At 2000 to 4000 qubits, Dwave Systems adiabatic quantum computer should become faster than classical computers for discrete optimization problems. Dwave should reach that level of qubits by about 2015. Steve Jurvetson Describes …
The goal of the HELLADS (High Energy Liquid Laser Area Defense System) program is to develop a 150 kilowatt (kW) laser weapon system that is ten times smaller and lighter than current lasers of similar power, enabling integration onto tactical aircraft to defend against and defeat ground threats. With a weight goal of less than …
The European Commission has selected the two research proposals it will fund to the tune of half-a-billion euros each after a two-year, high-profile contest. The Human Brain Project, led by neuroscientist Henry Markram at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL) in Lausanne, plans to simulate everything known about the human brain in a supercomputer. …
Scientists at Southeast University in Nanjing have developed a “nearly perfect” cloaking device for hiding DC current, a building block toward optical invisibility. The DC cloak is also ultrathin — only 1 cm thick, which is the absolute limit for thinness of this type of practical demonstration. It is a network of resistors, common parts …
The Carnival of Space 284 is up at Tranquility Base blog Supernova condensate – Just how Earth-like was Mars in days long past? A 2 billion year old martian meteorite found in Morocco suggests that in ancient times, Mars was likely a much wetter planet than it is now. Weirdwarp talks about the X-37B. After …