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Memristor chip breaks the capacity limit of brain-inspired associative memory

Researchers in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering of the Faculty of Engineering and the Centre for Advanced Semiconductors and Integrated Circuits (CASIC) at the University of Hong Kong (HKU) have made a breakthrough in brain-inspired computing. In collaboration with Hewlett Packard Labs, the team has developed a memristor chip that overcomes a long-standing limit on the capacity of “associative memory,” the brain-like ability to recall complete information from a partial cue, while keeping it reliable even when a large fraction of the hardware fails.

Associative memory is something the brain does effortlessly: A few notes bring a whole song to mind, and a glimpse of a face identifies a person. Unlike the RAM in a computer, which must be told exactly where information is stored, associative memory retrieves it by content—the very capability that pattern completion, error correction and recognition depend on.

Invention may bring smart bionic eye into sight

A working prototype that can see, remember and interact with the world like the human brain could one day underpin smart bionic eyes while using far less energy than today’s technologies. The invention from RMIT University combines sensing, memory and information processing within the same system, reducing the need to constantly move data between separate sensors, memory banks and processors.

While still an early-stage research demonstration, the neuromorphic vision innovation could dramatically reduce the amount of data and energy required to perform complex visual tasks.

RMIT has an international patent application filed under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) for the invention.

Curved nanographene with five-, six- and seven-membered rings synthesized in two steps

Nanographenes can be considered molecular fragments of graphene, a 2D conductive material in which carbon atoms are connected in a honeycomb pattern. Because their electronic and photophysical properties vary depending on the size and shape of the molecule, nanographenes are expected to find applications in OLEDs, organic solar cells, organic field-effect transistors and more.

For this, simple methods for synthesizing nanographenes that avoid complex multistep processes are desired. Now, a team of scientists from WPI-ITbM at Nagoya University and RIKEN has established a new two-step annulative π-extension (APEX) method that generates structurally diverse nanographenes. This research is published in the journal Angewandte Chemie International Edition.

New molecular magnet design boosts performance for ultrahigh-density data storage

Researchers at The University of Manchester and the Australian National University have developed a new class of molecular magnets that combines the most successful features of previous designs, resulting in some of the strongest magnetic memory properties reported to date.

The work, published in Nature Communications, centers on single-molecule magnets (SMMs), a class of materials capable of storing magnetic information within individual molecules. These materials are being explored as candidates for future ultrahigh-density data storage technologies, as they offer the potential for information to be stored on a dramatically smaller scale than in conventional magnetic devices.

Controlling the geometry of lanthanide compounds has long been one of the major challenges in molecular magnet design. The researchers have overcome part of that challenge by combining two molecular architectures that had previously delivered strong, but different, magnetic properties.

Tiny molecular rings open new ways for designing better medicines

Cyclopropanes are organic chemistry’s smallest rings. Three carbon atoms are joined in a triangle, creating a compact and unusually strained structure. Despite—or partly because of—this unusual geometry, cyclopropanes are found in many biologically active natural products and have important applications in medicines and drug discovery, from antidepressants to antibiotics and antiviral research.

Connect these carbon triangles to an amine, a functional group with a nitrogen at its center, and you get aminocyclopropanes. They are of particular interest in pharmaceutical research because they can be used to replace another substructure commonly found in drug molecules: α,α-gem-dimethylamines (compounds in which the aminocyclopropane’s triangle is “opened” by disconnecting one edge).

Such molecular substitutes that resemble an existing part of a drug but can alter important properties, such as biological activity and metabolic stability, are referred to as bioisosteres and have shown beneficial effects in countless cases.

Untangling the meta-biomaterial puzzle one property at a time

From repairing damaged tissues to developing better implants, many medical developments depend on materials that can mimic the complex properties of human tissue. Meta-biomaterials are among the most promising candidates. By tailoring their geometry, researchers can create materials with properties similar to those of natural tissues. But there is a catch: Changing one property often changes several others at the same time. TU Delft scientists have now developed a method to decouple these properties.

Their work, published in Nature Communications, helps researchers understand how individual material properties influence cell behavior and could accelerate the development of next-generation biomaterials.

Meta-biomaterials are engineered materials whose properties are determined not by their chemical composition but by their internal architecture. This allows researchers to design structures with carefully tuned mechanical, morphological and mass-transport properties. Such control is particularly valuable in biomedical engineering, where materials need to do more than simply replace damaged tissue. They must also interact with cells and actively support tissue regeneration.

Princeton AI Tames Fusion Plasma Hotter Than the Sun

Princeton’s PACMAN AI can control fusion plasma in milliseconds and predict dangerous instabilities before they start.

In some fusion energy systems, particles can reach temperatures hotter than the center of the Sun. The challenge is keeping that extreme plasma under control, because disturbances can develop within just a few thousandths of a second, much faster than a person could respond.

Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) and Princeton University have developed a new software framework that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to make those rapid control decisions. The system is designed to respond at machine speed while maintaining strict safety protections and leaving the overall goals in human hands.

Depression in Later Life May Be an Early Warning Sign of Alzheimer’s

Depression in later life may be an early warning from the brain, appearing years before Alzheimer’s begins to affect memory and thinking

A new study in JNeurosci found that faster accumulation of tau, a protein closely tied to Alzheimer’s, was associated with worsening depressive symptoms in older adults who remained cognitively healthy. Teodora Markova of Brandeis University and her colleagues investigated whether changes in mood might track the gradual buildup of tau in the aging brain.

Tau normally helps support the internal structure of neurons. When it becomes abnormal, however, it can collect into tangles that interfere with brain function. These tangles are one of the defining biological features of Alzheimer’s disease, alongside deposits of amyloid beta.

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