SciTech #ScienceSunday Digest - 21/2016.
SciTech #ScienceSunday Digest - 21/2016.
Permalink here: http://www.scitechdigest.net/2016/05/massive-photon-theories-chiral-mirror.html
Massive photon theories, Chiral mirror enzymes, TensorFlow ASIC, Efficient solar cells, Carbon computing, Better autonomous vehicles, Fast wireless Internet, Fixing mitochondria, 3D printed hair, Smartphone urine test.
1. Dark Energy & Massive Photons
A new theory suggests that if photons have a mass of about 10^-70kg then the way that photons interact with different fields and matter in the Universe would lead to a repulsive effect that looks a lot like dark energy causing the Universe to expand http://www.sciencealert.com/heavy-light-could-explain-dark-energy. This replaces the current unexplainable cosmological constant with an unmeasurable property in the tiny mass of photons. Of course it also goes against all known physics that demands light have zero mass. Still interesting as it ties in with recent work on the EM Drive and the Unruh radiation explanation for acceleration that is dependent on photons having a small inertial mass. In related news light has been discovered to have another property thought to be impossible and not in line with current physics, that of half-integer angular momentum https://www.tcd.ie/news_events/articles/physicists-discover-a-new-form-of-light/6815#.Vzv11d8rJR0.
2. Synthetic Chiral Mirror Enzymes
All of life is built on and deals with handed or chiral molecules: all amino acids are left-handed while all DNA twists like a right-handed screw. For the first time a synthetic chiral mirror-image polymerase protein that can both copy mirror-DNA and transcribe it to mirror-RNA has been engineered http://www.nature.com/news/mirror-image-enzyme-copies-looking-glass-dna-1.19918. This part of a wider research program to make a complete mirror-image cell in which all proteins, polynucleotides, and other molecules are chiral, mirror images of a normal cell. This is interesting because mirror-image chemistries are incompatible with each other and so such a biological system would have natural resistance to normal viruses, degradation enzymes, and potentially have potent effects.
3. Machine Learning AISC by Google
Google revealed that it developed, tested, deployed, and used - over the last year - a custom ASIC chip called a Tensor Processing Unit (TPU) specifically for machine learning and tailored to their TensorFlow platform https://cloudplatform.googleblog.com/2016/05/Google-supercharges-machine-learning-tasks-with-custom-chip.html. TPUs deliver 10x better performance per watt for machine learning, leaping ahead 7 years with regards to Moore’s Law. They are currently used by 100 teams in Google and power things like RankBrain, StreetView, and AlphaGo and are being made available to third party developers. Meanwhile machine learning is being applied to controlling Bose-Einstein Condensates http://www.anu.edu.au/news/all-news/artificial-intelligence-replaces-physicists and discover new materials http://www.nature.com/news/can-artificial-intelligence-create-the-next-wonder-material-1.19850.
4. Solar Cells Reach 34.5% Efficiency
A new four-junction solar cell demonstrates non-concentrated light-to-energy conversion efficiency of 34.5%, significantly improving on the previous record holder at 24% http://newsroom.unsw.edu.au/news/science-tech/milestone-solar-cell-efficiency-unsw-engineers. As a comparison recent technology roadmaps aimed to achieve 35% by 2050. Multi-junction architectures are more complex and costly than simpler alternatives but the team are working to reduce manufacturing complexity and reduce the cost of such cells to help facilitate broader uptake.
5. Carbon Computing Advances
Akhan Semiconductor is set to announce a diamond integrated circuits, and has demonstrated diamond devices running at 100 GHz with 100nm feature size, due mainly to diamond’s vastly superior thermal conductivity compared to silicon http://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1329663. While they wish to revitalise the processor clock race they are focusing initially on power electronics and heat management. Meanwhile a new bilayer graphene-based transistor design also claims the possibility of achieving 100 GHz processing speeds while achieving low-voltage switching http://www.nanowerk.com/nanotechnology-news/newsid=43427.php.
6. Autonomous Vehicles Getting Better
New dynamic planning and control algorithms allow autonomous cars (at least scale models) to powerslide and drift around dirt tracks http://spectrum.ieee.org/cars-that-think/transportation/self-driving/autonomous-mini-rally-car-teaches-itself-to-powerslide. It’ll be interesting to watch this demonstrated in a full-size rally car; such control algorithms will help make autonomous cars safer too. Meanwhile Otto is developing an autonomous self-driving system for the purpose of retrofitting trucks, an attractive, cheaper option for converting existing trucking fleets http://nextbigfuture.com/2016/05/billion-dollar-startup-otto-developing.html.
