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Feb 22, 2023

Electrons Filming Themselves

Posted by in categories: evolution, particle physics

Two groups demonstrate innovative ways to capture the ultrafast motion of electrons in atoms and molecules.

Electrons move so quickly inside of atoms and molecules that they are challenging to “capture on film” without blurring the images. One way to take fast snapshots is to ionize an atom or molecule and then use the released electrons as probes of the cloud out of which they originate. Now Gabriel Stewart at Wayne State University in Michigan and colleagues [1] and Antoine Camper at the University of Oslo in Norway and colleagues [2] have improved this “self-probing” technique. The demonstrations could lead to a better understanding of the electron motion that underpins many fundamental processes.

Scientists need to complete three key tasks to measure the evolution of an electron cloud that moves and changes on an ultrafast timescale. The first is to exactly record the beginning of the evolution—analogous to pressing “start” on a mechanical stopwatch. The second is to track how much time has gone by since the starting event—analogous to precisely measuring the ticking of the stopwatch’s second hand. And the third is to take a quick snapshot of the electron cloud so that it looks frozen in time.

Feb 22, 2023

Revealing the embedded phase in single-pixel quantum ghost imaging

Posted by in categories: biological, mobile phones, quantum physics

When forming an image of an object, such as a photograph taken by a cell phone, light that has interacted with the object and either passed through or bounced off it is captured by the detector in the phone.

Some 25 years ago, scientists devised another, less direct way to do this. In the conventional form, information gathered from two detectors are instead used, by combining information from one capturing the light that has interacted with the object and one that has not interacted with the object at all. It is the light that has never interacted with the object that is used to obtain the image, though, resulting the technique taking on the name “ghost imaging.”

When entangled light is used, the can be exploited to do this at very low light levels which can be a large advantage when looking at light-sensitive samples in where too much light can damage or change the sample and thus destroying what one wishes to look at—this being quite a conundrum in the field.

Feb 22, 2023

Scientists develop solid-state electrochemical thermal transistor

Posted by in categories: chemistry, computing, mobile phones

In modern electronics, a large amount of heat is produced as waste during usage—this is why devices such as laptops and mobile phones become warm during use, and require cooling solutions. In the last decade, the concept of managing this heat using electricity has been tested, leading to the development of electrochemical thermal transistors—devices that can be used to control heat flow with electrical signals.

Currently, liquid-state thermal transistors are in use, but have critical limitations: chiefly, any leakage causes the device to stop working.

A research team at Hokkaido University lead by Professor Hiromichi Ohta at the Research Institute for Electronic science has developed the first solid-state electrochemical thermal transistor. Their invention, described in the journal Advanced Functional Materials, is much more stable than and just as effective as current liquid-state thermal transistors.

Feb 22, 2023

Neuromorphic camera and machine learning aid nanoscopic imaging

Posted by in categories: chemistry, information science, nanotechnology, robotics/AI

In a new study, researchers at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) show how a brain-inspired image sensor can go beyond the diffraction limit of light to detect miniscule objects such as cellular components or nanoparticles invisible to current microscopes. Their novel technique, which combines optical microscopy with a neuromorphic camera and machine learning algorithms, presents a major step forward in pinpointing objects smaller than 50 nanometers in size. The results are published in Nature Nanotechnology.

Since the invention of optical microscopes, scientists have strived to surpass a barrier called the , which means that the microscope cannot distinguish between two objects if they are smaller than a certain size (typically 200–300 nanometers).

Their efforts have largely focused on either modifying the molecules being imaged, or developing better illumination strategies—some of which led to the 2014 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. “But very few have actually tried to use the detector itself to try and surpass this detection limit,” says Deepak Nair, Associate Professor at the Center for Neuroscience (CNS), IISc, and corresponding author of the study.

Feb 22, 2023

Replika’s chatbot dilemma shows why people shouldn’t trust companies with their feelings

Posted by in categories: augmented reality, robotics/AI

Users of the Replika chatbot system can no longer engage in erotic or sexual dialogue with their digital counterparts, after years of being able to do so. This highlights a dilemma when people become emotionally attached to chatbots.

Under the name “AI Companion”, Replika is marketing a chatbot system that, like ChatGPT and the like, converses with users in natural language and is also embodied as a visual avatar. Replika will be “there to listen and talk” and “always on your side”, the company promises. With augmented reality, you can project the avatar chatbots life-size into your room.

Continue reading “Replika’s chatbot dilemma shows why people shouldn’t trust companies with their feelings” »

Feb 22, 2023

A German AI startup just might have a GPT-4 competitor this year

Posted by in categories: education, robotics/AI, security

Benchmarks from German AI startup Aleph Alpha show that the startup’s latest AI models can keep up with OpenAI’s GPT-3. A success that should not lull Europe into a false sense of security.

ChatGPT has catapulted artificial intelligence into the public discussion like no other product before it. Behind the chatbot is the U.S. company OpenAI, which made headlines with the large-scale language model GPT-3 and later with the text-to-picture model DALL-E 2. The impact of systems like ChatGPT or Midjourney on education and work, which can be felt today, was foreseeable even then.

The underlying language models are often referred to in research as foundation models: a large AI model that, due to its generalist training with large datasets, can later take on many tasks for which it was not explicitly trained.

Feb 22, 2023

ChatGPT Artificial Intelligence Will Take OVER The World!

Posted by in categories: futurism, robotics/AI

ChatGPT is a powerful Artificial Intelligence platform that will take over the world!

In this video, I’m sharing with you all about ChatGPT, its capabilities, and why Bill Gates and other world-renowned experts believe it will be a major force in the future!

Continue reading “ChatGPT Artificial Intelligence Will Take OVER The World!” »

Feb 22, 2023

Calico looking for new chief scientist after celebrated biologist David Botstein quietly retires

Posted by in category: futurism

STAT — Are you a promising middle or late-career scientist with a desire to extend human lifespan, experience leading a large organization, and a fondness …on

Feb 21, 2023

Why the human genome was never completed

Posted by in category: biotech/medical

No human genome has ever been read in its entirety before. This year, scientists expect to pass that milestone for the first time.

Feb 21, 2023

Wearable Electronics Breakthrough: A Revolutionary Electrochemical Transistor

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, chemistry, computing, wearables

A multidisciplinary Northwestern University research team has created a groundbreaking transistor that is expected to be optimal for bioelectronics that are high-performance, lightweight, and flexible.

The new electrochemical transistor is compatible with both blood and water and has the ability to amplify significant signals, making it highly beneficial for biomedical sensing. This transistor could make it possible to develop wearable devices that can perform on-site signal processing right at the biology-device interface. Some potential applications include monitoring heart rate and levels of sodium and potassium in the blood, as well as tracking eye movements to study sleep disorders.

“All modern electronics use transistors, which rapidly turn current on and off,” said Tobin J. Marks, a co-corresponding author of the study. “Here we use chemistry to enhance the switching. Our electrochemical transistor takes performance to a totally new level. You have all the properties of a conventional transistor but far higher transconductance (a measure of the amplification it can deliver), ultra-stable cycling of the switching properties, a small footprint that can enable high-density integration, and easy, low-cost fabrication.”