Lifeboat Foundation

For wireless communication, we’re all stuck on the same traffic-clogged highway—it’s a section of the electromagnetic spectrum known as radio waves.

Advancements have made the highway more efficient, but bandwidth issues persist as wireless devices proliferate and the demand for data grows. The solution may be a nearby, mostly untapped area of the electromagnetic spectrum known as the terahertz band.

“For wireless communication, the terahertz band is like an express lane. But there’s a problem: there are no entrance ramps,” says Josep Jornet, PhD, assistant professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering at the University at Buffalo School of Engineering and Applied Sciences.

Continue reading “Tiny graphene radios may lead to Internet of Nano-Things” »

A new theory explains how fragile quantum states may be able to exist for hours or even days in our warm, wet brain. Experiments should soon test the idea.

By Anil Ananthaswamy

AN ICONIC physics experiment may be hiding more than we ever realised about the nature of reality. The classic “double-slit” experiment reveals the strange duality of the quantum world, but it may behave more strangely than we thought – and could challenge one of the most closely held assumptions of quantum mechanics.

Revisiting it could help unify quantum mechanics with the other pillar of theoretical physics – Einstein’s general relativity – a challenge that has so far proven intractable.

Continue reading “Classic quantum experiment could conceal theory of everything” »

Researchers at North Carolina State University have developed a new technique for creating NV-doped single-crystal nanodiamonds, only four to eight nanometers wide, which could serve as components in room-temperature quantum computing technologies. These doped nanodiamonds also hold promise for use in single-photon sensors and nontoxic, fluorescent biomarkers.

Currently, computers use binary logic, in which each binary unit — or bit — is in one of two states: 1 or 0. Quantum computing makes use of superposition and entanglement, allowing the creation of quantum bits — or qubits — which can have a vast number of possible states. Quantum computing has the potential to significantly increase computing power and speed.

A number of options have been explored for creating quantum computing systems, including the use of diamonds that have “nitrogen-vacancy” centers. That’s where this research comes in.

Continue reading “New technique for creating NV-doped nanodiamonds may be boost for quantum computing” »

Nanoparticles are particles that are smaller than 100 nanometers. They are typically obtained from metals and, because of their tiny size, have unique properties that make them useful for biomedical applications. However, without treatment to make their surfaces biologically inert, their effectiveness is severely limited. Researchers led by Kazuhiko Ishihara at the University of Tokyo have pioneered the use of MPC polymers to modify the surfaces of nanoparticles. In a recent article published in the journal Science and Technology of Advanced Materials, they reviewed current ways in which polymeric nanoparticles can be used to transport a type of small nanoparticles called quantum dots into cells.

Cells can uptake polymer nanoparticles embedding quantum dots covered with cytocompatible phospholipid polymer and cell-penetrating peptides. © 2016 Kazuhiko Ishihara, Weixin Chen, Yihua Liu, Yuriko Tsukamoto and Yuuki Inoue.

MPC polymers are large molecules made from chains of 2-methacryloyloxyethyl phosphorylcholine (MPC). Bioactive nanoparticles whose surfaces have been modified with them can be used as anti-tumor compounds, gene carriers, contrast agents that improve MRI images, and protein detectors. MPC polymers mimic cellular membranes and allow the delivery of bioactive molecules that are normally not very soluble in water or that might produce unwanted biological side effects. When scientists attach MPC polymers to the surface of inorganic nanoparticles, they can make substances that are easily delivered into the blood or other tissue.

Continue reading “Researchers explore how polymeric nanoparticles can be used to transport quantum dots into cells” »

2,000km network to provide foundation for secure quantum key distribution.

Engineers from Yale University have developed a new technique to control the frequency of single photons.

The ability to control the frequency of single photons is crucial to realize the potential of quantum communications and quantum computing. The current methods for changing photon frequency, however, bring with them significant drawbacks.

Researchers in the lab of Hong Tang, the Llewellyn West Jones, Jr. Professor of Electrical Engineering & Physics, have developed a technique that avoids these obstacles. The results of their work are published today in Nature Photonics. Linran Fan, a Ph.D. student in Tang’s lab, is the lead author.

Continue reading “Yale Engineers Advance Quantum Technology With Photon Control” »

In the future, circuits and systems modelled on human brains could end up in everything from supercomputers to everyday smartphones.

Scientists from the University of Basel have succeeded in organizing spherical compartments into clusters mimicking the way natural organelles would create complex structures. They managed to connect the synthetic compartments by creating bridges made of DNA between them. This represents an important step towards the realization of so-called molecular factories. The journal Nano Letters has published their results.

Within a cell there are specialized compartments called organelles, as for example nucleus, mitochondria, peroxisomes and vacuoles that are responsible for specific functions of the cell. Almost all sophisticated biological functions of cells are realized by self-organization, a process by which molecules adopt a defined arrangement based on their specific conformations and properties, without outside guidance.

Using self-organization of nano-objects into complex architectures is a major strategy to produce new materials with improved properties or functionalities in fields such as chemistry, electronics and technology. For example, this strategy has already been applied to create networks of inorganic solid nanoparticles. However, so far, these networks were not able to mimic sophisticated structures that have biological functions within the cells and thus have potential application in medicine or biology.