7. Super-Fast Wireless Internet
Starry, a new Internet service provider from the guy behind failed TV rebroadcaster Aereo, is solving the problem of last-mile high-speed Internet access using their new Starry Router (installed outside the customer’s home) and their own fibered transmitter that is able to serve 600 - 900 routers within a 1km range at speeds of 300Mbps to 1Gbps https://www.technologyreview.com/s/601442/wireless-super-fast-internet-access-is-coming-to-your-home/. As an infrastructure play customer acquisition is $25 instead of $2,500, and this is all made possible due to newer active phased array technologies solving a range of problems including costs, range, and interference. My Australian government National Broadband Network should consider something like this to reduce costs and accelerate roll-out.
8. Compensating for Loss of Mitochondrial Function
Engineering allotropic expression of remaining mitochondrial genes takes another step forward with the recent demonstration of the relocation of another two mitochondrial genes to the cell nucleus with proven targeting to mitochondria in the cell and able to compensate for mitochondria in which these genes have been damaged https://www.fightaging.org/archives/2016/05/announcing-success-in-the-mitosens-project-crowdfunded-at-lifespanio-in-2015/. Only 8 more genes to go to address this mechanism of aging. In related - and utterly fascinating news - we have the discovery of a eukaryotic single-celled organism that appears to have dispensed with its energy-producing mitochondria and replaced it with a different system acquired from bacteria via lateral gene transfer http://www.cell.com/current-biology/abstract/S0960-9822%2816%2930263-9; I’d love to see whether a multicellular organism like a nematode could be engineered with this replacement.
9. 3D Printed Hair
3D printed polymer strands about 100 microns thick produce a surface of well-defined hair that not only provides a soft, different texture for printed objects but can be used to produce surprising effects http://www.engadget.com/2016/05/16/3d-printed-hair-finds-practical-uses/, as can be seen in the video. By making the hairs vibrate for example you can make objects placed on the surface move over it and follow a specific path, or folded onto itself it can produce motors to make objects perform lateral or rotational movement. Of course opposing hairy surfaces can also function as a type of velcro for certain applications. The video is the killer here - really surprising and very clever.
10. Smartphone Urine Test Device
A new microfluidic urinalysis system ensures that paper-based dip-tests receive the correct amount of urine and consistent lighting levels to enable a smartphone (camera) to analyse colour changes over 30 seconds to 2 minutes and provide an accurate diagnosis for any disease detected https://news.stanford.edu/2016/05/16/stanford-engineers-design-home-urine-test-scan-diseases/. At-home, do-it-yourself, point-of-care diagnostic and medical systems are a hot space undergoing a lot of development and this simple urine analysis system using paper dip sticks with 10 colour-changing pads looks like a very convenient and cheap platform that could take advantage of people developing a range of other paper based tests for other disorders.
SciTech Tip Jar: http://www.scitechdigest.net/p/donate.html
Permalink here: http://www.scitechdigest.net/2016/05/massive-photon-theories-chiral-mirror.html
Massive photon theories, Chiral mirror enzymes, TensorFlow ASIC, Efficient solar cells, Carbon computing, Better autonomous vehicles, Fast wireless Internet, Fixing mitochondria, 3D printed hair, Smartphone urine test.
1. Dark Energy & Massive Photons
A new theory suggests that if photons have a mass of about 10^-70kg then the way that photons interact with different fields and matter in the Universe would lead to a repulsive effect that looks a lot like dark energy causing the Universe to expand http://www.sciencealert.com/heavy-light-could-explain-dark-energy. This replaces the current unexplainable cosmological constant with an unmeasurable property in the tiny mass of photons. Of course it also goes against all known physics that demands light have zero mass. Still interesting as it ties in with recent work on the EM Drive and the Unruh radiation explanation for acceleration that is dependent on photons having a small inertial mass. In related news light has been discovered to have another property thought to be impossible and not in line with current physics, that of half-integer angular momentum https://www.tcd.ie/news_events/articles/physicists-discover-a-new-form-of-light/6815#.Vzv11d8rJR0.
