Chronos: 2008

2008-12-24

New technique is quantum leap forward in understanding proteins

From Physorg.com, New technique is quantum leap forward in understanding proteins:

In this ongoing quest, a group of Scripps Research Institute scientists, along with colleagues from the University of California, San Diego, (UCSD) have borrowed from physics to deliver one of those research rarities -- an unmitigated success. The group has devised a computational method that, with remarkable accuracy, predicts how bacterial proteins fold and interact.

[Continued]

2008-12-23

Researchers Fabricate Complex SWNT Architectures Using Newly Developed Assembly Process

Labels: nanotechnology

From PhysOrg.com:

(Given the sheer number of potential applications for carbon nanotubes, experts in the field of nanotechnology are developing effective ways to mass produce intricate nanoscale structures for electronics, sensing, energy and biomedical applications in a timely, cost-effective manner with a high level of accuracy.

[Continued]

2008-12-09

Doing without

Labels: collections, programming, Smalltalk

Reading a recent post by Ramon Leon, a thought occurred to me: In many cases, there's a better alternative to using #copyWithout:. The alternative would be to use #do:without:, implemeted as follows:

    do: block1 without: anElement
        self do: [:each | each = anElement ifFalse: [block1 value: each]]

The advantage should be obvious: It avoids making a "throw away" copy of the initial collection.

Why Life Originated (And Why it Continues)

Labels: biology, evolution, life, thermodynamics

Why Life Originated (And Why it Continues) from PhysOrg.com

(PhysOrg.com) -- Today, scientists understand pretty well how life evolves, by mechanisms based on Darwin’s theory of natural selection for survival of the fittest. However, Darwin’s 1859 classic, On the Origin of Species, somewhat ironically doesn’t answer that very question – how species actually originated. And to this day, how that first tiny pool of chemicals twitched to life remains a puzzle.

[Continued]

Key to 'curing' obesity may lie in worms that destroy their own fat

Labels: biology, biotechnology, obesity

Key to 'curing' obesity may lie in worms that destroy their own fat from PhysOrg.com

(PhysOrg.com) -- A previously unknown mutation discovered in a common roundworm holds the promise of new treatments for obesity in humans, McGill University researchers say. Their study was published Dec. 3 in the journal Nature, and was funded by the Canadian Cancer Society and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.

[Continued]

2008-12-04

Model unravels rules that govern how genes are switched on and off

Labels: dna, epigenetics, gene regulation, genetics

Model unravels rules that govern how genes are switched on and off from PhysOrg.com

For years, scientists have struggled to decipher the genetic instruction book that details where and when the 20,000 genes in a human cell will be turned on or off. Different genes operate in each cell type at different times, and this careful orchestration is what ultimately distinguishes a brain cell from a liver or skin cell.

[Continued]

2008-12-03

New insights on fusion power

Labels: energy, fusion

New insights on fusion power from PhysOrg.com

(PhysOrg.com) -- Research carried out at MIT’s Alcator C-Mod fusion reactor may have brought the promise of fusion as a future power source a bit closer to reality, though scientists caution that a practical fusion powerplant is still decades away.

[Continued]

2008-12-01

Persistent pollutant may promote obesity

Labels: health, obesity, pollution

Persistent pollutant may promote obesity from PhysOrg.com

Tributyltin, a ubiquitous pollutant that has a potent effect on gene activity, could be promoting obesity, according to an article in the December issue of BioScience. The chemical is used in antifouling paints for boats, as a wood and textile preservative, and as a pesticide on high-value food crops, among many other applications.

[Continued]

2008-11-26

'The photon force is with us': Harnessing light to drive nanomachines

Labels: nanotechnology, photonics

'The photon force is with us': Harnessing light to drive nanomachines from PhysOrg.com

Science fiction writers have long envisioned sailing a spacecraft by the optical force of the sun's light. But, the forces of sunlight are too weak to fill even the oversized sails that have been tried. Now a team led by researchers at the Yale School of Engineering & Applied Science has shown that the force of light indeed can be harnessed to drive machines — when the process is scaled to nano-proportions.

[Continued]

Researchers identify a potentially universal mechanism of aging

Labels: aging

Researchers identify a potentially universal mechanism of aging from PhysOrg.com

Like our current financial crisis, the aging process might also be a product excessive deregulation. Researchers have discovered that DNA damage decreases a cell's ability to regulate which genes are turned on and off in particular settings. This mechanism, which applies both to fungus and to us, might represent a universal culprit for aging.

[Continued]

2008-11-20

How Time-Traveling Could Affect Quantum Computing

Labels: quantum computers, time travel

How Time-Traveling Could Affect Quantum Computing from PhysOrg.com

(PhysOrg.com) -- If space-time were constructed in such a way that you could travel back in time, it would create some pretty strange effects. One of these oddities, as many people know, is the “grandfather paradox.” Here, a person travels back in time to kill their grandfather before the person’s father is born, thus preventing their own birth.

[Continued]

2008-11-11

New laser method reproduces art masterworks to protein patterns

Labels: biotechnology, nanomedicine

New laser method reproduces art masterworks to protein patterns from PhysOrg.com

Canadian researchers have created a new protein patterning technique that's enabled them to reproduce complex cellular environments and a miniature version of a masterpiece painting. According to a new study published in the journal Lab on a Chip, scientists from Université de Montréal, the Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital Research Centre, McGill University and the Montreal Neurological Institute have developed a laser technology that can mimic the protein patterns that surround cells in vivo and that could lead to great advances in neuroscience.

[Continued]

2008-11-08

U.S. military researchers grow new limbs, organs

Labels: biotechnology, medicine

From OttowaCitizen.com:

American military researchers say they have unlocked the secret to regrowing limbs and recreating organs in humans who have sustained major injuries.

