Lifeboat Foundation

At long last, physicists from Harvard and MIT have found the killer application for quantum computing: a Mario Bros. GIF made from qubits. The qubits (quantum bits) can also be arranged in a Space Invaders design, or Tetris, or any other shape—your geometrical wish is the qubits’ command.

The GIFs are from QuEra Computing, a Boston startup emerging from stealth, to show off the programmability of their 256-qubit quantum simulator —a special-purpose quantum computer built for solving certain types of problems.

The concept is in its early stages, but it could offer a promising solution to remote communities without access to electricity.

A chemist in D.C.’s crime lab has discovered a new synthetic opioid being used on the streets of the District. The lab immediately alerted first responders about the possibility the drug could be resistant to the lifesaving antidote Narcan.

As part of her work testing used syringes to surveil the drug supply for new threats, chemist Alexandra Evans discovered the first known sample of Protonitazene in D.C.

Using ESA’s XMM-Newton and NASA’s Chandra X-ray space telescopes, astronomers have made an important step in the quest to find a planet outside of the Milky Way. Spotting a planet in another galaxy is hard, and even though astronomers know that they should exist, no planetary systems outside of…

Using ESA’s XMM-Newton and NASA

Continue reading “Astronomers May Have Discovered a Planet in Another Galaxy” »

Long-term supply agreements are nothing new in the semiconductor industry. Both fabless chip designers and contract makers of chips prefer stable supply and demand, respectively. But in a world with severely constrained supply, chip developers are willing to pay for their integrated circuits well in advance, which is a boon for foundries.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), the world’s largest foundry, disclosed in a filing that it received temporary receipts of around $3.825 billion (NT$106,33 billion) from customers as of September 30, 2021. Temporary receipts from TSMC’s customers are payments received to retain its capacity. To put the number into context, TSMC earned some $14.926 billion (NT$414.67 billion) in Q3 2021, so $3.825 billion is a sizeable sum for the company.

Google is secretly working with the world’s leading neuroscientists on mapping the entire Human Brain. Neuroscientists at have released the most detailed 3D map of the mammalian brain ever made. Google has helped them by funding their goal to create the most detailed map yet of the connections within the human brain. It reveals a staggering amount of detail, including patterns of connections between neurons, as well as what may be a new kind of neuron.

The applications in the field of Brain Computer Interfaces or understanding medical conditions are staggering. But it’s doubtful that this will just help companies such as Neuralink develop advanced future brain computer interfaces and will likely lead to Google doing evil things by understanding people’s way of thinking and delivering ads to them.
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Continue reading “How Google is Reading Your Thoughts — Scientists Mapping the Human Brain” »

OAKLAND, Calif. Nov 17 (Reuters) — A new quantum computer startup born from researchers at Harvard University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) called QuEra Computing said on Wednesday it raised $17 million from investors, including Japanese e-commerce giant Rakuten Inc (4755.T).

It’s the latest quantum computer hardware maker to come out of the lab at a time when funding for the nascent technology is booming. read more

While there are various technologies for creating so-called quantum bits or qubits where the computations happen, QuEra’s qubits use neutral atoms in a vacuum chamber and use lasers to cool and control them.

On October 21, Sweden’s Jetson Aero launched the Jetson One, a single-seat flying car with 20-minute flight times and a top speed of about 63 mph. It has already sold all 12 of the electric vehicles in its first production run (to be delivered in fall 2022), and it’s now taking orders for 2023.

The vehicles will be delivered about 50% assembled, and customers must finish putting them together themselves.

Continue reading “You can now buy a flying car for $92,000” »

Nvidia (NVDA) CEO Jensen Huang doesn’t see the global chip shortage coming to an end anytime soon. The head of the largest chip maker by market cap, Huang is fresh off his virtual keynote at Nvidia’s GTC conference where he announced advances in the company’s metaverse and AI efforts.

But Nvidia still makes the bulk of its revenue, about 47% in Q2, from the sale of its gaming cards. And those continue to be in short supply due to the pandemic-induced chip crisis.

“I think that through the next year, demand is going to far exceed supply. We don’t have any magic bullets in navigating the supply chain,” Huang told Yahoo Finance Live on Wednesday.