Purdue University – The merging of two technologies under development – plasmonics and nanophotonics – is promising the emergence of new “quantum information systems” far more powerful than today’s computers. It would be the grab bag of future keywords and phrases Hyperbolic metamaterials integrated with nitrogen vacancies in diamond plasmonics nanophotonics quantum information systems quantum …
1. The United States will likely suffer the loss of its triple-A credit rating from another major rating agency by the end of this year due to concerns over the deficit, Bank of America Merrill Lynch forecasts. “The credit rating agencies have strongly suggested that further rating cuts are likely if Congress does not come …
1. Universe Today – Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) is now one more step closer to sending astronauts to orbit. The commercial space firm announced today that it has completed a successful review of the company’s launch abort system (LAS). SpaceX’s LAS, dubbed “DragonRider” is designed differently than abort systems that have been used in the …
Discovery News – The Modular Robotics Laboratory at the University of Pennsylvania, under the direction of Shai Revzen, has created a robot that can be assembled from foam that hardens and pieces that allow the robot to move. The “foambot” looks ungainly, and it is. But once you have a shape — and a task …
The United States imported 6,557,000 barrels of oil per day for the week of October 14, 2011. This was the lowest level of imports since 1995 The United States supplied 18.3 million barrels of finished oil products per day for the week of October 14, 2011. This is a 1998 level of oil usage. The …
Pesticides and pollutants are related to an alarming 450 percent increase in the risk of spina bifida and anencephaly in rural China, according to scientists at The University of Texas at Austin and Peking University. Many other congenital conditions, including autism, may one day prove to be related to environmental pollutants. Two of the pesticides …
Federal employees whose compensation averages more than $126,000 and the nation’s greatest concentration of lawyers helped Washington edge out San Jose as the wealthiest U.S. metropolitan area. The U.S. capital has swapped top spots with Silicon Valley, according to recent Census Bureau figures, with the typical household in the Washington metro area earning $84,523 last …
The Singularity Summit 2011 was held on October 15 and 16th in New York. The Singularity Summit is the premier dialog on the Singularity. The Singularity (as defined by the Singularity Summit) represents an “event horizon” in the predictability of human technological development past which present models of the future may cease to give reliable …
Researchers at UC Santa Barbara have discovered a method to synthesize high quality graphene in a controlled manner that may pave the way for next-generation electronics application. The discovery by UCSB researchers turns graphene production into an industry-friendly process by improving the quality and uniformity of graphene using efficient and reproducible methods. They were able …
Technology developed by researchers at The University of Texas at Austin could significantly reduce the time and cost to finding a cure for Alzheimer’s disease and help answer one of the greatest biological questions: why do we age ? * They have a strain of C.Elegans worms that have engineered to develop Alzheimer’s within 5 …
IBM Research announced that it has teamed with EKZ, the electricity utility provider of the Canton of Zurich in Switzerland, on a new pilot project that will allow consumers to conveniently charge electric vehicles and monitor their energy costs, using mobile devices. This near real-time information will also help utility providers better manage power grid …