Using "nanoscaffolding," the researchers have regrown a man's fingertip and the internal organs of several test subjects.

[Continued]

2008-10-22

Memoirs of a qubit: Hybrid memory solves key problem for quantum computing

Labels: quantum computers

Memoirs of a qubit: Hybrid memory solves key problem for quantum computing from PhysOrg.com

An international team of scientists has performed the ultimate miniaturisation of computer memory: storing information inside the nucleus of an atom. This breakthrough is a key step in bringing to life a quantum computer - a device based on the fundamental theory of quantum mechanics which could crack problems unsolvable by current technology.

[Continued]

2008-10-17

Stamping' self-assembling nanowires

Labels: nanoelectronics, nanotechnology

'Stamping' self-assembling nanowires from PhysOrg.com

(PhysOrg.com) -- By manipulating the way tiny droplets of fluid dry, Cornell researchers have created an innovative way to make and pattern nanoscale wires and other devices that ordinarily can be made only with expensive lithographic tools. The process is guided by molds that "stamp" the desired structures.

[Continued]

2008-10-16

New research field promises radical advances in optical technologies

Labels: metamaterials, nanotechnology, optics

New research field promises radical advances in optical technologies from PhysOrg.com

(PhysOrg.com) -- A new research field called transformation optics may usher in a host of radical advances including a cloak of invisibility and ultra-powerful microscopes and computers by harnessing nanotechnology and "metamaterials."

[Continued]

2008-10-02

Research team discovers brain pathway responsible for obesity

Labels: food addiction, health, obesity, weight regulation

Research team discovers brain pathway responsible for obesity from PhysOrg.com

University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers, for the first time, have found a messaging system in the brain that directly affects food intake and body weight.

[Continued]

Flexi display technology is now

Labels: technology, video

A la "Minorty Report":

Flexi display technology is now from PhysOrg.com

Rigid television screens, bulky laptops and still image posters are to be a thing of the past as new research, published today, Thursday, 2 October, in the New Journal of Physics, heralds the beginning of a technological revolution for screen displays.

[Continued]

2008-09-29

Breakthrough for carbon nanotube materials

Labels: nanotechnology

Breakthrough for carbon nanotube materials from PhysOrg.com

(PhysOrg.com) -- In collaboration with scientists from the NanoTech Institute of the University of Texas at Dallas (UTD) – CSIRO has achieved a major breakthrough in the development of a commercially-viable manufacturing process for a range of materials made from carbon nanotubes.

[Continued]

2008-09-28

New findings reveal that the shape of the Universe is a Dodecahedron based on Phi

Labels: cosmology, physics

From Weird News:

The standard model of cosmology predicts that the universe is infinite and flat. However, cosmologists in France and the US are now suggesting that space could be finite and shaped like a dodecahedron instead. They claim that a universe with the same shape as the twelve-sided polygon can explain measurements of the cosmic microwave background – the radiation left over from the big bang – that spaces with more mundane shapes cannot.

Continued

2008-09-18

Computers figuring out what words mean

Labels: linguistics, semantics technologies

Computers figuring out what words mean from PhysOrg.com

The Internet got smarter this week with the release of a semantic map that teaches computers the meanings behind words -- and gives the machines a vocabulary far larger than that of a typical US college graduate.

[Continued]

2008-09-05

Physicists investigate how time moves forward

Labels: nanotechnology, physics

Physicists investigate how time moves forward from PhysOrg.com

As humans, we have a very intuitive concept of time, and of the differences between the past, present, and future. But, as scientists Edward Feng of the University of California, Berkeley, and Gavin Crooks of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory point out, science does not provide a clear definition of time.

[Continued]

2008-09-04

Do 68 molecules hold the key to understanding disease?

Labels: biochemistry, biology

Do 68 molecules hold the key to understanding disease? from PhysOrg.com

Why is it that the origins of many serious diseases remain a mystery? In considering that question, a scientist at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine has come up with a unified molecular view of the indivisible unit of life, the cell, which may provide an answer.

[Continued]

2008-08-27

Big step in tiny technology

Labels: nanotechnology

Big step in tiny technology from PhysOrg.com

(PhysOrg.com) -- A crucial step in developing minuscule structures with application potential in sophisticated sensors, catalysis, and nanoelectronics has been developed by Scottish researchers.

[Continued]

Researchers turn one form of adult mouse cell directly into another

Labels: biotechnology

Researchers turn one form of adult mouse cell directly into another from PhysOrg.com

(PhysOrg.com) -- In a feat of biological prestidigitation likely to turn the field of regenerative medicine on its head, Harvard Stem Cell Institute (HSCI) co-director Doug Melton and post doctoral fellow Qiao "Joe" Zhou report having achieved what has long been a dream and ultimate goal of developmental biologists – directly turning one type of fully formed adult cell into another type of adult cell.

[Continued]

2008-08-21

Killer carbs -- Monash scientist finds the key to overeating as we age

Labels: aging, carbohydrates, diet, oxidation, weight regulation

Killer carbs -- Monash scientist finds the key to overeating as we age from PhysOrg.com

A Monash University scientist has discovered key appetite control cells in the human brain degenerate over time, causing increased hunger and potentially weight-gain as we grow older.

[Continued]

2008-08-20

New 'nano-positioners' may have atomic-scale precision

Labels: nanotechnology

New 'nano-positioners' may have atomic-scale precision from PhysOrg.com

Engineers have created a tiny motorized positioning device that has twice the dexterity of similar devices being developed for applications that include biological sensors and more compact, powerful computer hard drives.

