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Oct 9, 2018

Ballistic graphene Josephson junctions enter microwave circuits

Posted by in categories: computing, nanotechnology, quantum physics

Superconducting quantum microwave circuits can function as qubits, the building blocks of a future quantum computer. A critical component of these circuits, the Josephson junction, is typically made using aluminium oxide. Researchers in the Quantum Nanoscience department at the Delft University of Technology have now successfully incorporated a graphene Josephson junction into a superconducting microwave circuit. Their work provides new insight into the interaction of superconductivity and graphene and its possibilities as a material for quantum technologies.

The essential building block of a computer is the quantum bit, or . Unlike regular bits, which can either be one or zero, qubits can be one, zero or a superposition of both these states. This last possibility, that bits can be in a superposition of two states at the same time, allows quantum computers to work in ways not possible with classical computers. The implications are profound: Quantum computers will be able to solve problems that will take a regular computer longer than the age of the universe to solve.

There are many ways to create qubits. One of the tried and tested methods is by using superconducting microwave . These circuits can be engineered in such a way that they behave as harmonic oscillators “If we put a charge on one side, it will go through the inductor and oscillate back and forth,” said Professor Gary Steele. “We make our qubits out of the different states of this charge bouncing back and forth.”

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Oct 9, 2018

Type of Human Monocytes Found to Undergo Senescence

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, life extension

Scientists found out that nonclassical monocites can become senescent.


Scientists from the A*STAR Singapore Immunology Network have discovered that immune cells called nonclassical monocytes undergo cellular senescence, contradicting what was previously thought of them [1].

Abstract

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Oct 9, 2018

How mirrors work in video games

Posted by in category: entertainment

Have you ever wondered how mirrors are possible in video games? 🤔✅

(Turn sound on 🔊)

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Oct 9, 2018

Richard Branson says Virgin Galactic will be in space ‘within weeks, not months’

Posted by in category: space travel

‘We will be in space with people not too long after that’


“We should be in space within weeks, not months. And then we will be in space with myself in months and not years,” the Virgin founder and CEO told CNBC on Tuesday.

“We will be in space with people not too long after that so we have got a very, very exciting couple of months ahead.”

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Oct 9, 2018

Why China is going all out to invent new, stronger, cheaper drugs … it’s not all about challenging the West

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, innovation

In the United States – the world’s biggest and most advanced pharmaceutical market – of the 46 new drugs given consent for marketing by regulators last year, 28 were developed by US firms and the realisation of all but four of the rest were led by European firms. None were Chinese.


China’s big ambitions to become a powerhouse of pharmaceutical innovation is as much about the well-being of its people as it is about narrowing the gap with the West.

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Oct 8, 2018

Brain Meets Machine: The Art and Science of Brain-Computer Interfaces

Posted by in categories: computing, mathematics, neuroscience, science

Current brain-computer interface (BCI) research helps people who have lost the ability to affect their environment in ways many of us take for granted. Future BCIs may go beyond motor function, perhaps aiding with memory recall, decision-making, and other cognitive functions.


Have you ever studied a foreign language and wished you could upload the vocabulary lists directly into your brain so that you could retain them? Would you like to do mental math with the speed and accuracy of a calculator? Do you want a literal photographic memory? Well, these dreams are still the stuff of science fiction, but the brave new world of brain-computer interfaces, or BCI, is well on its way to making technological miracles of this sort a reality.

The story of BCI begins with the discovery of electrical signals emitted by the brain. In 1924, German scientist Hans Berger recorded the first electroencephalogram, or EEG, by placing electrodes under a person’s scalp. Although his research was at first met with derision, a whole new way to study the brain was born from his work. It is now well accepted that the human brain emits electric signals at a variety of frequencies currently known as brainwaves.

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Oct 8, 2018

Frances Arnold, George Smith and Gregory Winter Win Chemistry Nobel for Directing Evolution

Posted by in categories: chemistry, evolution

By using the power of evolution to solve practical problems, three researchers opened new avenues to chemical discovery.

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Oct 8, 2018

A “Vaccine” Created from Mushrooms Could Help Save the Bees

Posted by in category: biotech/medical

It could be a new way to fight colony collapse disorder.


A humble mushroom extract might help with many of bees’ woes, according to new research — and even, maybe, help rebuild their world population.

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Oct 8, 2018

Overlooked Brain Region Key to Complex Thought?

Posted by in category: neuroscience

The ornately folded outer layer of the human brain, the cerebral cortex, has long received nearly all the credit for our ability to perform complex cognitive tasks such as composing a sonata, imagining the plot of a novel or reflecting on our own thoughts.

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Oct 8, 2018

Hydrogel nudges stem cells to grow into liver cells

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, nanotechnology

The new nanomaterial-based hydrogel, which gets certain stem cells to grow into liver cells, could help people with a range of liver conditions.

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