Toggle light / dark theme

Tissue Chips in Space a Big Leap for Research

A small device that contains human cells in a 3D matrix represents a giant leap in the ability of scientists to test how those cells respond to stresses, drugs and genetic changes. About the size of a thumb drive, the devices are known as tissue chips or organs on chips.

A series of investigations to test tissue chips in microgravity aboard the International Space Station is planned through a collaboration between the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) at the National Institutes for Health (NIH) and the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS) in partnership with NASA. The Tissue Chips in Space initiative seeks to better understand the role of microgravity on human health and disease and to translate that understanding to improved human health on Earth.

“Spaceflight causes many significant changes in the human body,” said Liz Warren, associate program scientist at CASIS. “We expect tissue chips in space to behave much like an astronaut’s body, experiencing the same kind of rapid change.”

This video is the fifth in a multi-part series discussing computing

In this video, we’ll be discussing the gap between computing performance and memory and how this ‘memory wall’ is to be demolished.

[0:25–7:00] Starting off we’ll look at, current different types of memory (SRAM, DRAM, NAND,…) and what their use cases and tradeoffs are. As well as, new types of memory that will break current paradigms, such as Optane memory and how all these types of memory can work together to yield performance boosts.

[7:00–9:40] Following that we’ll discuss, improving data transfer mediums and protocols and their effect on decreasing the memory gap.

Thank you to the patron(s) who supported this video ➤

Electrical properties of dendrites help explain our brain’s unique computing power

We humans are intelligent, other living species are also intelligent but we build bridges and cars, we describe the universe and develop several languages while other species don’t. Well it seems the reason is that: we have a different hardware.


Neurons in human and rat brains carry electrical signals in different ways, scientists find.

Quantum on the edge: Light shines on new pathway for quantum technology

Scientists in Australia have for the first time demonstrated the protection of correlated states between paired photons—packets of light energy—using the intriguing physical concept of topology. This experimental breakthrough opens a pathway to build a new type of quantum bit, the building blocks for quantum computers.

The research, developed in close collaboration with Israeli colleagues, is published today in the prestigious journal, Science, a recognition of the foundational importance of this work.

“We can now propose a pathway to build robust entangled states for logic gates using protected pairs of photons,” said lead author Dr. Andrea Blanco-Redondo at the University of Sydney Nano Institute.

Graphene Computing & 3D Integrated Circuits

This video is the fourth in a multi-part series discussing computing. In this video, weíll be discussing computing performance and efficiency as well as how the computer industry plans on maximizing them.

[0:25–1:55] Starting off we’ll look at, how computing performance is measured and its rate of increase since the mid-1900s.

[1:55–8:05] Following that we’ll discuss, new classical computing paradigms that will push the computer industry forward past 2020. These paradigm shifts are 3D integrated circuits and the use of new materials such as graphene.

[8:05–10:15] To conclude we’ll summarize and wrap up many of the concepts we’ve discussed over this and the past few videos in this series!

190 universities just launched 600 free online courses. Here’s the full list

If you haven’t heard, universities around the world are offering their courses online for free (or at least partially free). These courses are collectively called MOOCs or Massive Open Online Courses.

In the past six years or so, over 800 universities have created more than 10,000 of these MOOCs. And I’ve been keeping track of these MOOCs the entire time over at Class Central, ever since they rose to prominence.

In the past four months alone, 190 universities have announced 600 such free online courses. I’ve compiled a list of them and categorized them according to the following subjects: Computer Science, Mathematics, Programming, Data Science, Humanities, Social Sciences, Education & Teaching, Health & Medicine, Business, Personal Development, Engineering, Art & Design, and finally Science.

Computer theorists show path to verifying that quantum beats classical

As multiple research groups around the world race to build a scalable quantum computer, questions remain about how the achievement of quantum supremacy will be verified.

Quantum supremacy is the term that describes a quantum ’s ability to solve a computational task that would be prohibitively difficult for any classical algorithm. It is considered a critical milestone in , but because the very nature of quantum activity defies traditional corroboration, there have been parallel efforts to find a way to prove that quantum supremacy has been achieved.

Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, have just weighed in by giving a leading practical proposal known as random circuit sampling (RCS) a qualified seal of approval with the weight of complexity theoretic evidence behind it. Random circuit sampling is the technique Google has put forward to prove whether or not it has achieved quantum supremacy with a 72-qubit computer chip called Bristlecone, unveiled earlier this year.