[Continued]

2008-08-14

Self-assembling polymer arrays improve data storage potential

Labels: microlithography, nanolithography

Self-assembling polymer arrays improve data storage potential from PhysOrg.com

(PhysOrg.com) -- A new manufacturing approach holds the potential to overcome the technological limitations currently facing the microelectronics and data-storage industries, paving the way to smaller electronic devices and higher-capacity hard drives.

[Continued]

Polymer Pen Lithogragy

Labels: microlithography, microtenchnology, nanolithography, nanotechnology

Northwestern chemists take gold, mass-produce Beijing Olympic logo from PhysOrg.com

Northwestern University nanoscientist Chad A. Mirkin has mass-produced the 2008 Summer Olympics logo -- 15,000 times. All the logos take up only one square centimeter of space.

[Continued]

2008-08-13

Networks of the Future: Extending Our Senses into the Physical World

Labels: technology

Networks of the Future: Extending Our Senses into the Physical World from PhysOrg.com

(PhysOrg.com) -- The picture of a future with wireless sensor networks-webs of sensory devices that function without a central infrastructure--is quickly coming into sharper focus through the work of Los Alamos National Laboratory computer scientist Sami Ayyorgun.

[Continued]

Scientists overcome nanotech hurdle

Labels: nanotechnology

Scientists overcome nanotech hurdle from PhysOrg.com

When you make a new material on a nanoscale how can you see what you have made? A team lead by a Biotechnology and Biological Sciences research Council (BBSRC) fellow has made a significant step toward overcoming this major challenge faced by nanotechnology scientists.

[Continued]

2008-08-12

Aussies crack cancer secret

Labels: biotechnology, cancer, medicine

Aussies crack cancer secret (from the Daily Telegraph):

AUSTRALIAN scientists are hoping to cure leukaemia, asthma and rheumatoid arthritis after their breakthrough discovery of how to stop killer blood cells growing.

The team has unlocked the secrets behind the protein which controls the way the blood cancer cells spread when it is damaged - and have found a way to stop its deadly process.

Continued

Hackers hacked at infamous DefCon gathering [Yikes!]

Labels: hacking, internet, security

So much for firewalls and other site-specific security measures: Hackers hacked at infamous DefCon gathering from PhysOrg.com

In the end, it was hackers at DefCon that got hacked. After three days of software cracking duels and hacking seminars, self-described computer ninjas at the infamous gathering in Las Vegas found out Sunday that their online activities were hijacked without them catching on.

[Continued]

2008-08-10

In scientific first, researchers correct decline in organ function associated with old age

Labels: aging, life extension

In scientific first, researchers correct decline in organ function associated with old age from PhysOrg.com

As people age, their cells become less efficient at getting rid of damaged protein — resulting in a buildup of toxic material that is especially pronounced in Alzheimer's, Parkinson's disease, and other neurodegenerative disorders.

[Continued]

2008-08-08

From 3-D to 6-D: Researchers developing super-realistic image system

Labels: display technologies, optics

From 3-D to 6-D: Researchers developing super-realistic image system from PhysOrg.com

(PhysOrg.com) -- By producing "6-D" images, an MIT professor and colleagues are creating unusually realistic pictures that not only have a full three-dimensional appearance, but also respond to their environment, producing natural shadows and highlights depending on the direction and intensity of the illumination around them.

[Continued]

Universally speaking, Earthlings share a nice neighborhood

Labels: astronomy, cosmology

Universally speaking, Earthlings share a nice neighborhood from PhysOrg.com

We don't have spacecraft to take us outside our solar system--not yet, at least. Still, astronomers thought they had a pretty good understanding of how our solar system formed and in turn, how others formed. In the last dozen years, nearly 300 exoplanets have been discovered. Are the solar systems in which they reside indeed like our own?

[Continued]

2008-08-06

Rochester physicist's quantum-'uncollapse' hypothesis verified

Labels: quantum physics

Rochester physicist's quantum-'uncollapse' hypothesis verified from PhysOrg.com

In 2006, Andrew Jordan, professor of physics and astronomy at the University of Rochester, together with Alexander Korotkov at the University of California, Riverside, spelled out how to exploit a quantum quirk to accomplish a feat long thought impossible, and this week a research team at the University of California at Santa Barbara has tested the theory, proving it correct.

[Continued]

Researchers make milestone discovery in quantum mechanics

Labels: quantum computers, quantum physics

Researchers make milestone discovery in quantum mechanics from PhysOrg.com

Researchers at UC Santa Barbara have recently reached what they are calling a milestone in experimental quantum mechanics.

[Continued]

2008-08-02

‘Obesity’ gene linked to eating more

Labels: addiction, genetics, health, obesity

‘Obesity’ gene linked to eating more from PhysOrg.com

People with a variant of the first common gene linked to obesity on average eat more, according to new research.

[Continued]

Also see: Obesity predisposition traced to the brain's reward system.

2008-07-31

Scientists mimic essence of plants' energy storage system

Labels: energy, hydrogen, photosynthesis, solar power

Scientists mimic essence of plants' energy storage system from PhysOrg.com

In a revolutionary leap that could transform solar power from a marginal, boutique alternative into a mainstream energy source, MIT researchers have overcome a major barrier to large-scale solar power: storing energy for use when the sun doesn't shine.

[Continued]

2008-07-30

New technique to compress light could open doors for optical communications

Labels: optical computers, optoelectronics, plasmonics

New technique to compress light could open doors for optical communications from PhysOrg.com

(PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists at the University of California, Berkeley, have devised a way to squeeze light into tighter spaces than ever thought possible, potentially opening doors to new technology in the fields of optical communications, miniature lasers and optical computers.

