Site-selective immobilization of different bioreceptors on individual field-effect transistors, achieved through the use of thermal scanning probe lithography. Each bioreceptor can be tuned to detect a different disease.
Long gone are the days where all our data could fit on a two-megabyte floppy disk. In today’s information-based society, the increasing volume of information being handled demands that we switch to memory options with the lowest power consumption and highest capacity possible.
Magnetoresistive Random Access Memory (MRAM) is part of the next generation of storage devices expected to meet these needs. Researchers at the Advanced Institute for Materials Research (WPI-AIMR) investigated a cobalt-manganese-iron alloy thin film that demonstrates a high perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA)—key aspects for fabricating MRAM devices using spintronics.
The findings were published in Science and Technology of Advanced Materials on November 13, 2024.
Heat management at the nanoscale has long been a cornerstone of advanced technological applications, ranging from high-performance electronics to quantum computing. Addressing this critical challenge, we have been deeply intrigued by the emerging field of thermotronics, which focuses on manipulating heat flux in ways analogous to how electronics control electric energy. Among its most promising advancements are quantum thermal diodes, which enable directional heat control, and quantum thermal transistors, which regulate heat flow with precision.
Thermal diodes, much like their electrical counterparts, provide unidirectional heat transfer, allowing heat to flow in one direction while blocking it in the reverse. We find this capability revolutionary for heat management, as it has the potential to transform numerous fields.
For instance, thermal diodes can significantly improve the cooling of high-performance electronics, where heat dissipation is a major bottleneck. They could also enable more efficient energy harvesting by converting waste heat into usable energy, contributing to sustainability efforts.
A team of researchers at the University of Birmingham in the United Kingdom has made a significant breakthrough in physics by visualizing the shape of a single photon for the first time. This achievement was facilitated by an innovative computer model that simplifies the complex interaction between light and matter, a major challenge in the fields of physics and quantum mechanics.
Photons, the particles of light, have long captivated scientists. Since their discovery, it has been proven that light behaves both as a wave and a particle, a phenomenon known as wave-particle duality. This concept, which took centuries to be accepted, has been pivotal for the advancement of quantum mechanics, the branch of physics that studies subatomic interactions.
Photons are central to many phenomena, including lighting, telecommunications, and even touchscreen technology. However, despite their significance, the precise nature of their shape remained unknown until this team of researchers discovered a new way to visualize them.
Ubitium doesn’t just envision a single Universal Processor; they’re aiming to build an entire lineup, ranging from tiny embedded devices to high-performance computing systems that could potentially compete with the largest chips from Nvidia, AMD, and Intel.
The potential upsides are tantalizing. For one, Ubitium claims its Universal Processor can deliver 10 to 100 times better performance per cost compared to today’s dedicated chips.
Northwestern University engineers have achieved quantum teleportation over fiber optic cables already carrying Internet traffic, an advance that could simplify the infrastructure needed for quantum computing and advanced sensing technologies, the university is reporting.
The study, published in Optica, demonstrates that quantum communication can coexist with classical Internet signals in the same cable.
“This is incredibly exciting because nobody thought it was possible,” said Prem Kumar, an electrical engineering professor at Northwestern and the study’s lead researcher. “Our work shows a path towards next-generation quantum and classical networks sharing a unified fiber optic infrastructure. Basically, it opens the door to pushing quantum communications to the next level.”
For years, they had been losing their central vision—what allows people to see letters, faces, and details clearly. The light-receiving cells in their eyes had been deteriorating, gradually blurring their sight.
But after receiving an experimental eye implant as part of a clinical trial, some study participants can now see well enough to read from a book, play cards, and fill in a crossword puzzle despite being legally blind. Science Corporation, the California-based brain-computer interface company developing the implant, announced the preliminary results this week.
When Max Hodak, CEO of Science and former president of Neuralink, first saw a video of a blind patient reading while using the implant, he was stunned. It led his company, which he founded in 2021 after leaving Neuralink, to acquire the technology from Pixium Vision earlier this year.
Dallas’ Texas Instruments just got a payday through the CHIPS and Science Act, which funds companies manufacturing and researching semiconductors in the U.S.
