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Aug 26, 2021

Dust-sized supercapacitor has voltage of AAA battery

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, chemistry, nanotechnology

Devices in the submillimetre range – so-called “nano-supercapacitors” – allow the shrinkage of electronic components to tiny dimensions. However, they are difficult to produce and do not usually incorporate biocompatible materials. Corrosive electrolytes, for example, can quickly discharge themselves in the event of defects and contamination.

So-called “biosupercapacitors” (BSCs) offer a solution. These have two outstanding properties: full biocompatibility, which means they can be used in body fluids such as blood, and compensation for self-discharge behaviours through bio-electrochemical reactions. In other words, they can actually benefit from the body’s own reactions. This is because, in addition to typical charge storage reactions of a supercapacitor, redox enzymatic reactions and living cells naturally present in the blood can increase the performance of a device by 40%.

Shrinking these devices down to submillimetre sizes, while maintaining full biocompatibility, has been enormously challenging. Now, scientists have created a prototype that combines both essential properties.

Aug 26, 2021

Estimates of Americans with long COVID-19, per state

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, neuroscience

About 11.1 million Americans are living with long COVID-19, according to new estimates from The American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation.

Long COVID-19, or persistent symptoms up to six months after being cleared of the illness, affects around 30 percent of individuals who had COVID-19, according to two recent publications from the Journal of the American Medical Association. Symptoms of long COVID-19 are varied and may include neurological challenges, cognitive problems, shortness of breath, fatigue, pain and mobility issues.

The AAPM&R has developed a dashboard estimating long COVID-19 infections. The model assumes that 30 percent of people who recover from acute COVID-19 develop long COVID-19, but users can adjust estimates based on higher or lower percentages. U.S. case data is pulled from Baltimore-based Johns Hopkins University COVID-19 data. U.S. census data uses2019estimates.

Aug 26, 2021

How Bitcoin’s vast energy use could burst its bubble

Posted by in categories: bitcoin, cryptocurrencies, energy

Could the cryptocurrency’s huge electricity consumption also sink it?

Aug 26, 2021

Toshiba Makes Breakthrough Towards the Quantum Internet

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, encryption, internet, quantum physics

Long distance quantum communication over 600 km of fiber unlocked!


Toshiba in partnership with the Japanese Tohoku University Hospital have achieved a new milestone on the road towards the quantum internet — the research team encrypted the human genome and sent it over a quantum-secure connection over 600 km of fiber.

Aug 26, 2021

US Air Force prioritizes blockchain security with new Constellation Network contract

Posted by in categories: bitcoin, cybercrime/malcode, encryption, military

A blockchain-based initiative from the United States Air Force will employ Constellation’s Hypergraph Network to provide data security with the Department of Defense’s commercial partners.

In a Thursday announcement, Constellation said it had been working with Kinnami Software Corporation to develop an end-to-end data security solution using blockchain encryption and distributed data management for the United States Transportation Command, Air Mobility Command’s 618th Air Operations Center, and a Civil Reserve Air Fleet partner. According to the platform, its goal is to securely exchange data with commercial partners on missions involving the operations of aircraft and ships under contract to the Department of Defense, or DoD.

The United States Transportation Command, or USTRANSCOM, allows authorities — including those in the 618th — to coordinate missions using available resources from both the military and private sector. Constellation Network’s solution may have the potential to improve the existing cybersecurity and general effectiveness.

Aug 26, 2021

Trapped-ion crystal makes an ultra-precise quantum sensor

Posted by in categories: biological, cosmology, quantum physics

Physics World


An ultra-precise quantum sensor based on trapped beryllium ions is up to 20 times better at detecting weak electric fields than previous atomic devices. By introducing entanglement between the collective motion of the ions and their electronic spin, a collaboration led by the US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) demonstrated that the ion displacement sensitivity in the presence of an electric field was an order of magnitude greater than for classical protocols with trapped ions. With further improvements, the technology could even be used in the search for dark matter.

Quantum sensors can detect and measure signals that are undetectable with their classical counterparts. They are thus a promising tool in many areas of fundamental science, including biological imaging as well as physics. Of the many different systems being pursued as quantum sensors, trapped ions could be particularly favourable due to experimenters’ precise control over their parameters and their ability to introduce entanglement into the system.

Continue reading “Trapped-ion crystal makes an ultra-precise quantum sensor” »

Aug 26, 2021

Could bats hold the secret to healthy ageing?

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, genetics, life extension

In the fictional links he drew between immortal vampires and bats, Dracula creator Bram Stoker may have had one thing right.

“Maybe it’s all in the blood,” says Emma Teeling, a geneticist studying the exceptional longevity of bats in the hope of discovering benefits for humans.

The University College Dublin researcher works with the charity Bretagne Vivante to study bats living in rural churches and schools in Brittany, western France.

Aug 26, 2021

Dr. Harold Katcher, PhD — Chief Scientific Officer — Yuvan Research — Rejuvenative Plasma Fractions

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, chemistry, genetics, life extension

Studying Novel Plasma Fractions For Age-Related Diseases And Systemic Rejuvenation — Dr. Harold Katcher Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer, Yuvan Research Inc.


Dr. Harold Katcher is the Chief Scientific Officer at Yuvan Research Inc., a biotech company exploring the development of novel, young plasma fraction rejuvenation treatments in mammals.

Continue reading “Dr. Harold Katcher, PhD — Chief Scientific Officer — Yuvan Research — Rejuvenative Plasma Fractions” »

Aug 26, 2021

Inflammation gene may be possible drug target for endometriosis

Posted by in category: biotech/medical

“Endometriosis very likely isn’t one disease.” Studies like this help researchers understand the complex disease and how to treat it, she says.


Advance offers potential nonhormonal way to treat mysterious, complex disease.

Aug 26, 2021

RNA technologies explained

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, government

The mRNA vaccine success story is one of the few positives to emerge from COVID-19. But these vaccines from Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech are only the tip of the iceberg in the coming RNA medical technology revolution.

Australia, including our newly established UNSW RNA Institute, is well-placed to take a leading role in this revolution. With its eyes firmly set on making NSW a global force in the RNA industry, the NSW Government is backing a new RNA Bioscience Alliance between all the NSW Universities as well as funding a $15 million RNA production network between some of the state’s leading research organizations to bootstrap pre-clinical RNA research. UNSW’s RNA Institute is a key part of this drive, and with a $25 million investment brings together world-leading expertise to support the state and national agenda.

So beyond mRNA vaccines, what are these RNA therapeutics on the horizon? And what is the secret sauce that finally got mRNA vaccines to work after many years of trying? To understand this, let’s first tackle what RNA is and how it is used in medicine.