[Continued]

2008-07-29

Obesity predisposition traced to the brain's reward system

Labels: addiction, health, obesity

Obesity predisposition traced to the brain's reward system from PhysOrg.com

The tendency toward obesity is directly related to the brain system that is involved in food reward and addictive behaviors, according to a new study. Researchers at Tufts University School of Medicine (TUSM) and colleagues have demonstrated a link between a predisposition to obesity and defective dopamine signaling in the mesolimbic system in rats. Their report appears in the August 2008 issue of The FASEB Journal.

[Continued]

My comment: I grew up thin, but gained significant weight in college. I've spent most of my adult life anywhere from 60 to 150 lbs overweight--usually by 80 lbs or more.

I've tried numerous times to lose weight, using various "diets": Powdered protein, Atkins, rabbit-food, etc. Most "diets" just didn't work for me at all—and the few that did didn't stick (which fact was inspiration for a one-liner I would tell people who informed me they were on a diet: "Don't worry about losing weight, you'll find it again!")

Interestingly, it was always the case that any "diet" I tried that "worked" the first time, wouldn't work so well (or at all) on any subsequent attempt. The first time that happened to me (using powdered protein drinks,) I thought it was just because I had gotten older. Now I know better.

I used to think that being overweight was something my body was doing to me (i.e., a "slow metabolism.") Now I know better.

Since mid-November 2007, I've lost more than 80 lbs. I've done it by eating three weighed and measured meals every day, while eating nothing in between other than water and tea. And by not eating anything that contains flour or sugar. I've not had to do any exercise. I'm not taking any "diet pills." I've not had to starve myself. I've not had to eat any strange foods: I eat normal, everyday foods, every day: meats, vegetables and fruits.

But I follow the rules of my program precisely every day—no exceptions allowed. That's the key: I let my program, my food scale and my self-honesty govern what I eat, instead of my emotions and past conditioning. I've learned that that's the only way to keep any addiction under control: Deny your rationalization engine any precedents it can use against you; use (or develop) the self-honesty necessary to follow the rules, and don't injure it by allowing any exceptions.

2008-07-10

Sewing DNA thread with lasers, hooks and microbobbins

Labels: biotechnology, nanotechnology

Sewing DNA thread with lasers, hooks and microbobbins from PhysOrg.com

(PhysOrg.com) -- Japanese scientists have made a micro-sized sewing machine to sew long threads of DNA into shape. The work published in the Royal Society of Chemistry journal Lab on a Chip demonstrates a unique way to manipulate delicate DNA chains without breaking them.

[Continued]

2008-07-09

Researchers report finer lines for microchips: Advance could lead to next-generation computer chips, solar cells

Labels: microelectronics, nanotechnology

Researchers report finer lines for microchips: Advance could lead to next-generation computer chips, solar cells from PhysOrg.com

MIT researchers have achieved a significant advance in nanoscale lithographic technology, used in the manufacture of computer chips and other electronic devices, to make finer patterns of lines over larger areas than have been possible with other methods.

[Continued]

Quote: "The new method could make possible the commercialization of many new nanotechnology inventions that have languished in laboratories due to the lack of a viable manufacturing method."

2008-07-03

Qubits and Branes Share Surprising Features

Labels: black holes, branes, m-theory, physics, quantum physics, relativity, string theory

Qubits and Branes Share Surprising Features from PhysOrg.com

What do black holes and entangled particles have in common? Until about a year ago, physicists thought that the two entities existed in completely separate worlds. Then, in 2007, physicist Michael Duff from Imperial College London demonstrated a correlation between the entanglement of three qubits and the entropy of a black hole. In the past year, several studies have demonstrated even more connections.

[Continued]

2008-06-27

Unknown molecule opens the door to quantum computing

Labels: quantum computers, quantum physics

Unknown molecule opens the door to quantum computing from PhysOrg.com

The odd behavior of a molecule in an experimental silicon computer chip has led to a discovery that opens the door to quantum computing in semiconductors.

[Continued]

2008-06-19

Trap and zap: Harnessing the power of light to pattern surfaces on the nanoscale

Labels: microelectronics, micromachinery

Trap and zap: Harnessing the power of light to pattern surfaces on the nanoscale from PhysOrg.com

Princeton engineers have invented an affordable technique that uses lasers and plastic beads to create the ultrasmall features that are needed for new generations of microchips.

[Continued]

2008-06-16

Stem cell researchers give old muscle new pep

Labels: aging, science

Stem cell researchers give old muscle new pep from PhysOrg.com

Old muscle got a shot of youthful vigor in a stem cell experiment by bioengineers at the University of California, Berkeley, setting the path for research on new treatments for age-related degenerative conditions such as muscle atrophy or Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases.

[Continued]

2008-06-12

Physicists produce quantum-entangled images

Labels: quantum computers, quantum physics

Physicists produce quantum-entangled images from PhysOrg.com

Using a convenient and flexible method for creating twin light beams, researchers at the Joint Quantum Institute of the Commerce Department's National Institute of Standards and Technology and the University of Maryland have produced "quantum images," pairs of information-rich visual patterns whose features are "entangled," or inextricably linked by the laws of quantum physics. In addition to promising better detection of faint objects and improved amplification and positioning of light beams, the researchers' technique for producing quantum images—unprecedented in its simplicity, versatility, and efficiency—may someday be useful for storing patterns of data in quantum computers and transmitting large amounts of highly secure encrypted information. The research team, led by JQI's Paul Lett, describes the work in the June 12 edition of Science Express.

[Continued]

2008-06-11

'N-variant' microchips could protect intellectual property, enable new services

Labels: computer architecture, microelectronics

'N-variant' microchips could protect intellectual property, enable new services from PhysOrg.com

Rice University computer engineers have created a way to design integrated circuits that can contain many multiple selves. The chips can assume one identify or a subset of identities at a time, depending on the user's needs. New research shows that multiple "personalities" in an integrated circuit can be even a more powerful security mechanism that can be used for a variety of digital rights management tasks as well as for circuit optimization and customization without sacrificing the related power, delay and area metrics.

