Eurekalert February 20, 2018 This special report, published as a supplement to the Hastings Center Report, volume 48, issue 1, is the product of a research project, Values in Impact Assessment, conducted at The Hastings Center from 2014 to 2018. The ideas in these essays were initially presented to a working group… read more. Open Access Report
New algorithm can create movies from just a few snippets of text
Science Magazine February 23, 2018 Researchers in Belgium have developed a machine learning a neural network algorithm. During training, software assesses its performance after each attempt, and feedback circulates through the millions of network connections to refine future computations. The first stage uses the text to create a “gist” of the video, the second stage takes both the gist and the text and produces a short video. During training, a second network acts as a “discriminator.” As it gets better, it becomes a harsher critic, and its feedback sets a higher bar for the generator network. Currently, the videos are […]
New graphene laser technique opens door for edible electronics
Eurekalert February 28, 2018 An international team of researchers (USA – Rice University, Israel) reports a method of using multiple pulsed-laser scribing to convert a wide range of substrates into laser-induced graphene (LIG). With the increased versatility of the multiple lase process, highly conductive patterns can be achieved on the surface of a diverse number of substrates in ambient atmosphere. The use of a defocus method results in multiple lases in a single pass of the laser, further simplifying the procedure. Any carbon precursor that can be converted into amorphous carbon can be converted into graphene using this multiple lase […]
Top 10 Science and Technology Innovations for the Week of February 23, 2018
01. Bringing a hidden superconducting state to light 02. Major discovery in controlling quantum states of single atoms 03. New hole-punched crystal clears a path for quantum light 04. Many colors from a single dot 05. Scientists test new material for neurocomputers 06. Why even a moth’s brain is smarter than an AI 07. The USA is no longer guaranteed future military technology dominance 08. Physicists create new form of light 09. Chemists harness artificial intelligence to predict the future (of chemical reactions) 10. Palmreaders? Japan team builds second skin message display And others… China will fortify islands with railguns, […]
Bringing a hidden superconducting state to light
Science Daily February 16, 2018 An international team of researchers (Germany, USA – Brookhaven National Laboratory, UK) has detected a hidden state of electronic order in a layered material containing lanthanum, barium, copper, and oxygen (LBCO). When cooled to a certain temperature and with certain concentrations of barium, LBCO is known to conduct electricity without resistance, but now there is evidence that a superconducting state occurs above this temperature too. The discovery could help design better high-temperature superconductors… read more. TECHNICAL ARTICLE
Chemists harness artificial intelligence to predict the future (of chemical reactions)
Eurekalert February 15, 2018 To manufacture medicines, chemists must find the right combinations of chemicals to make the necessary chemical structures. A team of researchers in the US (Princeton University, industry partner) has developed a software to accurately predict reaction yields while varying up to four reaction components. Reaction yields can be accurately predicted using the results of ‘only’ hundreds of reactions (instead of thousands). The code extracts descriptors for each chemical used in the model calculating quantitative descriptors for each chemical, to use as inputs for the model. The software can work for any reaction, any substrate. The idea […]
Major discovery in controlling quantum states of single atoms
Science Daily February 16, 2018 To protect the quantum properties of a spin, control over its local environment, including energy relaxation and decoherence processes, is crucial. An international team of researchers (South Korea, USA – industry, Germany, Switzerland, Portugal, Spain) was able to precisely image individual iron atoms and measure and control the time that the iron atom can maintain its quantum behavior. They showed that the loss in quantum state superposition is mainly caused by nearby electrons that the researchers injected with extreme control into the iron atom. Understanding these destructive interactions allows us to avoid them in future […]
Many colors from a single dot
Science Daily February 19, 2018 The mechanism underlying the tunable emission appears to be very much dependent on the internal structure of the carbon dots, which differs amongst various preparation techniques. An international team of researchers (the Netherlands, China) studied the emission of individual carbon dots and compared it to the emission of the whole sample and showed that the emission colour of the individual carbon dots can be tuned from blue to red by changing the excitation wavelength, suggesting that multiple colour sites are present and active within a single nanoparticle. These findings demonstrate that it is viable to […]
New hole-punched crystal clears a path for quantum light
Science Daily February 15, 2018 Researchers at the University of Maryland created a photonic chip that both generates single photons and steers them around. In the new chip, they etched out thousands of triangular holes in an array that resembled a bee’s honeycomb. Along the center of the device they shifted the spacing of the holes, which opens a different kind of travel lane for the light. The team tested the capabilities of the chip by first changing a quantum emitter from its lowest energy state to one of its two higher energy states. When they used photons from the […]
Palmreaders? Japan team builds second skin message display
Physorg February 18, 2018 Researchers in Japan have invented a band-aid-like stretchable device which is one millimetre thick and can monitor important health data as well as send and receive messages, including emojis. The display consists of a 16-by-24 array of micro LEDs and stretchable wiring mounted on a rubber sheet and a lightweight sensor composed of a breathable “nanomesh” electrode, and a wireless communication module. It can be placed on the human body for a week without causing skin inflammation. It has medical applications and wearable displays… read more.