China 2 yr Quantum Communication program’s goal is to reliably transmit ‘unhackable’ keys from space to the ground through quantum entanglement.
China has been the first country to utilize quantum technologies within their satellites in order to mitigate the threats from cyber attacks in their country.
Excellent progress.
The rapid progress that has been sweeping the field of crystal growth and related device technology is opening doors. Perhaps nowhere is the effect of this evolution being felt more than in the development of ultra-small structures whose material properties can be controlled on the nanoscale. The reason for this development: because solid-state nano–structures possess unique optical and electronic properties, they have the potential to be the launching pad of a new generation of devices.
Within the field, researchers are particularly focused on the properties of spins confined within the nano-structures – with the ultimate goal being to use spin nano-systems to develop, for example, robust quantum bits (qubits) capable of storing vast amounts of information. Here, the EU -funded S^3NANO project has successfully developed qubits in a new, innovative form. According to project researchers, these qubits could serve as the information units of the quantum computers of the future.
Continue reading “Spin Nano-Systems Result in New Type of Quantum Bits” »
By Newsroom America Feeds at 11:43 am Eastern
SUMMARY: Rice University physicists probe the boundaries of light-matter interactions as they bridge traditional condensed matter physics and cavity-based quantum optics.
Rice university office of public affairs / news & media relations.
Watching DNA self-repair itself.
After 2015’s Nobel Prize in chemistry was awarded for advancements in our understanding of DNA repair, a recent Nature report characterises the mechanism in molecular detail. The implications for cancer research are vast.
Researchers in Paris, France, and Bristol, England, have leveraged recent advances in microscopy and fluorescent imaging to characterise the entire process of DNA repair at the molecular level. They were able to observe RNA polymerase, which ‘reads’ DNA and initiates its replication, as it moved along the DNA strand.
Another spin on AI in how it eradicates poverty; hmmm.
Eradicating extreme poverty, measured as people living on less than $1.25 US a day, by 2030 is among the sustainable development goals adopted by United Nations member states last year.
A team of computer scientists and satellite experts created a self-updating world map to locate poverty, said Marshall Burke, assistant professor in Stanford’s Department of Earth System Science.
Continue reading “Artificial Intelligence could help eradicate global poverty” »
Hmmm; I did know that the early day astronauts did practice the moon walk near one of the volcanoes in Hawaii.
Since August last year, six scientists have been living isolated from the outside world 8,200 feet up a dormant volcano in Hawaii. Confined to a dome 11 metre wide with a living area of about 1,000 square feet, the team is only allowed to venture outside when wearing NASA spacesuits, just like future astronauts on Mars will have to do.
Continue reading “Yearlong simulation of Mars on Mauna Loa is coming to an end” »
Oxygen minimum zones (OMZs) extend over about 8 percent of the oceanic surface area, but account for up to 50 percent of the total loss of bioavailable nitrogen and thus play an important role in regulating the ocean’s productivity by substantially impacting the nitrogen cycle. By sequencing single cells and metagenomes from OMZs, researchers identified bacteria of the SAR11 clade as being abundant in these areas, although no previously known anaerobic metabolism had been described for this group. Detailed sequence analysis of SAR11 single cells, followed by functional characterization experiments, revealed the presence of functional nitrate reductase pathways as a key adaptation to oxygen-poor, or anoxic, environments. These results link SAR11, the world’s most abundant organismal group, to oceanic nitrogen loss.
The Impact
Microbes play key roles in maintaining the planet’s biogeochemical cycles, and while the role of SAR11 bacteria in the marine carbon cycle has been well documented, its important role in regulating nitrogen bioavailability was hitherto unknown. In partnering with a national user facility, scientists had access to state-of-the-art single-cell sorting and synthetic biology capabilities at the DOE JGI, enabling them to identify and functionally characterize the role of SAR11 in oxygen minimum zones in the ocean.
Continue reading “Identifying the Microbial Culprits Initiating Oceanic Nitrogen Loss” »