[Continued]

'Nanoglassblowing' Seen as Boon to Study of Individual Molecules

Labels: nanotechnology

'Nanoglassblowing' Seen as Boon to Study of Individual Molecules from PhysOrg.com

While the results may not rival the artistry of glassblowers in Europe and Latin America, researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology and Cornell University have found beauty in a new fabrication technique called “nanoglassblowing” that creates nanoscale (billionth of a meter) fluidic devices used to isolate and study single molecules in solution—including individual DNA strands. The novel method is described in a paper posted online this week in the journal Nanotechnology.

[Continued]

Researchers untangle quantum quirk

Labels: quantum computers

Researchers untangle quantum quirk from PhysOrg.com

Quantum computing has been hailed as the next leap forward for computers, promising to catapult memory capacity and processing speeds well beyond current limits. Several challenging problems need to be cracked, however, before the dream can be fully realized.

[Continued]

2008-06-10

'Saucy' software update finds symmetries dramatically faster

Labels: AI, mathematics

'Saucy' software update finds symmetries dramatically faster from PhysOrg.com

Computer scientists at the University of Michigan developed open-source software that cuts the time to find symmetries in complicated equations from days to seconds in some cases.

[Continued]

2008-06-02

Microrobots dance on something smaller than a pin's head

Labels: mems, micromachinery

Microrobots dance on something smaller than a pin's head from PhysOrg.com

Microscopic robots crafted to maneuver separately without any obvious guidance are now assembling into self-organized structures after years of continuing research led by a Duke University computer scientist.

[Continued]

Scientists show quantum systems could flout physics law (Thermodynamics)

Labels: quantum physics, thermodynamics

Scientists show quantum systems could flout physics law from PhysOrg.com

Scientists in the Weizmann Institute's Faculty of Chemistry, together with colleagues in Germany, have made a startling prediction: Simply 'taking the temperature' of certain quantum systems at frequent intervals might cause them to disobey a hard and fast rule of thermodynamics.

[Continued]

A computer that can 'read' your mind

Labels: cognition, neuroscience, semiotics

A computer that can 'read' your mind from PhysOrg.com

For centuries, the concept of mind readers was strictly the domain of folklore and science fiction. But according to new research published today in the journal Science, scientists are closer to knowing how specific thoughts activate our brains. The findings demonstrate the power of computational modeling to improve our understanding of how the brain processes information and thoughts.

[Continued]

2008-05-30

Moving molecules within molecules

Labels: nanotechnology, science

Moving molecules within molecules from PhysOrg.com

Experts in the field of nanoscience have discovered a way of controlling the motion and detecting the forces that move molecules within molecules.

[Continued]

2008-05-27

Physicist Claims First Real Demonstration of Cold Fusion

Labels: energy, science

Physicist Claims First Real Demonstration of Cold Fusion from PhysOrg.com

To many people, cold fusion sounds too good to be true. The idea is that, by creating nuclear fusion at room temperature, researchers can generate a nearly unlimited source of power that uses water as fuel and produces almost zero waste. Essentially, cold fusion would make oil obsolete.

[Continued]

Light-driven 'molecular brakes' provide stopping power for nanomachines

Labels: nanotechnology

Light-driven 'molecular brakes' provide stopping power for nanomachines from PhysOrg.com

Researchers in Taiwan report development of a new type of "molecular brake" that could provide on-demand stopping power for futuristic nanomachines. The brake, thousands of times smaller than the width of a human hair, is powered by light and is the first capable of working at room temperature, the researchers say. Their study is scheduled for the June 5 issue of ACS' Organic Letters.

[Continued]

2008-05-19

Engineers demonstrate first room-temperature semiconductor source of coherent Terahertz radiation

Labels: nanoelectronics

Engineers demonstrate first room-temperature semiconductor source of coherent Terahertz radiation from PhysOrg.com

Engineers and applied physicists from Harvard University have demonstrated the first room-temperature electrically-pumped semiconductor source of coherent Terahertz (THz) radiation, also known as T-rays. The breakthrough in laser technology, based upon commercially available nanotechnology, has the potential to become a standard Terahertz source to support applications ranging from security screening to chemical sensing.

[Continued]

2008-05-13

Rensselaer student invents alternative to silicon chip

Labels: microelectronics

Rensselaer student invents alternative to silicon chip from PhysOrg.com

Even before Weixiao Huang received his doctorate from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, his new transistor captured the attention of some of the biggest American and Japanese automobile companies. The 2008 graduate’s invention could replace one of the most common pieces of technology in the world—the silicon transistor for high-power and high-temperature electronics.

[Continued]

2008-05-12

Precise Alignment to Quantum Dots

Labels: nanoelectronics, nanotechnology

Precise Alignment to Quantum Dots from PhysOrg.com

“Precise lithographic alignment to site-controlled quantum dots is of major importance for numerous nano-photonic, nano-electronic and nano-spintronic devices,” Sven Höfling tells PhysOrg.com.

[Continued]

2008-05-10

Quantum computers take step toward practicality with demonstration of new device

Labels: nanoelectronics, quantum computers

Quantum computers take step toward practicality with demonstration of new device from PhysOrg.com

Computers based on the powerful properties of quantum mechanics have the potential to revolutionize information technology and security, but for decades they have remained more theoretical than practical, and difficult to scale up. That is changing, however, as demonstrated in a report this week in the journal Science.

[...]

2008-05-07

Is quantum Internet search on the way?

