Lifeboat Foundation: Safeguarding Humanity
Toggle light / dark theme

Blog

Category: engineering – Page 100

Anti-cancer CAR-T therapy reengineers T cells to kill tumors — and researchers are expanding the limited types of cancer it can target

So we designed CAR-T cells to produce IL-2 using synNotch. Now, when a CAR-T cell encounters a tumor, it produces IL-2 within the tumor instead of outside it, avoiding causing harm to surrounding healthy cells. Because synNotch is able to bypass the barriers tumors put up, it is able to help T cells amp up and maintain the amount of IL-2 they can make, allowing the T cells to keep functioning even in a hostile microenvironment.

We tested our CAR-T cells modified with synNotch on mice with pancreatic cancer and melanoma. We found that CAR-T cells with synNotch-induced IL-2 were able to produce enough extra IL-2 to overcome the tumors’ defensive barriers and fully activate, completely eliminating the tumors. While all of the mice receiving synNotch modified CAR-T cells survived, none of the CAR-T-only mice did.

Furthermore, our synNotch modified CAR-T cells were able to trigger IL-2 production without causing toxicity to healthy cells in the rest of the body. This suggests that our method of engineering T cells to produce this toxic cytokine only where it is needed can help improve the effectiveness of CAR-T cells against cancer while reducing side effects.

Hate Elon Musk all you want, but he’s got one management trick that every boss should emulate

Balancing management ability and technical expertise is an active debate in the software industry, where, depending on whom you ask, an engineering manager’s interest or ability to code is dependent on whether the team is able to operate without them. Scott Berkun, the author of “Making Things Happen: Mastering Project Management,” told SD Times he believed the two disciplines were somewhat oppositional: “Coding requires intense uninterrupted concentration, while management requires dealing with constant interruptions and context switching.”

“Being able to do both is not something that a lot of people can do in practice.”

Berkun isn’t wrong — the incredible focus and discipline one must have to constantly write, test, and execute code in production are very different attributes to those of a manager. And just because someone is a high-performing employee doesn’t mean they can or should become a manager. Being in charge of employees is a unique skill that requires its own form of training and knowledge. Switching between producing valuable work for the company and leading a team of employees is not for everyone. As I’ve suggested before, the ratio of managers to the people they manage should be much larger if the manager isn’t doing the actual labor — but even then, the lack of practical experience will make it harder for them to be effective. But because the managerial class has become the only avenue for real advancement at many companies, many organizations end up with a jumble of disconnected or micromanaging bosses who aren’t right for the job.

New 3D model shows how the paradise tree snake uses aerial undulation to fly

When the paradise tree snake flies from one tall branch to another, its body ripples with waves like green cursive on a blank pad of blue sky. That movement, aerial undulation, happens in each glide made by members of the Chrysopelea family, the only known limbless vertebrates capable of flight. Scientists have known this, but have yet to fully explain it.

For more than 20 years, Jake Socha, a professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering and Mechanics at Virginia Tech, has sought to measure and model the biomechanics of snake flight and answer questions about them, like that of aerial undulation’s functional role. For a study published by Nature Physics, Socha assembled an interdisciplinary team to develop the first continuous, anatomically-accurate 3D mathematical model of Chrysopelea paradisi in flight.

The team, which included Shane Ross, a professor in the Kevin T. Crofton Department of Aerospace and Ocean Engineering, and Isaac Yeaton, a recent mechanical engineering doctoral graduate and the paper’s lead author, developed the 3D model after measuring more than 100 live snake glides. The model factors in frequencies of undulating waves, their direction, forces acting on the body, and mass distribution. With it, the researchers have run virtual experiments to investigate aerial undulation.

