Menu

Blog

Page 10059

Feb 7, 2017

Quantum Interference and Selectivity through Biological Ion Channels

Posted by in categories: biological, quantum physics

Nice report published in Jan on.


The mechanism of selectivity in ion channels is still an open question in biology for more than half a century. Here, we suggest that quantum interference can be a solution to explain the selectivity mechanism in ion channels since interference happens between similar ions through the same size of ion channels. In this paper, we simulate two neighboring ion channels on a cell membrane with the famous double-slit experiment in physics to investigate whether there is any possibility of matter-wave interference of ions via movement through ion channels. Our obtained decoherence timescales indicate that the quantum states of ions can only survive for short times, i.e. ≈100 picoseconds in each channel and ≈17–53 picoseconds outside the channels, giving the result that the quantum interference of ions seems unlikely due to environmental decoherence. However, we discuss our results and raise few points, which increase the possibility of interference.

Read more

Feb 7, 2017

Two factor-based reprogramming of rodent and human fibroblasts into Schwann cells

Posted by in category: biotech/medical

Schwann cells (SCs) myelinate peripheral nerve axons and offer opportunities for the treatment of injuries and demyelinating diseases but reliable and renewable sources of these cells are hard to come by.

Read more

Feb 7, 2017

Determining the Photoisomerization Quantum Yield of Photoswitchable Molecules in Solution and in the Solid State

Posted by in categories: biological, chemistry, quantum physics

Photoswitchable molecules are able to isomerize between two metastable forms through light stimuli. Originally being studied by photochemists, this type of molecule has now found a wide range of applications within physics, chemistry and biology. The extensive usage of photochromic molecules is due to the two isomers having fundamentally different physical and chemical properties. The most important attribute of a photoswitch is the photoisomerization quantum yield, which defines the efficiency of the photoisomerization event. Here we show how to determine the photoisomerization quantum yield in the solid state and in solution when taking thermal processes into account. The described method together with provided software allows for rapid and accurate determination of the isomerization process for this important class of molecules.

Read more

Feb 7, 2017

Search for Synthetic-Essential Genes Uncovers Prostate Cancer Treatment Target

Posted by in categories: bioengineering, biotech/medical, genetics

Synbio research at work and discovery.


Study of synthetic essential genes identifies a novel pathway in prostate cancer and suggests a framework for the discovery of targets in cancers harboring tumor-suppressor deficiencies.

Read more

Feb 7, 2017

The Radical New Genetic Alphabet That Will Redefine Life

Posted by in category: genetics

The scientist behind the artificial expansion of the genetic code explains how it can bring about never-before-seen functions in life on Earth.

Read more

Feb 7, 2017

India to frame policy on synthetic biology

Posted by in categories: bioengineering, biotech/medical, policy

Rules placed on Synbio in India; wonder who is next?


The technology could help produce drugs, vaccines, fuel components and other chemicals.

: India is taking its first steps to evolve a policy on synthetic biology, an emerging science through which new life forms can potentially be made in labs and existing life forms, such as bacteria and other microbes, tweaked to produce specific proteins or chemically useful products.

Continue reading “India to frame policy on synthetic biology” »

Feb 7, 2017

‘SideArm’ System from DARPA can Launch and Recover Aerial Drones Travelling at Speed in Midair

Posted by in category: drones

Impressive.


SideArm can be shipped inside a standard 20-foot shipping container for easy transport by truck, ship, rail, Lockheed C-130 Hercules transport aircraft and Boeing CH-47 Chinook heavy-lift helicopter. The small system is designed to operate in truck-mounted, ship-mounted, and standalone/fixed-site facilities. A crew of only two to four people can set-up or stow the system in minutes.

SideArm owes its small size to combining its launch and capture equipment into a single rail that folds for transport.

Continue reading “‘SideArm’ System from DARPA can Launch and Recover Aerial Drones Travelling at Speed in Midair” »

Feb 7, 2017

What role does electromagnetic signaling have in biological systems

Posted by in categories: biological, neuroscience, quantum physics

Sounds definitely like DARPA could be looking at a more seamless BMI type technology and yes, Quantum Bio and telepathy is involved.


For decades scientists have wondered whether electromagnetic waves might play a role in intra- and inter-cell signaling. Researchers have suggested since the 1960s, for example, that terahertz frequencies emanate from cell membranes, but they’ve lacked the technology and tools to conduct reproducible experiments that could prove whether electromagnetic waves constitute purposeful signals for biological function-or if they’re merely background noise.

With recent advances in technology and modeling, experiments may now be possible to test signaling hypotheses. DARPA’s RadioBio program, announced this week, seeks to establish if purposeful electromagnetic wave signaling between biological cells exists-and if evidence supports that it does, to determine what information is being transferred.

Continue reading “What role does electromagnetic signaling have in biological systems” »

Feb 7, 2017

Worried About Being Replaced By A Robot? Avoid Working These Jobs

Posted by in categories: employment, robotics/AI

Some middle-income jobs have 97% chance of being replaced, study finds.

Read more

Feb 7, 2017

For the First Time Scientists Have Observed a Quantum Phase Transition

Posted by in categories: computing, quantum physics

In Brief

  • Scientists were able to rig up a system in which they could view a “photon-blockade breakdown” where the system switched from opaque to transparent.
  • This discovery has implications in both the development of advanced computer memory systems and better quantum simulations in the future.

For the first time, physicists have experimentally observed a first-order phase transition occur in a quantum system – verifying years of theoretical predictions.

Phase transitions are something that we see on a daily basis when our ice melts into water, or steam evaporates from a boiling kettle. While these transitions are easy for us to observe, phase transitions also happen on the very tiny, quantum-scale, where they play an important role in physics. But, up until now, no one had ever witnessed one experimentally.

Continue reading “For the First Time Scientists Have Observed a Quantum Phase Transition” »