Labels: quantum computers

Is quantum Internet search on the way? from PhysOrg.com

In classical computing, random access memory (RAM) is needed to make things “work.” But it is subject to a certain level of energy loss. But what if you could create low-energy quantum access memory (QRAM) that would not only work in terms of quantum computing, but that could also be applied to classical computing?

[continued]

2008-05-02

'Nanomechanical Oscillators' Could Lead to New Class of Computers

Labels: nanocomputers, nanotechnology

'Nanomechanical Oscillators' Could Lead to New Class of Computers from PhysOrg.com

More than 50 years ago, a graduate student in Japan conceived the “Parametron,” an electrical circuit that could form the basis for digital computers. The concept ultimately fell flat, but recently a pair of scientists gave new life to the idea, and their work could be a first step toward a nanomechanical computer that is based on mechanical rather than electrical operations.

[Continued]

2008-05-01

Go Speed Racer! Revving up the world's fastest nanomotors

Labels: nanotechnology

Go Speed Racer! Revving up the world's fastest nanomotors from PhysOrg.com

In a “major step” toward a practical energy source for powering tomorrow’s nanomachines, researchers in Arizona report development of a new generation of sub-microscopic nanomotors that are up to 10 times more powerful than existing motors. Their study is scheduled for the May 27 issue of ACS Nano journal.

[Continued]

2008-04-30

Decoding the dictionary: Study suggests lexicon evolved to fit in the brain

Labels: linguistics, neuroscience, semiotics

Decoding the dictionary: Study suggests lexicon evolved to fit in the brain from PhysOrg.com

The latest edition of the Oxford English Dictionary boasts 22,000 pages of definitions. While that may seem far from succinct, new research suggests the reference manual is meticulously organized to be as concise as possible — a format that mirrors the way our brains make sense of and categorize the countless words in our vast vocabulary.

[Continued]

2008-04-24

Scientists discover exotic quantum state of matter

Labels: quantum-electrodynamics, science

Scientists discover exotic quantum state of matter from PhysOrg.com

A team of scientists from Princeton University has found that one of the most intriguing phenomena in condensed-matter physics -- known as the quantum Hall effect -- can occur in nature in a way that no one has ever before seen.

[Continued]

Scientists Automate Molecular Evolution

Labels: evolution, molecular engineering, science

Scientists Automate Molecular Evolution from PhysOrg.com

Under the control of a computer at The Scripps Research Institute, a population of billions of genes morphed through 500 cycles of forced adaptation to emerge as molecules that could grow faster and faster on a continually dwindling source of chemical fuel -- a feat that researchers describe as an example of "Darwinian evolution on a chip."

[Continued]

2008-04-18

Nanotechnology paves way for super iPods

Labels: nanoelectronics

Nanotechnology paves way for super iPods from PhysOrg.com

A breakthrough by scientists from the University of Glasgow could see the storage capacity of an iPod increase 150,000 times.

[Continued]

2008-04-17

Researchers Make Breakthrough in Nanotechnology by Uncovering Conductive Property of Carbon-based Molecules

Labels: computers, nanoelectronics

Researchers Make Breakthrough in Nanotechnology by Uncovering Conductive Property of Carbon-based Molecules from PhysOrg.com

University of Pittsburgh researchers have discovered that certain organic—or carbon-based—molecules exhibit the properties of atoms under certain circumstances and, in turn, conduct electricity as well as metal. Detailed in the April 18 edition of Science, the finding is a breakthrough in developing nanotechnology that provides a new strategy for designing electronic materials, including inexpensive and multifunctional organic conductors that have long been considered the key to smaller, cheaper, and faster technologies.

[Continued]

Graphene used to create world's smallest transistor

Labels: computers, nanoelectronics

Graphene used to create world's smallest transistor from PhysOrg.com

Researchers have used the world's thinnest material to create the world's smallest transistor, one atom thick and ten atoms wide.

[Continued]

2008-04-15

A step toward circuits for terahertz computing

Labels: computers, photonics

A step toward circuits for terahertz computing from PhysOrg.com

University of Utah engineers took an early step toward building superfast computers that run on far-infrared light instead of electricity: They made the equivalent of wires that carried and bent this form of light, also known as terahertz radiation, which is the last unexploited portion of the electromagnetic spectrum.

[Continued]

2008-04-11

Researchers Move Closer To New Class of Memory

Labels: computers, technology

Researchers Move Closer To New Class of Memory from PhysOrg.com

Computer memory that combines the high performance and reliability of flash with the low cost and high capacity of the hard disk drive could be closer than you think, thanks to a team of IBM scientists.

[...]

2008-04-01

UCLA researchers design nanomachine that kills cancer cells

Labels: biotechnology, nanomedicine, nanotechnology

UCLA researchers design nanomachine that kills cancer cells from PhysOrg.com

Researchers from the Nano Machine Center at the California NanoSystems Institute at UCLA have developed a novel type of nanomachine that can capture and store anticancer drugs inside tiny pores and release them into cancer cells in response to light. Known as a "nanoimpeller," the device is the first light-powered nanomachine that operates inside a living cell, a development that has strong implications for cancer treatment.

[Continued]

2008-03-27

Self-assembled materials form mini stem cell lab

Labels: biotechnology

Self-assembled materials form mini stem cell lab from PhysOrg.com

Imagine having one polymer and one small molecule that instantly assemble into a flexible but strong sac in which you can grow human stem cells, creating a sort of miniature laboratory. And that sac, if used for cell therapy, could cloak the stem cells from the human body’s immune system and biodegrade upon arriving at its destination, releasing the stem cells to do their work.

[Continued]

Quadruped Rough Terrain Robot Prototype

Labels: engineering, robotics, technology

Boston Dynamics: Quadruped Rough Terrain Robot Prototype from PhysOrg.com

Boston Dynamics has released a prototype of an all-terrain robot, BigDog. The quadruped robot is equipped with a computer featuring sensors that aid its movements over harsh terrain. The robot is powered by a gasoline engine that drives the hydraulic system.