Japan’s New Semiconductor Foundry Rapidus Taps IBM For 2nm Process

Japan wants to get back into the leading-edge semiconductor business and very recently a new company was formed to reboot its semiconductor industry. The company is named Rapidus, referring to rapid production of new chips, a clear reference to how the company plans to differentiate its business from other foundries such as TSMC, Samsung, and Intel. The company has announced a partnership with IBM Research to develop IBM’s 2nm technology in fabs that Rapidus plans to build in Japan during the second part of this decade. Previously, Rapidus announced a collaboration with the Belgium-based microelectronics research hub IMEC on advanced semiconductor technologies. Imec is collaborative semiconductor research organization working the world’s major foundries, IDMs, fabless and fablite companies, material and tool suppliers, EDA companies and application developers.

The IBM process uses gate-all-around transistors — IBM refers to them as nano sheet FETs — which is the next generation of transistor design that enables device scaling beyond today’s FinFETs. The 2nm structures will require Rapidus to use ASML’s EUV manufacturing equipment. Business details with IBM were not disclosed, but there’s likely two parts to the deal: a cross-licensing agreement for the intellectual property necessary to build the product and a joint development agreement. While the announcement is nominally for IBM’s 2nm process, it likely includes a long-term commitment to build advanced semiconductor chips going beyond the 2nm process node.

Rapidus was formed by semiconductor veterans such as Rapidus President Atsuyoshi Koike, with backing by leading Japanese technology and financial firms, including Denso, Kioxia, Mitsubishi UFJ Bank, NEC, NTT, Softbank, Sony, and Toyota Motor. The Japanese government is also subsidizing Rapidus. The big change for Japan compared to prior national efforts is the collaboration with international organizations. It’s a recognition Japan cannot go it alone. This appears to be a fundamental change in Japanese attitudes. Building a fab in Japan will be helped by Japan’s strong manufacturing ecosystem of materials, equipment, and engineering talent.

How To Terraform Mars — WITH LASERS

Go ‘beyond the nutshell’ at https://brilliant.org/nutshell by diving deeper into these topics and more with 20% off an annual subscription!
This video was sponsored by Brilliant. Thanks a lot for the support!

Sources & further reading:
https://sites.google.com/view/sources-mars-terraforming.

Mars is a disappointing hellhole lacking practically everything we need to stay alive. It looks like we’ll only ever have small crews spend a miserable time hidden underground. Except, we could terraform it into a green new world. But to solve the planet’s problems, we first need to make it worse and turn it into oceans of lava with gigantic lasers.

This video was animated with help from our friends at Thought Cafe. Check out their Video “Could We Live on Mars?” here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQqHDEYpIvI

OUR CHANNELS
▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀
German: https://kgs.link/youtubeDE
Spanish: https://kgs.link/youtubeES
French: https://kgs.link/youtubeFR
Portuguese: https://kgs.link/youtubePT
Arabic: https://kgs.link/youtubeAR
Hindi: https://kgs.link/youtubeHI
Japanese: https://kgs.link/youtubeJA
Korean: https://kgs.link/youtubeKO

HOW CAN YOU SUPPORT US?

Continue reading “How To Terraform Mars — WITH LASERS” | >

Engineers Push Probabilistic Computing Closer to Reality

A large universal quantum computer is still an engineering dream, but machines designed to leverage quantum effects to solve specific classes of problems—such as D-wave’s computers—are alive and well. But an unlikely rival could challenge these specialized machines: computers built from purposely noisy parts.

This week at the IEEE International Electron Device Meeting (IEDM 2022), engineers unveiled several advances that bring a large-scale probabilistic computer closer to reality than ever before.

Quantum computers are unrivaled for any algorithm that relies on quantum’s complex amplitudes. “But for problems where the numbers are positive, sometimes called stochastic problems, probabilistic computing could be quite competitive,” says Supriyo Datta, professor of electrical and computer engineering at Purdue University and one of the pioneers of probabilistic computing.

