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Feb 8, 2024

Quantum computer uses a time crystal as a control dial

Posted by in categories: computing, quantum physics

Making a strange state of matter called a time crystal inside a quantum computer helped researchers stabilise a fragile quantum state inspired by Schrödinger’s cat.

By Karmela Padavic-Callaghan

Feb 8, 2024

Our universe is merging with ‘baby universes’, causing it to expand, new theoretical study suggests

Posted by in category: cosmology

The universe is expanding faster and faster, but not all scientists agree that dark energy is the cause. Perhaps, instead, our universe keeps colliding with and absorbing smaller ‘baby universes,’ a new theoretical study suggests.

Feb 8, 2024

International research team develops new hardware for neuromorphic computing

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, information science, robotics/AI

In the future, modern machines should not only follow algorithms quickly and precisely, but also function intelligently—in other words, in a way that resembles the human brain. Scientists from Dortmund, Loughborough, Kiev and Nottingham have now developed a concept inspired by eyesight that could make future artificial intelligence much more compact and efficient.

They built an on-chip phonon-magnon for neuromorphic computing which has recently been featured as Editor’s Highlight by Nature Communications.

The human sensory organs convert information such as light or scent into a signal that the brain processes through myriads of neurons connected by even more synapses. The ability of the brain to train, namely transform synapses, combined with the neurons’ huge number, allows humans to process very complex external signals and quickly form a response to them.

Feb 8, 2024

Where do cosmic rays come from?

Posted by in category: particle physics

High-energy particles from space constantly bombard Earth at near light speed, but what are their origins?

Feb 8, 2024

21 Best Longevity Experts and Influencers on Twitter/X

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, life extension, Peter Diamandis, robotics/AI

We’ve updated our list of the best longevity experts on Twitter/X and added 8 new accounts, including Dr. Morgan Levine, Dr. Brad Stanfield, and the research journal Nature Aging!


Best known for his popular longevity YouTube channel, Stanfield is a medical doctor with an interest in longevity science. Like some other folks on this list of longevity influencers, Stanfield can be a bit iconoclastic, challenging orthodoxy on things like resveratrol and fisetin.

Just like in his well-sourced videos, Stanfield’s Twitter feed is heavy with links to research papers and studies on longevity-related topics, from recent mouse studies out of the Interventions Testing Program, to threads on diet based on new trials. The downside is in his Twitter feed you don’t get to hear that sweet Kiwi accent you get from his videos.

Followers: 24,000

Continue reading “21 Best Longevity Experts and Influencers on Twitter/X” »

Feb 8, 2024

Prescription guide

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, computing, cyborgs

To show one of the advantages of being a cyborg, I typed my old prescription into ZEISS Optical Inserts which are for use with the Apple Vision Pro and it said “We are really sorry, but your prescription values go beyond the available range.”

But now that I’m a cyborg with artificial lenses, any optical inserts that I might need are very common and available.

Oh, I experimented a little and it looks like they can’t make lenses for −9.75 diopters or worse. My left-eye used to be −17.25!

Continue reading “Prescription guide” »

Feb 8, 2024

Adiabatic Cooper pair splitter

Posted by in categories: materials, quantum physics

Cooper-Pair Splitting on Demand.

A proposed device can repeatedly grab pairs of electrons from a superconductor and separate them while preserving their entangled state.


By adiabatically changing the energy levels of two quantum dots, theoreticians predict that it should be possible to control the splitting of Cooper pairs from a superconductor. Such an adiabatic Cooper pair splitter could serve as an on-demand source of entangled electrons in future solid-state quantum technologies.

Feb 8, 2024

Turbocharged CAR-T cells melt tumours in mice — using a trick from cancer cells

Posted by in category: biotech/medical

Immune cells armed with a mutation first identified in cancer cells gain potency but don’t turn cancerous themselves.

Feb 8, 2024

Engineered Immune Cells Improves Metabolic Function

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, chemistry

Immunotherapy has rapidly advanced the field of medicine and has saved countless lives. The approach is much different than using an external chemical, such as in the case of chemotherapy. Immunotherapy leverages the body’s own immune system to recognize and attack foreign pathogens, specifically cancer. While there are many versions of immunotherapy, one rising star among them is known as Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR) T cell therapy. This therapy (usually) takes a patient’s own cells in the blood to generate engineered immune or T cells to fight the tumor. T cells are a critical immune cell population responsible for killing or lysing infected cells. In the case of CAR T cell therapy, the T cells from the patient are engineered to recognize receptors on the tumor. The CAR T-cells are then triggered to release different proteins and lyse the tumor cells. This type of therapy has revolutionized the way we treat patients with hematopoietic malignancies or blood cancers.

Feb 8, 2024

Study reveals mechanism that aggravates tuberculosis and reduces survival rates

Posted by in category: biotech/medical

CD4+ T cells have been highlighted in the scientific literature for the important role they play in the immune response to lung infections. However, an article published in the journal Cell Reports shows that an imbalance in the volumes of these defense cells in different parts of the lung in response to infection can do more harm than good.

The study described in the article involved infecting mice with hypervirulent tuberculosis and influenza. The authors concluded that an “ideal amount” of CD4+ T cells in the lungs was required for a cure.

This finding opens up perspectives for therapeutic interventions aimed at combating diseases that attack the lungs while not affecting the ability of the adaptive immune system to fight off infection. Even relatively small numbers of CD4+ T cells in the lungs proved sufficient to afford protection against tuberculosis, for example.