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Purdue builds quantum-computing semiconductor chip

September 25, 2001

Quantum-dot techniques have produced the first examples of quantum computing in a semiconductor at Purdue University. Researchers demonstrated that traditional GaAs fabrication equipment can be used to fashion quantum dots -— each representing a single qubit —- in domains as small as 50 nm in diameter.

Two of the dots were placed close enough for the team to observe quantum-spin interactions, a discovery that might lead to semiconductor-based quantum… read more

Topics: Computers/Infotech/UI | Quantum

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European conference on Computing and Philosophy issues call for papers

November 13, 2008

E-CAP, the European conference on Computing and Philosophy, has issued a call for papers that cover topics like robotics, AI, ambient Intelligence, computational linguistics, interdisciplinary approaches to the problem of consciousness, biological information, artificial life, and synthetic emotions.

The conference will be held at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Kevin Warwick is a keynote speaker.

Topics: AI/Robotics | Cognitive Science/Neuroscience | Computers/Infotech/UI

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Lensless X-ray holography achieves ten times better resolution

February 18, 2005

Researchers have developed a “lensless X-ray holography” technique to take X-ray images with 10 times better spatial resolution than can be achieved with current X-ray lenses and at ultra-fast speeds.

The technique works by shining a coherent beam of X-ray light through two adjacent holes: one containing the sample to be studied, the other a tiny “reference” hole. The scattered light from both holes overlays to form a single,… read more

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Scientists Report Gains in Knowledge of Bacterium

October 24, 2001

Scientists reported two major advances yesterday in their understanding of the anthrax bacterium — discoveries that could lead to the development of drugs custom-designed to interfere with the anthrax toxin at different stages of its operation.

Scientists from Harvard Medical School and the University of Wisconsin said that after a decade’s search they had found the receptor protein on the surface of cells that was targeted by the anthrax… read more

Topics: Biotech | Survival/Defense

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Regenerating a Mammoth for $10 Million

November 20, 2008

A scientific team at Pennsylvania State University has recovered a large fraction of the mammoth genome from clumps of mammoth hair, and that a living mammoth could perhaps be regenerated for as little as $10 million.

The same technology could be applied to any other extinct species from which one can obtain hair, horn, hooves, fur or feathers, and which went extinct within the last 60,000 years, the effective… read more

Topics: Biotech

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DNA Testing Goes DIY

March 8, 2005

An increasing number of online startups are marketing genetic tests that claim to show predisposition to various maladies.

Topics: Biomed/Longevity

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Semiconductors get on our nerves

November 14, 2001

Scientists at the University of Texas are using a sliver of protein to connect neurons and tiny crystals of semiconductors called quantum dots.
This cross between biology and electronics could have useful applications, including the manufacture of prosthetics operated directly by a user’s nerve impulses and sensors that detect tiny quantities of neurotoxins. It could also help to study how real brains work.

Topics: AI/Robotics | Biotech | Human Enhancement | Quantum

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Microsoft’s new social network, so.cl: it’s like Google+ for wonks

May 21, 2012

microsoft_so_cl

Over the weekend, Microsoft quietly launched an experimental social network called So.cl — a mix between Google+ and Storify.

You can search for information about a particular topic, then compile the best results — textual content, images and videos — into a single document.

So.cl is initially targeted to students. It may end up being useful as an academic tool, but it’s unlikely to… read more

Topics: Social Networking/Web/Education

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Neural Prosthetics and Direct Neural Control

November 28, 2001

Stanford engineer discovers neural cells that “plan” movement of body parts.Reaching out to touch a dot on a computer screen may seem simple, but it requires a complex chain of signals that link together the eye, brain and arm. Damage to any part of that chain, such as a spinal injury, stroke or neurodegenerative disease, can make even the simplest tasks impossible.

Stanford engineer Krishna Shenoy and a group… read more

Topics: Biotech | Human Enhancement

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Memories may be stored on your DNA

November 28, 2008

Long-term memories may be preserved in neurons by a process called DNA methylation — the addition of chemical caps called methyl groups onto our DNA, University of Alabama researchers have found.

Methyl groups also help to control the exact pattern of protein expression needed to maintain the synapses that make up memories. The process could be borrowing a form of cellular memory from developmental biology.

Topics: Cognitive Science/Neuroscience

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World’s First Robot Census

October 12, 2010

Heather “Marilyn Monrobot” Knight, a graduate student at Carnegie Mellon University, plans to take the world’s first robot census, eventually canvassing as many of the home-brew and university robotics efforts as possible.

Knight’s inspiration for initiating the census is her own work in integrating robots into people’s everyday lives. By showcasing the incredible variety and utility of the robots at Carnegie Mellon and elsewhere, Knight thinks… read more

Topics: AI/Robotics

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The real reason for Atkins diet weight loss

March 22, 2005

The high-protein Atkins diet works not for the reasons its inventor claimed, but simply because people eat less, according to studies by Guenther Boden at Temple University School of Medicine.

“They dropped 1000 calories because they didn’t want to eat more,” Boden says. “They loved the diet. They loved to eat bacon and eggs, and sausages and that sort of thing.”

(Subscription required)

Topics: Biomed/Longevity

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Forgetfulness is a tool of the brain

June 5, 2007

The brain only chooses to remember memories it thinks are most relevant, and actively suppresses those that are similar but less used, helping to lessen the cognitive load and prevent confusion, Stanford University researchers have found.

Topics: Cognitive Science/Neuroscience

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Robo Lobster to Sniff Out Mines

January 2, 2002

Teams of sniffer robots may someday scour land and sea, using their artificial snouts to root out mines in places and situations humans would rather avoid.At least this is the goal of a team studying the lobster–a creature considered a paragon of odor analysis–in order to create a robotic version of the lobster’s snout.

“The idea is that evolution has developed the lobster antennule (nose) to do the job… read more

Topics: Biotech

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Intel Looks To Blanket The World With Self-Powered Sensors

December 7, 2008

Intel Labs is developing a “wireless identification and sensing platform,” or WISP, using self-powered microchips that could be implanted in the human body, a mobile phone, a building, or anyplace else where people wish to gather information.

Self-powered sensors could one day go into the human body to monitor health-related activity, such as the beat of a heart, says Intel CTO Justin Rattner. If researchers could shrink detectors to… read more

Topics: Electronics | Energy

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