Quantum light source could pave the way to a quantum internet

The ability to integrate fiber-based quantum information technology into existing optical networks would be a significant step toward applications in quantum communication. To achieve this, quantum light sources must be able to emit single photons with controllable positioning and polarization and at 1.35 and 1.55 micrometer ranges where light travels at minimum loss in existing optical fiber networks, such as telecommunications networks. This combination of features has been elusive until now, despite two decades of research efforts.

Recently, two-dimensional (2D) semiconductors have emerged as a novel platform for next-generation photonics and electronics applications. Although scientists have demonstrated 2D quantum emitters operating at the visible regime, single-photon emission in the most desirable telecom bands has never been achieved in 2D systems.

To solve this problem, researchers at Los Alamos National Laboratory developed a strain engineering protocol to deterministically create two-dimensional quantum light emitters with operating wavelength tunable across O and C telecommunication bands. The polarization of the emissions can be tuned with a magnetic field by harnessing the valley degree of freedom.

The Megastructure Compendium

Sign up for a Curiosity Stream subscription and also get a free Nebula subscription (the streaming platform built by creators) here: https://curiositystream.com/isaacarthur.
In the future humanity may build enormous structures, feats of mega-engineering that may rival planets or even be of greater scope. This episode catalogs roughly 100 major types of Megastructure, from those that are cities in space to those that rival galaxies.

Visit our Website: http://www.isaacarthur.net.
Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/IsaacArthur.
Support us on Subscribestar: https://www.subscribestar.com/isaac-arthur.
Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1583992725237264/
Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/IsaacArthur/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Isaac_A_Arthur on Twitter and RT our future content.
SFIA Discord Server: https://discord.gg/53GAShE

Listen or Download the audio of this episode from Soundcloud: Episode’s Audio-only version: https://soundcloud.com/isaac-arthur-148927746/the-megastructure-compendium.
Episode’s Narration-only version: https://soundcloud.com/isaac-arthur-148927746/the-megastruct…ation-only.

▬ Megastructure Index ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
0:00 — Intro.
03:23 — Active Support.
04:30 — Alderson Disc.
08:30 — Arcology Megatower.
09:48 — Arkship.
10:49 — Artificial Sun.
11:49 — Asteroid Colonies.
13:02 — Atlas Pillars.
14:19 — Banks Orbital.
16:29 — Bernal Sphere.
17:34 — Birch Planet.
20:48 — Bishop Ring.
22:55 — Black Hole Gravity Generator.
23:54 — Black Hole Power Generator.
25:40 — Bubble Hab.
26:36 — Buckyhabs.
28:12 — BWC Megastructures.
29:08 — Caplan Thruster.
29:46 — Carbon Nanotubes.
30:31 — Chainworlds.
31:07 — Chandelier Cities.
31:45 — Clarketech.
32:30 — Cube Worlds.
33:24 — Cylinder Habitat.
36:09 — Dark Sky Station.
36:37 — Disc Worlds & Flat Earths.
38:01 — Dyson Spheres.
40:04 — Dyson Spike.
40:45 — Dyson Swarm.
42:14 — Ecumenopolis.
42:44 — Edersphere/Ederworld.
43:52 — Fusion Candle.
44:29 — Graphene.
44:49 — Grav Plating.
45:20 — Hammer Hab.
45:48 — Helios Drive.
46:43 — Hoop World or Donut World.
47:27 — Hydroshell.
48:13 — Interstellar Black Hole Highway.
48:48 — Interstellar Laser Highway.
50:06 — Jenkins Swarm.
50:27 — Kalpana 1
51:28 — Kipping Terrascope.
52:08 — Lagite.
52:57 — Lofstrom Loop.
53:52 — Magmatter.
54:50 — Matrioshka Brain.
56:45 — Matrioshka Shellworld.
57:53 — McKendree Cylinder.
58:36 — Megatelescope Arrays.
59:25 — Mini Earth.
1:00:30 — Mushroom Habitat.
1:01:26 — Neptunian Chainsaw.
1:01:55 — Nicoll-Dyson Beam.
1:02:52 — Nova Drive.
1:03:16 — O’Neill Cylinder.
1:03:57 — Orbital Plates.
1:04:42 — Orbital Ring.
1:07:22 — Paperclip Maximizer & Grey Goo.
1:08:26 — Parabolic Habitat.
1:10:08 — Planet Brain / Jupiter Brain.
1:10:35 — Planet Ships.
1:11:25 — Planet Swarm.
1:12:21 — Planetary Cycler/Aldrin Cycler.
1:13:10 — Power Beamers.
1:13:55 — Quasar drive.
1:15:25 — Quasite.
1:16:00 — Red Globular Cluster.
1:17:14 — Relativistic Kill Missile.
1:17:55 — Ribbon Worlds.
1:19:12 — Ring Habitat.
1:20:06 — Ringworld.
1:21:36 — Rotacity or Bowl Hab.
1:22:19 — Rungworld.
1:23:25 — Shell World.
1:24:53 — Shkadov Thrusters.
1:25:37 — Sky Cities & Cloud Cities.
1:26:38 — Skyhooks.
1:27:24 — Smoke Ring.
1:28:26 — Solar Mirrors.
1:29:21 — Solar Shades.
1:30:29 — Sombrero Planet.
1:30:51 — Space Elevetors.
1:32:18 — Space Farms.
1:33:27 — Spin Gravity.
1:34:05 — Space Towers.
1:34:50 — Stanford Torus.
1:35:45 — Starlifting.
1:36:55 — Statite.
1:38:31 — Stellar Pinwheel.
1:39:00 — Stellaser.
1:40:34 — Suntower.
1:41:51 — Supramundane Worlds.
1:42:57 — Terran Ring.
1:43:58 — Topopolis.
1:45:07 — Unobtainium.
1:45:35 — Valley House.
1:45:55 — World House.
1:46:26 — Wormhole.
1:53:00 — Credits.

