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Sep 18, 2024

Towards spike-based machine intelligence with neuromorphic computing

Posted by in categories: futurism, robotics/AI

The authors review the advantages and future prospects of neuromorphic computing, a multidisciplinary engineering concept for energy-efficient artificial intelligence with brain-inspired functionality.

Sep 18, 2024

Team discovers naturally occurring DNA-protein hybrids

Posted by in category: biotech/medical

Thanks to a serendipitous discovery and a lot of painstaking work, scientists can now build biohybrid molecules that combine the homing powers of DNA with the broad functional repertoire of proteins—without having to synthesize them one by one, researchers report in a new study. Using a naturally occurring process, laboratories can harness the existing molecule-building capacities of bacteria to generate vast libraries of potentially therapeutic DNA-protein hybrid molecules.

Sep 18, 2024

Quantum computers teleport and store energy harvested from empty space

Posted by in categories: computing, quantum physics

A quantum computing protocol makes it possible to extract energy from seemingly empty space, teleport it to a new location, then store it for later use.

By Karmela Padavic-Callaghan

Sep 18, 2024

Osaka University and RIKEN’s Flagged Weight Optimization Illuminates Color Codes in Quantum Computing

Posted by in categories: computing, quantum physics

In a recent paper published in PRX Quantum, a team of researchers from Osaka University and RIKEN presented an approach to improve the fault-tolerance of color codes, a type of quantum error correction (QEC) code. Their method, known as Flagged Weight Optimization (FWO), targets the underlying challenges of color-code architectures, which historically suffer from lower thresholds under circuit-level noise. By optimizing the decoder weights based on the outcomes of flag qubits, this method improves the threshold values of color codes.

Color codes are an alternative to surface codes in quantum error correction that implement all Clifford gates transversally, making them a potential solution for low-overhead quantum computing, as noted by the paper. However, their practical use has been limited thus far by the relatively low fault-tolerance thresholds under circuit-level noise. Traditional methods of stabilizer measurement, which involve high-weight stabilizers acting on numerous qubits, introduce substantial circuit depth and errors, ultimately leading to lower overall performance.

The research team focused on two color-code lattices—the (4.8.8) and (6.6.6) color codes. The team noted that while these codes are considered topologically advantageous for QEC, their previous thresholds were relatively low, making them less effective for real-world applications. For example, the threshold for the (4.8.8) color code was previously around 0.14%, limiting its use in fault-tolerant computing.

Sep 18, 2024

A refresh-in-sensing reusable biosensor

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, chemistry

An electrochemical biosensor capable of detecting low levels of cancer biomarkers is reusable over 200 regeneration cycles without compromising device sensitivity and accuracy.

Sep 18, 2024

How to work more efficiently, according a neuroscientist

Posted by in category: neuroscience

In her new book, neuroscience researcher Mithu Storoni breaks down how to best structure your work sessions and increase your productivity.

Sep 18, 2024

An unprecedented feat: Printing 3D photonic crystals that completely block light

Posted by in category: materials

Photonic crystals are materials with repeating internal structures that interact with light in unique ways. We can find natural examples in opals and the vibrant colored shells of some insects. Even though these crystals are made of transparent materials, they exhibit a “photonic bandgap” that blocks light at certain wavelengths and directions.

Sep 18, 2024

Our reality seems to be compatible with a quantum multiverse

Posted by in categories: cosmology, quantum physics

Even though the strange behaviour we observe in the quantum realm isn’t part of our daily lives, simulations suggest it is likely our reality could be one of the many worlds in a quantum multiverse.

By Karmela Padavic-Callaghan

Sep 18, 2024

Cause and effect may not actually be muddled in the quantum realm

Posted by in category: quantum physics

The direction of cause and effect was brought into question for quantum objects more than a decade ago, but new calculations may offer a way to restore it.

By Karmela Padavic-Callaghan

Sep 18, 2024

DNA origami with cargo function

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, nanotechnology

In the world of nanotechnology, the development of dynamic systems that respond to molecular signals is becoming increasingly important. The DNA origami technique, whereby DNA is programmed so as to produce functional nanostructures, plays a key role in these endeavors. Teams led by LMU chemist Philip Tinnefeld have now published two studies showing how DNA origami and fluorescent probes can be used to release molecular cargo in a targeted manner.

In the journal Angewandte Chemie (“DNA Origami Vesicle Sensors with Triggered Single-Molecule Cargo Transfer”), the researchers report on their development of a novel DNA-origami-based sensor that can detect lipid vesicles and deliver molecular cargo to them with precision.

The sensor works using single-molecule Fluorescence Resonance Energy Transfer (smFRET), which involves measuring the distance between two fluorescent molecules. The system consists of a DNA origami structure, out of which a single-stranded DNA protrudes, which has been labeled with fluorescent dye at its tip. If the DNA comes into contact with vesicles, its conformation changes. This alters the fluorescent signal, because the distance between the fluorescent label and a second fluorescent molecule on the origami structure changes. This method allows vesicles to be detected.

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