Lifeboat Foundation

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.

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

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.

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.

One of the country’s best-known science museums, San Francisco’s Exploratorium, is located less than three miles north of Gladstone Institutes—proximity that has resulted in creative, high-science collaborations like the permanent exhibit featured in the latest issue of Stem Cell Reports.

Among the museum’s most popular exhibits, “Give Heart Cells A Beat” opens a rare window into the microscopic world of the beating human heart, using technology and materials made possible through Gladstone’s science and expertise. With the exhibit, the team created the first interactive museum experience that allows the public to interact directly with living cardiomyocytes.

Continue reading “Heart-to-heart connection: Collaboration brings a breakthrough science exhibit to life” »

Britain’s largest telecom service provider has put forward a plan to ensure that EVs are always within range of a charger. To do that, they’re planning to retrofit their existing street cabinets into publicly accessible L2 chargers.

Retrofitting a city’s existing electronic and digital infrastructure to promote widespread adoption of EVs isn’t a new idea — but UK telecom giant BT Group isn’t content to just talk about what’s possible. They’ve already done it!

The first such telecom cabinet-to-L2 charger conversion has already been completed in East Lothian, Scotland, and BT Group isn’t stopping there. The company says it plans to convert more cabinets in Scotland, England, Wales, and Northern Ireland in the coming months, with as many as 600 such conversions earmarked for completion by the end of 2024.

Too late or super cool?

I’m excited to share my latest Opinion article on AI at The Hill, a top political site/paper read by the White House and Congress:

Regardless what politicians promise, this age of AI and robots will also affect the size and growth rates of the U.S. government. Federal and state government may not immediately take up with automation and AI to the extent the private sector does, but eventually the stark rationality of lower overhead expenses—and thus lower taxes for citizens—will prevail.

This is a good thing. A smaller, nimble, more efficient government will benefit the majority of people.

Continue reading “AI can stop government from growing, and that’s a good thing” »

Copilot, Microsoft’s family of AI-powered chatbots and assistants, is getting a few new upgrades timed with a flashy Super Bowl LVIII ad campaign.

Microsoft is rolling out upgrades to Copilot, its family of GenAI tools, timed with a new Super Bowl ad campaign.

Continue reading “Microsoft brings new design-focused features to Copilot” »