Lifeboat Foundation

A roadmap for the future direction of quantum simulation has been set out in a paper co-authored at the University of Strathclyde.

Quantum computers are hugely powerful devices with a capacity for speed and calculation which is well beyond the reach of classical, or binary, computing. Instead of a binary system of zeroes and ones, it operates through superpositions, which may be zeroes, ones or both at the same time.

The continuously-evolving development of quantum computing has reached the point of having an advantage over classical computers for an artificial problem. It could have future applications in a wide range of areas. One promising class of problems involves the simulation of quantum systems, with potential applications such as developing materials for batteries, industrial catalysis and nitrogen fixing.

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐬𝐞𝐚 𝐬𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐬 𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐮𝐬 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐧𝐞𝐮𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐞𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧?

A tiny marine creature with a strange lifestyle may provide valuable insights into human neurodegenerative disorders, such as Alzheimer’s disease, according to scientists at Stanford Medicine.

Botryllus schlosseri, also called a star tunicate, is humans’ closest evolutionary relative among invertebrates in the sea. Attached to rocks along the coast, it appears as a tiny flower-shaped organism. Star tunicates start life as little tadpole-like creatures with two brains, swimming in the ocean. But eventually they drift down from the surface, settling into a stationary life on a rock, joining a colony of other tunicates.

Continue reading “What can sea squirts tell us about neurodegeneration?” »

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A recent report has shown that many social media databases are currently being sold on Breach Forums, a popular hacking forum on the Dark Web. According to cyber security researchers HackerOne, the database allegedly consisted of 5.4 million users, and included the datasets for celebrities, politicians and businesses. The owner of Breach Forums reportedly verified the authenticity of the leaked data.

This nefarious collection of information was due to an already known Twitter vulnerability that could possibly allow an attacker to acquire the phone number and/or email address associated with user accounts even if the user had hidden those fields in the platform’s privacy settings. This should worry many social media users, as it seems that privacy and anonymity are merely a veil that hides the many dangers we are exposed to on the internet.

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Wearable electronics, from health and fitness trackers to virtual reality headsets, are part of our everyday lives. But finding ways to continuously power these devices is a challenge.

University of Washington researchers have developed an innovative solution: the first-of-its kind flexible, wearable thermoelectric device that converts body heat to electricity. This device is soft and stretchable, yet sturdy and efficient—properties that can be challenging to combine.

The team published these findings July 24 in Advanced Energy Materials.

According to its designers, the device has a power density of 1.1 kW/L and an efficiency of 97%.

The micro-inverter utilizes GaN 600V diodes and power transistors developed by CEA’s electronic branch CEA-Leti. “With this coplanar technology, it would be possible to make the power component ‘smarter’ with protection (temperature, voltage, current, etc.) and control (driver) functions. It is also possible to design bidirectional voltage interrupters which do not exist at present,” the French scientists said in a statement.

Lensing of the cosmic microwave background indicates 12-billion-year-old galaxies had dark matter.

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) Chairman Mark Liu (劉德音) has warned that the economies on both sides of the Taiwan Strait will plunge into turmoil should China invade Taiwan.

CNN on Monday (Aug. 1) published footage of a video interview with Liu, titled “Can China afford to attack Taiwan?” in which Liu noted chipmaking will no longer be “the most important thing we should be worried about” if Beijing were to attack Taiwan.

Still,“Nobody can control TSMC by force,” Liu said, when asked about the company’s perceived reputation as a “shield” given its significance. TSMC factories will be rendered “non-operable” in the event of a Chinese attack because the sophisticated manufacturing facilities depend on real-time connections with the outside world, with Europe, U.S., and Japan, he reckoned.

Minxin Pei is professor of government at Claremont McKenna College and a nonresident senior fellow of the German Marshall Fund of the United States.

Confidence in the safety of Chinese banks has been badly shaken by the failure of several small banks in Henan Province in April this year. In terms of their assets of about 40 billion yuan ($6 billion) and the number of customers, roughly 400,000, the shuttered rural banks are minions in China’s financial system.