[Continued]

2008-03-25

Artificial photosynthesis moves a step closer

Labels: energy, science, technology

Artificial photosynthesis moves a step closer from PhysOrg.com

Jülich scientists have made an important step on the long road to artificially mimicking photosynthesis. They were able to synthesise a stable inorganic metal oxide cluster, which enables the fast and effective oxidation of water to oxygen.

[...]

Version 2008b of the Chronos Time Zone Repository has been published

Labels: Chronos, release, Smalltalk, timezone repository

Version 2008b of the Chronos Time Zone Repository has been published. It is based on version 2008b of the Olson Time Zone Database.

Downloads:

Chronos-proprietary format (for use by the Chronos Date/Time Library)

XML format (for general use; not used by Chronos)

2008-03-24

Birth of an enzyme

Labels: biotechnology, nanotechnology, science

Birth of an enzyme from PhysOrg.com

Mankind triumphed in a recent 'competition' against nature when scientists succeeded in creating a new type of enzyme for a reaction for which no naturally occurring enzyme has evolved. This achievement opens the door to the development of a variety of potential applications in medicine and industry.

[Continued]

2008-03-23

Easter Dates From 2000 to 2020

Labels: Chronos, examples, Smalltalk

Since it's Easter today (according to the rule for computing Easter established by Pope Gregory in the late sixteenth century,) I thought I would post the occurrence dates for Easter from 2000 to 2020 AD (Gregorian):

2000-04-23
2001-04-15
2002-03-31
2003-04-20
2004-04-11
2005-03-27
2006-04-16
2007-04-08
2008-03-23
2009-04-12
2010-04-04
2011-04-24
2012-04-08
2013-03-31
2014-04-20
2015-04-05
2016-03-27
2017-04-16
2018-04-01
2019-04-21
2020-04-12

And here's the Chronos code that computes the list above:

2000 to: 2020 
    do: [:year | 
            Transcript 
                cr; 
                show: (GregorianEaster canonical inYear: year) printString]

Note, however, that not all Christians use the Gregorian calendar, or don't use Pope Gregory's rule for determining the date on which Easter occurs. Some still use the first "universal" Roman Catholic rule (which was established in 325 AD.) Before that, Easter was celebrated at various dates in different locales and cultures. Originally, it coincided with the day just before Passover (which is 14 Nisan in the Hebrew calendar, since Passover starts on 15 Nisan; also note that Hebrew calendar days start at sundown.)

2008-03-23 AD @ 12:55:09 pm -0700 [Gregorian]
0165-01-03 BE @ 12:55:09 pm -0700 [Bahai]
1724-07-14 AM @ 12:55:09 pm -0700 [Coptic]
2000-07-14 ZH @ 12:55:09 pm -0700 [Ethiopic]
5768-13-16 AM @ 12:55:09 pm -0700 [Hebrew]
1930-01-03 AS @ 12:55:09 pm -0700 [Indian Civil]
1429-03-15 AH @ 12:55:09 pm -0700 [Islamic (Fatimid)]
2008-03-10 AD @ 12:55:09 pm -0700 [Julian]
2761-03-10 AUC @ 12:55:09 pm -0700 [Julian (Imperial)]
1387-01-04 AP @ 12:55:09 pm -0700 [Persian]
6244-04-04 SY @ 12:55:09 pm -0700 [Solarian]
2008-083 @ 12:55:09 pm -0700 [Gregorian-ordinal date]
2008-W12-7 @ 12:55:09 pm -0700 [ISO]
J.D. 2454549 @ 12:55:09 pm -0700 [Julian Day]
39163:19:55:09.771325 days:hh:mm:ss.s.. since 1901-01-01T00:00:00Z (ST80 epoch)
1206302109 seconds since 1970-01-01T00:00:00Z (Unix epoch)
128507757097713250 100-nanosecond ticks since 1601-01-01T00:00:00Z (MS WIndows epoch)
Easter
weekend (Sunday)

2008-03-21

Physicists Bring Quantum Computing Closer to Reality

Labels: quantum computers, science

Physicists Bring Quantum Computing Closer to Reality from PhysOrg.com

Researchers at the U. S. Department of Energy’s Ames Laboratory, the University of California, Santa Barbara, and Microsoft Station Q have made significant advancements in understanding a fundamental problem of quantum mechanics – one that is blocking efforts to develop practical quantum computers with processing speeds far superior to conventional computers. Their respective theoretical and experimental studies investigate how microscopic objects lose their quantum-mechanical properties through interactions with the environment.

[Continued]

2008-03-18

Information Storage in Three Dimensions

Labels: computers, data storage, technology

Information Storage in Three Dimensions from PhysOrg.com

For the first time, researchers have successfully turned a glass material into three-dimensional information storage using a light-based technique. This achievement may be a big step forward for the real-life implementation of such materials, which have the potential to store terabits of data (1,000 gigabits, or about 125 gigabytes) in just a single cubic centimeter.

[Continued]

2008-03-17

Nanophotonic switch

Labels: computers, nanotechnology, photonics

Nanophotonic switch device for routing light on a chip scale from PhysOrg.com

IBM scientists today took another significant advance towards sending information inside a computer chip by using light pulses instead of electrons by building the world’s tiniest nanophotonic switch with a footprint about 100X smaller than the cross section of a human hair.

[Continued]

2008-03-12

Tiny Brain-Like Transistor Controls Nanobots

Labels: computers, nanotechnology, science

Tiny Brain-Like Transistor Controls Nanobots from PhysOrg.com

For years, researchers have been building tiny nanobots that could one day serve a variety of purposes. But, until now, nanobots couldn't work together.

