Scientists at Max-Planck-Institute of Quantum Optics (MPQ) have successfully achieved a quantum logic gate using a single photon and a single atom.
In the experiment, described in a Nature paper, the binary states 0 and 1 are represented by the two spin orientations of an atom (upwards or downwards), and by two polarization states of an optical photon (left or right circular), respectively.
The atom is… read more
Scientists at MIT and Harvard University have developed a new method for connecting atoms and light that could help in the development of powerful quantum computing systems.
The new technique allows researchers to couple a lone atom of rubidium, a metal, with a single photon, or light particle. This allows both the atom and photon to switch the quantum state of each other, providing a mechanism through… read more
The U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) has developed a technology for simultaneously extracting carbon dioxide and hydrogen from seawater and converting the two gases to a liquid hydrocarbon fuel, as a possible replacement for petroleum-based jet fuel.
Fueled by the liquid hydrocarbon, the research team demonstrated sustained flight of a radio-controlled P-51 replica of the legendary Red Tail Squadron, powered by an off-the-shelf, unmodified two-stroke internal combustion engine.… read more
The U.S. Navy plans to install a prototype of the first laser weapon on USS Ponce for at-sea testing in the Persian Gulf late this summer.
The Laser Weapon System (LaWS) is a “revolutionary capability,” said Chief of Naval Research Rear Adm. Matthew Klunder. “It’s absolutely critical that we get this out to sea with our Sailors for these trials, because this very affordable technology is going to change… read more
Using a new gene-editing system based on bacterial proteins, MIT researchers have cured mice of a rare liver disorder caused by a single genetic mutation.
The findings, described in the March 30 issue of Nature Biotechnology, offer the first evidence that this gene-editing technique, known as CRISPR, can reverse disease symptoms in living animals. CRISPR, which offers an easy way to snip out mutated DNA and replace it with… read more
A team of scientists at the University of Edinburgh has rebuilt the thymus of an old mouse — the first regeneration of a living organ.
After treatment, the regenerated organ had a structure similar to that found in a young mouse.
The thymus is an organ in the body located next to the heart that produces important immune cells. The advance could pave the way for… read more
Performers in the UBC Laptop Orchestra at the University of British Columbia use body movements to trigger programmed synthetic instruments or modify the sound of their live instruments in real time.
They strap motion sensors to their bodies and instruments, play wearable iPhone instruments, and swing Nintendo Wii or PlayStation Move controllers while Kinect video cameras track their movements.… read more
A new study of gamma-ray light from the center of our galaxy makes the strongest case to date that some of this emission may arise from dark matter, an unknown substance making up most of the material universe. Using publicly available data from NASA‘s Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope, independent scientists at the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (Fermilab), the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (CfA), the Massachusetts Institute of… read more
Rice University chemists have created a new material that adds carbon nanotubes as reinforcing bars (“rebar”) — mimicking how steel rebar is used in concrete — to make it easier to manipulate, while improving the electrical and mechanical qualities of both materials.
The technique should be of interest to electronics manufacturers, said Rice chemist James Tour. He suggested that by stacking a few layers, the… read more
Under stress from chemotherapy or radiation, some cancer cells dodge death by autophagy — eating a bit of themselves — allowing them to essentially sleep through treatment and later awaken as tougher, resistant disease.
But interfering with a single cancer-promoting protein and its receptor can turn this resistance mechanism into lethal, runaway self-cannibalization, researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center report in the journal… read more
Cybersecurity researchers from the Georgia Institute of Technology have developed a new security-software system called LatentGesture that continuously monitors how a user taps and swipes a mobile device. If the movements don’t match the owner’s patterns, the system recognizes the differences and if programmed, can lock the device.
In a recent Georgia Tech lab study, the system was nearly 98 percent accurate on a smartphone and 97 percent… read more
Reza Montazami, an Iowa State University assistant professor of mechanical engineering, is developing technology he calls “transient materials” or “transient electronics” — special degradable polymer composite materials designed to quickly and completely melt away when a trigger is activated.
A medical device, once its job is done, could harmlessly melt away inside a person’s body. Or, a military device could collect and send its data and then dissolve away,… read more
Corey McCall, a Stanford University doctoral candidate, is developing a handheld game controller that monitors the player’s autonomic nervous system activity to indicate when a player is bored.
The prototype controller was born from research conducted in the lab of Gregory Kovacs, a professor of electrical engineering, in collaboration with Texas Instruments.
Autonomic nervous system activity occurs when you get excited or bored, happy or sad, for… read more
The U.S. Navy announced today (Apr. 7, 2014) that it plans to install and test a prototype electromagnetic railgun (EM railgun) aboard a joint high-speed vessel in fiscal year 2016 — the first time an electromagnetic railgun will be demonstrated at sea and a significant advance in naval combat.
EM railgun technology uses an electromagnetic force, known as the Lorenz Force, to… read more
Molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) has been put forward by a group of researchers as a potential building block for the next generation of low-cost electrical devices as an alternative to graphene.
Because of its impressive ability to convert light into electricity at with high efficiency, single layers of the semiconducting material have been used to fabricate a widely used device known as a photosensor, which is found in a range… read more