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Apr 8, 2021
Can blood from young people slow aging? Silicon Valley has bet billions it will
Posted by Montie Adkins in categories: biotech/medical, life extension
Long article, good history, and a warning.
Biotech startups are trying to hack the process of aging and, in the process, stave off the most devastating diseases.
Apr 7, 2021
Researchers realize resonant tunnelling diodes based on twisted black phosphorus homostructures
Posted by Saúl Morales Rodriguéz in categories: computing, engineering, quantum physics
In recent years, electronics engineers worldwide have been trying to develop new semiconductor heterostructure devices using atomically thin materials. Among the many devices that can be fabricated using these materials are resonant tunneling diodes, which typically consist of a quantum-well structure placed between two barrier layers.
Past research has shown that stacking two-dimensional (2D) layers that are twisted in relation to each other can enhance or suppress the interlayer coupling at their interface. This suppression or enhancement can in turn modulate the electronic, optical and mechanical properties of the resulting device.
For instance, some studies found that the intralayer current transport in small angle twisted bilayer graphene prompted some exotic phenomena, such as superconductivity and ferromagnetism. These observations inspired a fundamentally new approach to device engineering, known as ‘twistronics’ (i.e., twist electronics).
Apr 7, 2021
Microsoft adopts boiling liquid to cool datacenter servers
Posted by Saúl Morales Rodriguéz in category: computing
Microsoft has implemented boiling liquid to help keep datacenter servers at reasonable temperatures. The company uses electronic equipment and liquid capable of boiling at 122 degrees Farenheit, 90 degrees below the boiling point of water.
Once the computer processors within the datacenters reach a certain temperature due to labor, the boiling effect moves heat away from the servers. This movement allows the processors to continue operating at full power without the risk of failure from overheating.
Microsoft engineered this solution using a tank that takes the fluid vapor from its liquid contents and exposes the mist to a cooling lid. This process transforms that vapor back into liquid and rain down onto the servers in order to cool the machines. This process of vaporization and condensation for cooling is known as a closed loop cooling system.
Apr 7, 2021
DARPA adds RISC-V to its Toolbox: Defense researchers can get special access to SiFive chip designs
Posted by Genevieve Klien in category: computing
Apr 7, 2021
How artificial intelligence could make clinical trials smarter
Posted by Genevieve Klien in categories: biotech/medical, robotics/AI
The new AI tool, developed by researchers at Stanford and Genenetech, runs simulated clinical trials using different eligibility criteria.
Apr 7, 2021
These mobile, self-healing living robots were born from frog stem cells
Posted by Genevieve Klien in categories: bioengineering, biotech/medical, robotics/AI
Like something straight out of a pulpy sci-fi horror flick, researchers at Tufts University and the University of Vermont (UVM) have engineered a new generation of living robots they call Xenobots, which demonstrate cooperative swarm activity while collecting piles of micro particles.
Last year, this same team of scientists and biologists created tiny self-healing bio-machines that exhibited movement, payload pushing abilities, and a sort of hive mentality. The blueprints for creating these biological bots, which technically aren’t a typical robot or a catalogued animal species, but instead are more akin to a distinct class of unique artifact that acts as a living, programmable organism.
Apr 7, 2021
Rapid raises $12M for its manufacturing robotics
Posted by Genevieve Klien in categories: biotech/medical, employment, robotics/AI
Bay Area-based Rapid Robotics today announced a $12 million Series A. The new round, led by NEA, brings the company’s total funding up to $17.5 million. It joins a recently closed seed round, announced way back in November of last year. Existing investors Greycroft, Bee Partners and 468 Capital also took part in the round.
We noted at that stage that COVID-19 had a sizable impact on robotics investment. At the very least, the pandemic has served to accelerate interest in automation, as many “non-essential” workers have been unable to travel to their jobs. At present, manufacturing jobs often lack the ability to perform remotely.
Rapid notes that the company’s tech has been involved with the production of some 50 million parts over the past year, over a wide variety of different manufacturing verticals. And, like his predecessor, President Biden has already begun talking up strategies to return manufacturing jobs to the U.S. Of course, ambitious as it might be, any plan is going to have to be a balancing act between human jobs and automation.
Apr 7, 2021
Exoskeletons improve mobility in individuals with spinal cord injury
Posted by Jason Blain in category: cyborgs
Apr 7, 2021
The Direct Fusion Drive That Could Get Us Past Neptune in 10 Years
Posted by Quinn Sena in category: space travel
Plus, we can bring along 1.5 tons.
Scientists have outlined the wild way humans could travel past Neptune in under 10 years—with over 1.5 tons of cargo on board.
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