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May 9, 2016

The Quantum Experience: Feynman’s vision comes into focus

Posted by in categories: computing, quantum physics

Great article about a mad-scientist whose vision caused the world to look cross-eyed. Many of us have been there before some time in our lives.

In 1981, Richard Feynman urged the world to build a quantum computer. In his own words.

“Nature isn’t classical, dammit, and if you want to make a simulation of nature, you’d better make it quantum mechanical, and by golly it’s a wonderful problem, because it doesn’t look so easy.”

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May 9, 2016

Communicating covertly goes quantum

Posted by in category: quantum physics

Communication Quantum Style!

https://www.sciencenews.org/article/communicating-covertly-goes-quantum


Researchers are working to make quantum messages that are undetectable.

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May 9, 2016

A.I. Is Getting Better at Spotting Galaxies

Posted by in categories: computing, robotics/AI, space

It would take human volunteers 120,000 years to classify every galactic image that comes through a new space telescope. That’s where computers come in.

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May 9, 2016

Researchers Making Progress With Quantum Computing

Posted by in categories: computing, governance, government, internet, particle physics, quantum physics

I personally can confirm that QC is not being worked on and advance by just a couple groups such as D-Wave and IBM. The questions/bumps in the road that we will all face is threefold:

1) how do we standardize the QC? right now (like most innovation) is done in siloes and limited cross-collaboration across government, labs & universities, and commercial companies. 2) governance and compliance; how will these need to change across multiple areas 3) id & mitigate all impacts instead of after deployment (don’t be reactive) because we will not have that luxury due to hackers.


There is a temptation to lump quantum computing in with technologies such as fusion power in the sense that both have been proposed for decades with the promise of tremendous leaps in performance.

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May 9, 2016

Neutrons tap into magnetism in topological insulators at high temperatures

Posted by in categories: computing, particle physics, quantum physics

I know that I reported on this a few weeks ago; however, this article shares some additional insights on how this new method will enable more efficient smaller devices including promoting stabilization in Quantum Computing (QC)…


A multi-institutional team of researchers has discovered novel magnetic behavior on the surface of a specialized material that holds promise for smaller, more efficient devices and other advanced technology.

Researchers at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and their collaborators used neutron scattering to reveal magnetic moments in hybrid topological insulator (TI) materials at room temperature, hundreds of degrees Fahrenheit warmer than the extreme sub-zero cold where the properties are expected to occur.

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May 9, 2016

Quantum Swing: a pendulum that moves forward and backwards at the same time

Posted by in categories: particle physics, quantum physics

One of those freaky states of Quantum. Wild.


Two-quantum oscillations of atoms in a semiconductor crystal are excited by ultrashort terahertz pulses. The terahertz waves radiated from the moving atoms are analyzed by a novel time-resolving method and demonstrate the non-classical character of large-amplitude atomic motions.

The classical pendulum of a clock swings forth and back with a well-defined elongation and velocity at any instant in time. During this motion, the total energy is constant and depends on the initial elongation which can be chosen arbitrarily. Oscillators in the quantum world of atoms and molecules behave quite differently: their energy has discrete values corresponding to different quantum states. The location of the atom in a single quantum state of the oscillator is described by a time-independent wavefunction, meaning that there are no oscillations.

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May 9, 2016

Invisible ‘second skin’ polymer material temporarily tightens skin

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, engineering, health

Hmmm; I see a bright future for this. No more surgeries by plastic surgeons? possibly?


Scientists at MIT, Massachusetts General Hospital, Living Proof, and Olivo Labs have developed a new material that can temporarily protect and tighten skin, and smooth wrinkles. With further development, it could also be used to deliver drugs to help treat skin conditions such as eczema and other types of dermatitis.

The material, a silicone-based polymer that could be applied on the as a thin, imperceptible coating, mimics the mechanical and elastic properties of healthy, youthful skin. In tests with human subjects, the researchers found that the material was able to reshape “eye bags” under the lower eyelids and also enhance skin hydration. This type of “second skin” could also be adapted to provide long-lasting ultraviolet protection, the researchers say.

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May 9, 2016

Siri Creator Demos New AI That Doesn’t Suck This Time

Posted by in categories: neuroscience, robotics/AI

At TechCrunch’s Disrupt NY, Siri creator Dag Kittlaus performed the first public demo of Siri’s new cousin, Viv. Kittlaus described the brains of Viv as, “software that’s writing itself,” which is a pretty bold statement with some implications that call to mind the dreariest of Skynet dystopias. But what exactly makes it any better than Siri?

The fact is we don’t yet know how good this new voice assistant will be, but we can reflect a little bit on what we see during the controlled demo in the video below. For starters, Viv is designed to integrate seamlessly with third party apps, which is a major deficit on Siri’s part. The new AI was able to send money via Venmo, book a room through Hotels.com, and hail a cab from Uber. And it did so quickly and with no apparent hassle. Kittlaus later in the presentation described Viv as a “marketplace” that he saw as an improvement upon app stores.

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May 9, 2016

Is AI ‘the most important technology that anybody on the planet is working on today’?

Posted by in category: robotics/AI

Coplin says AI is the most important technology anybody is working on.

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May 9, 2016

This vitamin stops the aging process in organs, say Swiss researchers

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, life extension

Improved muscle stem cell numbers and muscle function in NR-treated aged mice: Newly regenerated muscle fibers 7 days after muscle damage in aged mice (left: control group; right: fed NR). (Scale bar = 50 μm). (credit: Hongbo Zhang et al./Science)

EPFL researchers have restored the ability of mice organs to regenerate and extend life by simply administering nicotinamide riboside (NR) to them.

NR has been shown in previous studies to be effective in boosting metabolism and treating a number of degenerative diseases. Now, an article by PhD student Hongbo Zhang published in Science also describes the restorative effects of NR on the functioning of stem cells for regenerating organs.

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