[Continued]

2008-03-06

NIST 'Quantum Logic Clock' Rivals Mercury Ion as World's Most Accurate Clock

Labels: physics, science, time

NIST 'Quantum Logic Clock' Rivals Mercury Ion as World's Most Accurate Clock from PhysOrg.com

An atomic clock that uses an aluminum atom to apply the logic of computers to the peculiarities of the quantum world now rivals the world's most accurate clock, based on a single mercury atom. Both clocks are at least 10 times more accurate than the current U.S. time standard.

[Continued]

2008-02-29

Brown mathematicians prove new way to build a better estimate

Labels: mathematics, science, statistics

From Physorg.com:

In new work published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Lawrence and Carvalho describe a new class of statistical estimators and prove four theorems concerning their properties. Their work shows that these “centroid” estimators allow for better statistical predictions – and, as a result, better ways to extract information from the immense data sets used in computational biology, information technology, banking and finance, medicine and engineering.

Full article

2008-02-22

Electron filmed for first time ever

Labels: science

Electron filmed for first time ever from PhysOrg.com

Now it is possible to see a movie of an electron. The movie shows how an electron rides on a light wave after just having been pulled away from an atom. This is the first time an electron has ever been filmed, and the results are presented in the latest issue of Physical Review Letters.

[Continued]

2008-02-07

Inventor Doesn't Dare Say 'Perpetual Motion Machine'

Labels: physics, science

Inventor Doesn't Dare Say 'Perpetual Motion Machine' from PhysOrg.com

Thane Heins knows the track record of inventors that claim to make breakthroughs in power generation methods, especially when they claim to defy the second law of thermodynamics. Every so often, a (usually untrained) scientist comes along with a machine that supposedly creates more energy than is put in. Every time, the ideas have been rebuked by real scientists.

[Continued]

2008-02-06

Scientists make breakthrough in single-molecule sensing

Labels: nanotechnology

Scientists make breakthrough in single-molecule sensing from PhysOrg.com

In a study that could lay the foundation for mass-produced single-molecule sensors, physicists and engineers at Rice University have demonstrated a means of simultaneously making optical and electronic measurements of the same molecule.

[Continued]

2008-01-31

Engineers demonstrate nanotube wires operating at speed of commercial chips

Labels: microelectronics, nanotechnology

Engineers demonstrate nanotube wires operating at speed of commercial chips from PhysOrg.com

Integrated circuits, such as the silicon chips inside all modern electronics, are only as good as their wiring, but copper conduits are approaching physical performance limitations as they get thinner.

[Continued]

2008-01-30

DNA is blueprint, contractor and construction worker for new structures

Labels: nanotechnology

DNA is blueprint, contractor and construction worker for new structures from PhysOrg.com

DNA is the blueprint of all life, giving instruction and function to organisms ranging from simple one-celled bacteria to complex human beings. Now Northwestern University researchers report they have used DNA as the blueprint, contractor and construction worker to build a three-dimensional structure out of gold, a lifeless material.

[Continued]

2008-01-17

Programming Biomolecular Self-Assembly Pathways

Labels: biotechnology, nanotechnology

Programming Biomolecular Self-Assembly Pathways from PhysOrg.com

Nature knows how to make proteins and nucleic acids (DNA and RNA) dance to assemble and sustain life. Inspired by this proof of principle, researchers at the California Institute of Technology have demonstrated that it is possible to program the pathways by which DNA strands self-assemble and disassemble, and hence to control the dynamic function of the molecules as they traverse these pathways.

[Continued]

"It's about time for the stone age of molecular compilers to begin."

Big Brain Theory: Have Cosmologists Lost Theirs?

Labels: cosmology, philosphy, science

The New York Times has an article today (Big Brain Theory: Have Cosmologists Lost Theirs?) that discusses the philosophical issues arising from the latest theories of cosmology:

It could be the weirdest and most embarrassing prediction in the history of cosmology, if not science.

If true, it would mean that you yourself reading this article are more likely to be some momentary fluctuation in a field of matter and energy out in space than a person with a real past born through billions of years of evolution in an orderly star-spangled cosmos. Your memories and the world you think you see around you are illusions.

Full article

2008-01-10

Nanotechnology innovation may revolutionize gene detection in a single cell

Labels: biotechnology, nanotechnology

Nanotechnology innovation may revolutionize gene detection in a single cell from PhysOrg.com

Scientists at Arizona State University’s Biodesign Institute have developed the world’s first gene detection platform made up entirely from self-assembled DNA nanostructures. The results, appearing in the January 11 issue of the journal Science, could have broad implications for gene chip technology and may also revolutionize the way in which gene expression is analyzed in a single cell.

[Continued]

2008-01-09

An 'attractive' man-machine interface

Labels: biotechnology, nanotechnology

An 'attractive' man-machine interface from PhysOrg.com

Researchers at Children’s Hospital Boston have developed a new “nanobiotechnology” that enables magnetic control of events at the cellular level. They describe the technology, which could lead to finely-tuned but noninvasive treatments for disease, in the January issue of Nature Nanotechnology (published online January 3).

[Continued]

2008-01-01

Version 2007k of the Chronos Time Zone Repository has been published

Labels: Chronos, release, Smalltalk, timezone repository

Version 2007k of the Chronos Time Zone Repository has been published. It is based on version 2007k of the Olson Time Zone Database.

Downloads:

Chronos-proprietary format (for use by the Chronos Date/Time Library)

XML format (for general use; not used by Chronos)

Blog Timezone:	America/Los_Angeles [Winter: -0800 hhmm \| Summer: -0700 hhmm]
Your local time: