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Jun 24, 2023

James Cameron says Titan submersible was ‘critically flawed’

Posted by in category: futurism

Director and oceanographer James Cameron said Friday that the design of the imploded Titan submersible was “critically flawed,” calling the construction of the vessel an “insidious” mistake.

Jun 24, 2023

Perovskite solar cells set new world record for power conversion efficiency

Posted by in categories: solar power, sustainability

Perovskite solar cells designed by a team of scientists from the National University of Singapore (NUS) have attained a world record efficiency of 24.35% with an active area of 1 cm2. This achievement paves the way for cheaper, more efficient and durable solar cells.

To facilitate consistent comparisons and benchmarking of different solar cell technologies, the photovoltaic (PV) community uses a standard size of at least 1 cm2 to report the efficiency of one-sun in the “Solar cell efficiency tables.” Prior to the record-breaking feat by the NUS team, the best 1 cm2 recorded a of 23.7%. This ground-breaking achievement in maximizing from next-generation will be crucial to securing the world’s energy future.

Perovskites are a class of materials that exhibit high light absorption efficiency and ease of fabrication, making them promising for solar cell applications. In the past decade, perovskite solar cell technology has achieved several breakthroughs, and the technology continues to evolve.

Jun 24, 2023

Machine Learning in a Non-Euclidean Space

Posted by in categories: robotics/AI, space

Chapter I. Why you should learn about non-Euclidean ML. “Machine Learning in a Non-Euclidean Space” is published by Mastafa Foufa in Towards Data Science.

Jun 24, 2023

Evidence of the amino acid tryptophan found in space

Posted by in categories: materials, space

Using data from the Spitzer space observatory, Dr. Susana Iglesias-Groth, a researcher from The Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC), has found evidence for the existence of the amino acid tryptophan in the interstellar material in a nearby star-forming region. The research is published in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.

High amounts of tryptophan were detected in the Perseus molecular complex, specifically in the IC348 star system, a star-forming region that lies 1,000 away from Earth—relatively close in astronomical terms. The region is generally invisible to the , but shines brightly when viewed in .

Tryptophan is one of the 20 amino acids essential for the formation of key proteins for life on Earth, and produces one of the richest pattern of spectral lines in the infrared. It was therefore an obvious candidate to be explored using the extensive spectroscopic database of the Spitzer satellite, a space-based infrared telescope.

Jun 24, 2023

Europe’s Euclid space telescope to launch on July 1

Posted by in categories: cosmology, space travel

The European Space Agency said on Wednesday its space telescope Euclid is scheduled to launch on July 1, blasting off on a mission to shed light on the mysteries of dark matter and dark energy.

The mission will launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral in Florida, with the broadcast beginning at 1,430 GMT, the ESA said in a tweet.

Euclid was originally planned to ride into space on a Russian Soyuz rocket, but last year Moscow withdrew its launchers in response to sanctions over the invasion of Ukraine.

Jun 24, 2023

Intel releases 12-qubit silicon quantum chip to the quantum community

Posted by in categories: computing, quantum physics

Intel – the world’s biggest computer-chip maker – has released its newest quantum chip and has begun shipping it to quantum scientists and engineers to use in their research. Dubbed Tunnel Falls, the chip contains a 12-qubit array and is based on silicon spin-qubit technology.

The distribution of the quantum chip to the quantum community is part of Intel’s plan to let researchers gain hands-on experience with the technology, while at the same time enabling new quantum research.

The first quantum labs to get access to the chip include the University of Maryland, Sandia National Laboratories, the University of Rochester and the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Jun 24, 2023

Researcher uses hydrostatic pressure to understand RNA dynamics

Posted by in category: biotech/medical

Just as space holds infinite mysteries, when we zoom in at the level of biomolecules (one trillion times smaller than a meter), there is still so much to learn.

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute’s Catherine Royer is dedicated to understanding the conformational landscapes of biomolecules and how they modulate cell function. When biomolecules receive certain inputs, it can cause the atoms to rearrange and the biomolecule to change shape. This change in shape affects their function in cells, so understanding conformational dynamics is critical for drug development.

In research recently published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Royer and her team examined the conformational dynamics of a human transfer ribonucleic acid (tRNA) under high hydrostatic pressure. The high pressure led to an increased population of the tRNA-excited states that normally exist at very low levels, allowing new insights into tRNA function.

Jun 24, 2023

University of Washington team detects atomic ‘breathing’ for quantum computing breakthrough

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

Most of us don’t think of atoms as having their own unique vibrations, but they do. In fact, it’s a feature so fundamental to nature’s building blocks that a team of University of Washington researchers recently observed and used this phenomenon in their research study. By studying the light atoms emitted when stimulated by a laser, they were able to detect vibrations sometimes referred to as atomic “breathing.”

The result is a breakthrough that may one day allow us to build better tools for many kinds of quantum technologies.

Led by Mo Li, a professor of photonics and nano devices in both the UW Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and the UW Physics Department, the researchers set out to build a better quantum emitter, or QE, one that could be incorporated into optical circuits.

Jun 24, 2023

Now hear this: Voice cloning AI startup ElevenLabs nabs $19M from a16z and other heavy hitters

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, robotics/AI, virtual reality

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ElevenLabs, a year-old AI startup from former Google and Palantir employees that is focused on creating new text-to-speech and voice cloning tools, has raised $19 million in a series A round co-led by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), former Github CEO Nat Friedman and former Apple AI leader Daniel Gross, with additional participation from Credo Ventures, Concept Ventures and an array of strategic angel investors including Instagram’s co-founder Mike Krieger, Oculus VR co-founder Brendan Iribe and many others.

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Jun 24, 2023

Omega-3 fatty acids linked to lower atrial fibrillation risk in U.S. veterans

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, military

A recent study published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition determined whether marine omega-3 fatty acid (FA) consumption increases atrial fibrillation (AF) risk among United States military veterans.

Study: Dietary ω-3 fatty acids and the incidence of atrial fibrillation in the Million Veteran Program. Image Credit: Natali _ Mis / Shutterstock.com.