Lifeboat Foundation

A team of astrophysicists says they may have found evidence for “cosmic strings”, long-hypothesized defects in the universe left over from its early in its expansion.

Cosmic strings were first suggested in the 1970s by theoretical physicist Tom W. B. Kibble, and later revived in the context of string theory. The one-dimensional strings, far narrower even than a proton, are thought to have sprung into existence in the very first second of the universe and could potentially stretch right across it.

The strings, sometimes referred to as cracks in the universe, had not been detected since they were conceived, though there were a few ideas on how we might. When strings cross, for instance, it could provide us an opportunity to find them.

Tina Woods, serving as Healthy Longevity Champion for the National Innovation Center for Aging, sets forth her vision for a blueprint for healthy longevity for all. Her emphasis is on reaping the “longevity dividend” and achieving five additional years of healthy life expectancy while reducing health and wellbeing inequality. Woods elaborates on the role of emerging technologies like AI, machine learning, and advanced data analysis in comprehending and influencing biological systems related to aging. She also underscores the crucial role of lifestyle changes and the consideration of socio-economic factors in increasing lifespan. The talk also explores the burgeoning field of emotion AI and its application in developing environments for better health outcomes, with a mention of “Longevity Cities,” starting with a trial in Newcastle. In closing, Woods mentions the development of a framework for incentivizing businesses through measurement of their contribution to health in three areas: workforce health, consumer health through products and services, and community health. Woods envisions a future where businesses impacting health negatively are disincentivized, and concludes with the hope that the UK’s healthy longevity innovation mission can harness longevity science and data innovation to improve life expectancy.

00:00:00 — Introduction, National Innovation Center for Aging.
00:00:56 — Discussion on stagnating life expectancy and UK’s life sciences vision.
00:03:50 — Technological breakthroughs (including AI) in analyzing biological systems.
00:06:22 — Understanding what maintains health & wellbeing.
00:08:30 — Hype, hope, important of purpose.
00:10:00 — Psychological aging and “brain capital.“
00:13:15 — Ageism — a barrier to progress in the field of aging.
00:15:46 — Health data, AI and wearables.
00:18:44 — Prevention is key, Health is an asset to invest in.
00:19:13 — Longevity Cities.
00:21:19 — Business for Health and industry incentives.
00:23:13 — Closing.

Continue reading “Harnessing AI & Longevity Science — A Blueprint for Lifespan Extension (Tina Woods)” »

The 2023 Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to three scientists who discovered and developed quantum dots, which are very small particles that can change color depending on their size. Quantum dots are tiny particles of a special kind of material called a semiconductor. They are so small that they behave differently from normal materials. They can absorb and emit light of different colors depending on their size and shape.

You can think of quantum dots as artificial atoms that can be made in a lab! They have some of the same properties as atoms, such as having discrete energy levels (meaning they can only exist in certain distinct energy states, and they cannot have energy values between these specific levels) and being able to form molecules with other quantum dots. But they also have some unique features that make them useful for many applications, such as displays, solar cells, sensors, and medicine, which I shall discuss later in this story!

To grasp the workings of quantum dots, a bit of quantum mechanics knowledge comes in handy. Quantum mechanics teaches us that these tiny entities can possess only specific amounts of energy, and they transition between these energy levels by absorbing or emitting light. The energy of this light is determined by the difference in energy levels. In typical materials like metals or plastics, energy levels are closely packed, forming continuous bands where electrons can move freely, resulting in less specific light absorption or emission. However, in semiconductors like silicon or cadmium selenide, there’s a gap between these bands known as the “band gap.” Electrons can only jump from one band to another by interacting with light having an energy level that precisely matches the band gap, making semiconductors valuable for creating devices like transistors and LEDs.

From LED lights to medical imaging, quantum dots have many varied applications.

The creation of quantum dots earned its developers the Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2023, an invention that could have also been a contender for the Physics Prize. These tiny elements of nanotechnology, which are so miniature that their size dictates their properties, are today used in many useful and practical applications and have even been reported to direct surgeons as they tackle tricky tumor tissue.

Nobel Prize/Twitter.

Continue reading “Chemistry Nobel Prize goes to quantum dots that guide surgeons” »

Ben Dixon, a researcher in the Optical and Quantum Communications Technology Group, explains how the process works: “First, you need to generate pairs of specific entangled qubits (called Bell states) and transmit them in different directions across the network link to two separate quantum repeaters, which capture and store these qubits. One of the quantum repeaters then does a two-qubit measurement between the transmitted and stored qubit and an arbitrary qubit that we want to send across the link in order to interconnect the remote quantum systems. The measurement results are communicated to the quantum repeater at the other end of the link; the repeater uses these results to turn the stored Bell state qubit into the arbitrary qubit. Lastly, the repeater can send the arbitrary qubit into the quantum system, thereby linking the two remote quantum systems.”

To retain the entangled states, the quantum repeater needs a way to store them — in essence, a memory. In 2020, collaborators at Harvard University demonstrated holding a qubit in a single silicon atom (trapped between two empty spaces left behind by removing two carbon atoms) in diamond. This silicon “vacancy” center in diamond is an attractive quantum memory option. Like other individual electrons, the outermost (valence) electron on the silicon atom can point either up or down, similar to a bar magnet with north and south poles. The direction that the electron points is known as its spin, and the two possible spin states, spin up or spin down, are akin to the ones and zeros used by computers to represent, process, and store information. Moreover, silicon’s valence electron can be manipulated with visible light to transfer and store a photonic qubit in the electron spin state. The Harvard researchers did exactly this; they patterned an optical waveguide (a structure that guides light in a desired direction) surrounded by a nanophotonic optical cavity to have a photon strongly interact with the silicon atom and impart its quantum state onto that atom. Collaborators at MIT then showed this basic functionality could work with multiple waveguides; they patterned eight waveguides and successfully generated silicon vacancies inside them all.

Lincoln Laboratory has since been applying quantum engineering to create a quantum memory module equipped with additional capabilities to operate as a quantum repeater. This engineering effort includes on-site custom diamond growth (with the Quantum Information and Integrated Nanosystems Group); the development of a scalable silicon-nanophotonics interposer (a chip that merges photonic and electronic functionalities) to control the silicon-vacancy qubit; and integration and packaging of the components into a system that can be cooled to the cryogenic temperatures needed for long-term memory storage. The current system has two memory modules, each capable of holding eight optical qubits.

The latest research on quantum materials and electron curves could revamp our energy-efficient electronics.

Without full fault tolerance in quantum computers we will never practically get past 100 qubits but full fault tolerance will eventually open up the possibility of billions of qubits and beyond. In a Wright Brothers Kittyhawk moment for Quantum Computing, a fully fault-tolerant algorithm was executed on real qubits. They were only three qubits but this was never done on real qubits before.

This is the start of the fully fault tolerant age of quantum computers. For quantum computers to be the real deal of unlimited computing disruption then we needed full fault tolerance on real qubits.

Researchers demonstrate a prototype engine powered by the quantum statistics of bosons and fermions.

The award honors three scientists who discovered and built quantum dots, which are now used in everything from TVs to medical tools.