Credits:
The Megastructure Compendium.
Science & Futurism with Isaac Arthur.
Episode 346, June 9, 2022
Written & Produced by Isaac Arthur.
Narrated by Isaac Arthur & Sarah Fowler Arthur.

Editors:

Continue reading “The Megastructure Compendium” | >

Researchers harvest electricity from wood soaking in water

Water and wood may one day be all that’s needed to provide electrical power for a household. At a time when energy is a critical issue for many millions of people worldwide, scientists in Sweden have managed to generate electricity with the help of these two renewable resources.

The method reported by researchers at KTH Royal Institute of Technology focuses on what naturally happens after is placed in water, and the water evaporates. Transpiration, a process in which water moves through a plant, is constantly occurring in nature. And it produces small amounts of , known as bioelectricity.

Yuanyuan Li, assistant professor at the Division of Biocomposites at KTH, says that with some nanoengineering of wood—and pH tuning—small but promising amounts of electricity can now be harvested.

A ‘heart attack on a chip’ device could lead to treatments for cardiovascular disease

Researchers use the device to study heart attacks and hope to test new heart medications.

Researchers have developed a device that can mimic aspects of a heart attack with hopes of using the device to test and develop novel heart medications. The research team, from the University of Southern California Alfred E. Mann Department of Biomedical Engineering in the U.S., created the tool, which they call a “heart attack on a chip.”

The study was published in the journal Science Advances.

Understanding a heart attack through simulation

The device can simulate key components of a heart attack, also called a myocardial infarction, in a practical, structured system. Researchers hope it will one day serve as a place to test for new heart drugs.

“This enables us to more clearly understand how the heart is changing after a heart attack. From there, we and others can develop and test drugs that will be most effective for limiting the further degradation of heart tissue that can occur after a heart attack,” said Megan McCain, an associate professor of biomedical engineering and stem cell biology and regenerative medicine. She also developed the device with postdoctoral researcher Megan Rexius-Hall.

Continue reading “A ‘heart attack on a chip’ device could lead to treatments for cardiovascular disease” | >