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Category: computing – Page 344

Protein-based nano-computer evolves in its ability to influence cell behavior

The first protein-based nano-computing agent that functions as a circuit has been created by Penn State researchers. The milestone puts them one step closer to developing next-generation cell-based therapies to treat diseases like diabetes and cancer.

Traditional synthetic biology approaches for cell-based therapies, such as ones that destroy or encourage tissue regeneration after injury, rely on the expression or suppression of proteins that produce a desired action within a cell. This approach can take time (for proteins to be expressed and degrade) and cost cellular energy in the process. A team of Penn State College of Medicine and Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences researchers are taking a different approach.

“We’re engineering proteins that directly produce a desired action,” said Nikolay Dokholyan, G. Thomas Passananti Professor and vice chair for research in the Department of Pharmacology. “Our protein-based devices or nano-computing agents respond directly to stimuli (inputs) and then produce a desired action (outputs).”

The 3 Quantum Computing Stocks You Need to Own

Finding the best quantum computing stocks to buy is critical because this is clearly the next big industry.

Quantum computers promise to bring the power of quantum mechanics to bear in solving our most vexing problems. They may be capable of processing more data, faster, than any classical computer.

If all that happens, then quantum computing stocks may bring generational wealth to their investors.

Using nuclear spins neighboring a lanthanide atom to create Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger quantum states

Researchers have experimentally demonstrated a new quantum information storage protocol that can be used to create Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger (GHZ) quantum states. There is a great deal of interest in these complex entangled states because of their potential use in quantum sensing and quantum error correction applications.

Chun-Ju Wu from the California Institute of Technology will present this research at the Optica Quantum 2.0 Conference and Exhibition, as a hybrid event June 18–22 in Denver, Colorado.

Quantum-based technologies store information in the form of qubits, the quantum equivalent of the binary bits used in classical computing. GHZ states take this a step further by entangling three or more qubits. This increased complexity can be used to store more information, thus boosting precision and performance in applications such as quantum sensing and networking.

A model that can realistically insert humans into images

The recent advent of generative models, computational tools that can generate new texts or images based on the data they are trained on, opened interesting new possibilities for the creative industries. For example, they allow artists and digital content creators to easily produce realistic media content that integrates elements of different images or videos.

Inspired by these recent advances, researchers at Stanford University, UC Berkeley and Adobe Research have developed a new model that can realistically insert specific humans into different scenes, for instance showing them as they exercise in the gym, watch a sunset on the beach, and so on.

Their proposed architecture, which is based on a class of generative models known as diffusion models, was introduced in a paper pre-published on the arXiv server and set to be presented at the Conference on Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition (CVPR) 2023 in Vancouver this June.

Is this secretive device the “iPhone killer”?

An ex-Apple exec who helped invent the iPhone is now trying to invent an “iPhone killer,” and thanks to a leaked video from a TED presentation, we now have our first glimpse at his secretive startup’s creation — but the available video only leads to more questions.

The startup: In 2016, Imran Chaudhri (then-director of design for Apple’s human interface team) and his wife Bethany Bongiorno (then-director for Apple’s operating systems team) quit the company to found their own startup: Humane.

Since then, the company has kept details of what it’s been working on close to its chest, but thanks to job openings posted on Humane’s website and some uncovered patent applications, by 2021, it seemed likely that the startup was developing some sort of personal tech device.

Stretching metals at the atomic level allows researchers to create important materials for quantum applications

A University of Minnesota Twin Cities-led team has developed a first-of-its-kind, breakthrough method that makes it easier to create high-quality metal oxide thin films out of “stubborn” metals that have historically been difficult to synthesize in an atomically precise manner. This research paves the way for scientists to develop better materials for various next-generation applications including quantum computing, microelectronics, sensors, and energy catalysis.

The researchers’ paper is published in Nature Nanotechnology.

“This is truly remarkable discovery, as it unveils an unparalleled and simple way for navigating material synthesis at the atomic scale by harnessing the power of epitaxial strain,” said Bharat Jalan, senior author on the paper and a professor and Shell Chair in the University of Minnesota Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science.