Lifeboat Foundation

Certain tasks—such as recognizing patterns and language—are performed highly efficiently by a human brain, requiring only about one ten-thousandth of the energy of a conventional, so-called “von Neumann” computer. One of the reasons lies in the structural differences: In a von Neumann architecture, there is a clear separation between memory and processor, which requires constant moving of large amounts of data. This is time-and energy-consuming—the so-called von Neumann bottleneck. In the brain, the computational operation takes place directly in the data memory and the biological synapses perform the tasks of memory and processor at the same time.

In Forschungszentrum Jülich, scientists have been working for more than 15 years on special data storage devices and components that can have similar properties to the synapses in the human brain. So-called memristive memory devices, also known as memristors, are considered to be extremely fast and energy-saving, and can be miniaturized very well down to the nanometer range. The functioning of memristive cells is based on a very special effect: Their electrical resistance is not constant, but can be changed and reset again by applying an external voltage, theoretically continuously. The change in resistance is controlled by the movement of oxygen ions. If these move out of the semiconducting metal oxide layer, the material becomes more conductive and the electrical resistance drops. This change in resistance can be used to store information.

The processes that can occur in cells are complex and vary depending on the material system. Three researchers from the Jülich Peter Grünberg Institute—Prof. Regina Dittmann, Dr. Stephan Menzel, and Prof. Rainer Waser—have therefore compiled their research results in a detailed review article, “Nanoionic memristive phenomena in metal oxides: the valence change mechanism.” They explain in detail the various physical and chemical effects in memristors and shed light on the influence of these effects on the switching properties of memristive cells and their reliability.

The two-qubit gate can be reached in 6.9 nanoseconds.

* A research group succeeded in executing the world’s fastest two-qubit gate. * Quantum computers and optical tweezers were used to conduct the research. * It is used an ultrafast laser to manipulate cold atoms.

The world’s fastest two-qubit gate has been executed in 6.5 nanoseconds by a group of researchers at the National Institutes of Natural Sciences. A research group led by graduate student Yeelai Chew, Assistant Professor Sylvain de Léséleuc, and Professor Kenji Ohmori used atoms cooled to almost absolute zero and trapped in optical tweezers separated by a micron. By manipulating the atoms with special laser light for 10 picoseconds, they executed the world’s fastest two-qubit gate.

Circa 2021 immortality of the pancreas by inducing pluripotent cells of the pancreas.

A microwell chip facilitates the single-cell characterization of the differentiation of aggregates of human induced pluripotent stem cells into pancreatic duct-like organoids and the discovery of secreted markers of pancreatic carcinogenesis.

A team of researchers in the Faculty of Engineering of The University of Hong Kong (HKU) has developed a coin-sized system that can read weak electrochemical signals and can be used for personalized health monitoring and the measurement of such conditions as diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and mental health. The discovery was featured on the cover of Analytical Chemistry.

The PERfECT System—an acronym for Personalized Electronic Reader for Electrochemical Transistors—is the world’s smallest system of its kind, measuring 1.5 cm x 1.5 cm x 0.2 cm and weighing only 0.4 gram. It is easily wearable, for instance integrated with a smartwatch or as a patch, to allow for continuous monitoring of biosignals such as glucose levels and antibody concentrations in blood and even sweat.

Continue reading “Coin-sized wearable biosensing platform for digital health” »

An international collaboration of scientists has created and observed an entirely new class of vortices—the whirling masses of fluid or air.

Led by researchers from Amherst College in the U.S. and the University of East Anglia and Lancaster University in the U.K., their new paper details the first laboratory studies of these “exotic” whirlpools in an ultracold gas of atoms at temperatures as low as tens of billionths of a degree above absolute zero.

The discovery, announced this week in the journal Nature Communications, may have exciting future implications for implementations of quantum information and computing.

A battle for mainstream GPUs could start later this year.

Intel has released 48 benchmarks that show its upcoming Arc A750 GPU should be able to trade blows with Nvidia’s RTX 3,060 running modern games. While Intel set its expectations low for its Arc GPUs last month, the company has now tested its A750 directly against the RTX 3,060 across 42 DirectX 12 titles and six Vulkan games.

Continue reading “Intel shares 48 benchmarks to show its Arc A750 can compete with an RTX 3060” »

Wearable human-machine interface devices, HMIs, can be used to control machines, computers, music players, and other systems. A challenge for conventional HMIs is the presence of sweat on human skin.

In Applied Physics Reviews, scientists at UCLA describe their development of a type of HMI that is stretchable, inexpensive, and waterproof. The device is based on a soft magnetoelastic sensor array that converts mechanical pressure from the press of a finger into an electrical signal.

Continue reading “Human-machine interfaces work underwater, generate their own power” »

Over the past few decades, computers have seen dramatic progress in processing power; however, even the most advanced computers are relatively rudimentary in comparison with the complexities and capabilities of the human brain.

Researchers at the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command’s Army Research Laboratory say this may be changing as they endeavor to design computers inspired by the human brain’s neural structure.

As part of a collaboration with Lehigh University, Army researchers have identified a design strategy for the development of neuromorphic materials.

Deep dive into the nature of consciousness and reality.

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Continue reading “Donald Hoffman Λ Joscha Bach on Consciousness, Free Will, and Gödel [Theolocution]” »