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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.”

Feb 21, 2023

Developing fabrics that change shape when they heat up

Posted by in categories: health, robotics/AI

New textiles developed at Aalto University change shape when they heat up, giving designers a wide range of new options. In addition to offering adjustable esthetics, responsive smart fabrics could also help monitor people’s health, improve thermal insulation, and provide new tools for managing room acoustics and interior design.

The new fabrics weave together old technology and a new approach. Liquid crystalline elastomers (LCEs) were developed in the 1980s. LCEs are a smart material that can respond to heat, light, or other stimuli, and they’ve been used as thin films in soft robotics. Although LCEs have been made into fibers, so far they haven’t been made into textiles.

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Feb 21, 2023

Dr. Abdelali Haoudi, PhD — KAIMRC — Advancing Biomedical R&D & Clinical Development In Saudi Arabia

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, business, education, genetics, government, health, policy

Advancing Biomedical R&D & Clinical Development In Saudi Arabia — Dr. Abdelali Haoudi, Ph.D., Managing Director, Biotechnology Park, King Abdullah International Medical Research Center, Ministry of National Guard Health Affairs.


Dr. Abdelali Haoudi, Ph.D. (https://kaimrc-biotech.org.sa/dr-abdelali-haoudi/) currently leads Strategy and Business Development functions, and is also Managing Director of the Biotechnology Park, at King Abdullah International Medical Research Center, at the Ministry of National Guard Health Affairs. He is also Distinguished Scholar at Harvard University-Boston Children’s Hospital.

Continue reading “Dr. Abdelali Haoudi, PhD — KAIMRC — Advancing Biomedical R&D & Clinical Development In Saudi Arabia” »

Feb 21, 2023

A Deep-learning Search For Technosignatures Of 820 Nearby Stars

Posted by in categories: alien life, robotics/AI

The goal of the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) is to quantify the prevalence of technological life beyond Earth via their “technosignatures”. One theorized technosignature is narrowband Doppler drifting radio signals.

The principal challenge in conducting SETI in the radio domain is developing a generalized technique to reject human radio frequency interference (RFI). Here, we present the most comprehensive deep-learning based technosignature search to date, returning 8 promising ETI signals of interest for re-observation as part of the Breakthrough Listen initiative.

The search comprises 820 unique targets observed with the Robert C. Byrd Green Bank Telescope, totaling over 480, hr of on-sky data. We implement a novel beta-Convolutional Variational Autoencoder to identify technosignature candidates in a semi-unsupervised manner while keeping the false positive rate manageably low. This new approach presents itself as a leading solution in accelerating SETI and other transient research into the age of data-driven astronomy.

Feb 21, 2023

Glycine Peptide Chain Formation in the Gas Phase via Unimolecular Reactions

Posted by in categories: asteroid/comet impacts, existential risks

Peptide chain formation from amino acids such as glycine is a key step in the emergence of life. Unlike their synthesis by living systems, how peptide chains grow under abiotic conditions is an open question given the variety of organic compounds discovered in various astrophysical environments, comets and meteorites. We propose a new abiotic route in the presence of protonated molecular dimers of glycine in a cold gaseous atmosphere without further need for a solid catalytic substrate. The results provide evidence for the preferential formation of mixed protonated dimers of glycine consisting of a dipeptide and a glycine molecule instead of pure protonated glycine dimers. Additional measurements mimicking a cosmic-ray impact in terms of internal excitation show that a single gas-phase collision induces polymerization via dehydration in both the mixed and pure dimer ions.

Feb 21, 2023

‘Hidden’ planet at edge of our solar system could be five times the size of Earth

Posted by in category: space

A huge planet that has never been seen by astronomers could be lurking, almost invisibly, at the dark edges of our solar system, some scientists believe.

By 1,846, astronomers had pinpointed all the eight main planets – and have since found several other ’dwarf planets’ including Pluto.

But the search goes on for the mysterious ‘ninth planet’ which is thought to sit far beyond Neptune in our solar system, said space expert Sara Webb.

Feb 21, 2023

Fifth person cured of HIV after stem cell transplant, researchers say

Posted by in category: biotech/medical

Researchers from Germany say a man has been cured of HIV following a stem cell transplant that was performed after several rounds of chemotherapy, making him the fifth known case of the virus being cured in an individual.

In the study published in the Nature science journal, German researchers detailed the case of a 53-year-old patient who was diagnosed with HIV in 2008. After their diagnosis, the patient was placed on antiretroviral therapy (ART) which suppressed the viral load within their system.

Feb 21, 2023

How Evolution Works — Scientists Develop a Novel Metric of Molecular Evolution

Posted by in categories: biological, evolution

The European mole, equipped with its formidable digging shovels, can effortlessly tunnel through the earth. The same holds true for the Australian marsupial mole. Despite residing in vastly different regions, the two species.

A species is a group of living organisms that share a set of common characteristics and are able to breed and produce fertile offspring. The concept of a species is important in biology as it is used to classify and organize the diversity of life. There are different ways to define a species, but the most widely accepted one is the biological species concept, which defines a species as a group of organisms that can interbreed and produce viable offspring in nature. This definition is widely used in evolutionary biology and ecology to identify and classify living organisms.

Feb 21, 2023

Quantum Telescopes Could Offer Clearer Views of Our Solar System and Beyond

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

Scientists want to use quantum mechanics to capture higher-resolution images of the night sky.


For the purposes of astronomy, the two beams are collected by two telescopes that are separated by some distance (called baseline interferometry). But despite its effectiveness, classic interferometry is subject to some limitations. Andrei Nomerotski, an astrophysicist with the BNL and a co-author on the paper, explained to Universe Today via email.

“Interferometry is a way to increase the effective aperture of telescopes and to improve the angular resolution or astrometric precision,” he said. “The main difficulty here is to maintain the stability of this optical path to very high precision, which should be much smaller than the photon wavelength, to preserve the photon’s phase. This limits the practical baselines to a few hundred meters.”

Continue reading “Quantum Telescopes Could Offer Clearer Views of Our Solar System and Beyond” »

Feb 21, 2023

Japanese startup unveils balloon flight space viewing tours

Posted by in category: space

TOKYO (AP) — A Japanese startup announced plans Tuesday to launch commercial space viewing balloon flights that it hopes will bring an otherwise astronomically expensive experience down to Earth.

Company CEO Keisuke Iwaya said passengers do not need to be billionaires, go through intense training or have the language skills needed to fly in a rocket.

“It’s safe, economical and gentle for people,” Iwaya told reporters. “The idea is to make space tourism for everyone.” He said he wants to “democratize space.”