Xpeng Motors has accelerated its humanoid robot ambitions, unveiling the advanced IRON model with solid-state batteries and aiming for mass production by end-2026. Paralleling Tesla, the Chinese EV maker is also launching robotaxis, blending automotive and robotics tech for future dominance. This move signals a transformative shift in AI and automation.
We propose and demonstrate a high-performance asymmetrical multimode interference splitter on X-cut lithium niobate on insulator (LNOI) with an ultra-compact size of 5.8 μm × (26.4–35.6) μm. A rectangle with a small region is removed from the upper left corner of the multimode interference (MMI) coupler to achieve a variable splitting ratio. Here, we design and characterize MMIs in six different distribution ratios ranging from 50:50 to 95:5 on a 600 nm thick LNOI. Based on the cascade structure, the linear fitting method accurately shows the device loss (~0.1–0.9 dB). Our fabricated devices demonstrate robustness across a 30 nm optical bandwidth (1535–1565 nm). In addition, we numerically simulate the Z-cut LNOI, showing that the structure corresponding to the TM mode can also achieve a good variable splitting ratio.
The study has resolved a long-standing cosmic puzzle and provided strong evidence for the existence of widespread magnetic fields — likely relics from the early Universe.
An exploration of the idea of miniaturizing technology and how aliens might make themselves invisible through this process.
My Patreon Page:
/ johnmichaelgodier.
My Event Horizon Channel:
/ eventhorizonshow.
Links:
A new study has unexpectedly discovered that a common parasite of modern oysters actually started infecting bivalves hundreds of millions of years before the dinosaurs went extinct.
The research, published in iScience, used high-resolution 3D scans to look inside 480-million-year-old shells from a Moroccan site known for its exceptionally well-preserved sea life. The scans revealed a series of distinctive patterns etched both on the surface of the fossils and hidden inside them.
“The marks weren’t random scratches,” said Karma Nanglu, a UC Riverside paleobiologist who led the research. “We saw seven or eight of these perfect question mark shapes on each shell fossil. That’s a pattern.”
Around the globe, heart disease remains one of the top causes of death. Once patients begin to suffer from serious heart problems, like heart attacks and heart failure, the heart muscles become damaged and are difficult to treat and repair. Although many therapies have been developed to treat symptoms, full recovery to a pre-disease state has been essentially impossible. This is due to a lack of regeneration ability in adult human heart cells. Studies using stem cells or progenitor cells for repair have demonstrated limited efficacy in clinical trials, thus far.
However, there may be new hope for these patients. Researchers from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York have been working to turn back time by switching on a gene known to regenerate heart muscle cells, or cardiomyocytes. Their study, recently published in npj Regenerative Medicine, indicates that adult human hearts may be given the ability to regenerate themselves with future therapies.
New research reveals that Earth’s so-called “Boring Billion” was a time of dramatic change beneath the surface.