2. Synthetic Chiral Mirror Enzymes
All of life is built on and deals with handed or chiral molecules: all amino acids are left-handed while all DNA twists like a right-handed screw. For the first time a synthetic chiral mirror-image polymerase protein that can both copy mirror-DNA and transcribe it to mirror-RNA has been engineered http://www.nature.com/news/mirror-image-enzyme-copies-looking-glass-dna-1.19918. This part of a wider research program to make a complete mirror-image cell in which all proteins, polynucleotides, and other molecules are chiral, mirror images of a normal cell. This is interesting because mirror-image chemistries are incompatible with each other and so such a biological system would have natural resistance to normal viruses, degradation enzymes, and potentially have potent effects.
3. Machine Learning AISC by Google
Google revealed that it developed, tested, deployed, and used - over the last year - a custom ASIC chip called a Tensor Processing Unit (TPU) specifically for machine learning and tailored to their TensorFlow platform https://cloudplatform.googleblog.com/2016/05/Google-supercharges-machine-learning-tasks-with-custom-chip.html. TPUs deliver 10x better performance per watt for machine learning, leaping ahead 7 years with regards to Moore’s Law. They are currently used by 100 teams in Google and power things like RankBrain, StreetView, and AlphaGo and are being made available to third party developers. Meanwhile machine learning is being applied to controlling Bose-Einstein Condensates http://www.anu.edu.au/news/all-news/artificial-intelligence-replaces-physicists and discover new materials http://www.nature.com/news/can-artificial-intelligence-create-the-next-wonder-material-1.19850.
4. Solar Cells Reach 34.5% Efficiency
A new four-junction solar cell demonstrates non-concentrated light-to-energy conversion efficiency of 34.5%, significantly improving on the previous record holder at 24% http://newsroom.unsw.edu.au/news/science-tech/milestone-solar-cell-efficiency-unsw-engineers. As a comparison recent technology roadmaps aimed to achieve 35% by 2050. Multi-junction architectures are more complex and costly than simpler alternatives but the team are working to reduce manufacturing complexity and reduce the cost of such cells to help facilitate broader uptake.
5. Carbon Computing Advances
Akhan Semiconductor is set to announce a diamond integrated circuits, and has demonstrated diamond devices running at 100 GHz with 100nm feature size, due mainly to diamond’s vastly superior thermal conductivity compared to silicon http://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1329663. While they wish to revitalise the processor clock race they are focusing initially on power electronics and heat management. Meanwhile a new bilayer graphene-based transistor design also claims the possibility of achieving 100 GHz processing speeds while achieving low-voltage switching http://www.nanowerk.com/nanotechnology-news/newsid=43427.php.
6. Autonomous Vehicles Getting Better
New dynamic planning and control algorithms allow autonomous cars (at least scale models) to powerslide and drift around dirt tracks http://spectrum.ieee.org/cars-that-think/transportation/self-driving/autonomous-mini-rally-car-teaches-itself-to-powerslide. It’ll be interesting to watch this demonstrated in a full-size rally car; such control algorithms will help make autonomous cars safer too. Meanwhile Otto is developing an autonomous self-driving system for the purpose of retrofitting trucks, an attractive, cheaper option for converting existing trucking fleets http://nextbigfuture.com/2016/05/billion-dollar-startup-otto-developing.html.
7. Super-Fast Wireless Internet
Starry, a new Internet service provider from the guy behind failed TV rebroadcaster Aereo, is solving the problem of last-mile high-speed Internet access using their new Starry Router (installed outside the customer’s home) and their own fibered transmitter that is able to serve 600 - 900 routers within a 1km range at speeds of 300Mbps to 1Gbps https://www.technologyreview.com/s/601442/wireless-super-fast-internet-access-is-coming-to-your-home/. As an infrastructure play customer acquisition is $25 instead of $2,500, and this is all made possible due to newer active phased array technologies solving a range of problems including costs, range, and interference. My Australian government National Broadband Network should consider something like this to reduce costs and accelerate roll-out.
8. Compensating for Loss of Mitochondrial Function
Engineering allotropic expression of remaining mitochondrial genes takes another step forward with the recent demonstration of the relocation of another two mitochondrial genes to the cell nucleus with proven targeting to mitochondria in the cell and able to compensate for mitochondria in which these genes have been damaged https://www.fightaging.org/archives/2016/05/announcing-success-in-the-mitosens-project-crowdfunded-at-lifespanio-in-2015/. Only 8 more genes to go to address this mechanism of aging. In related - and utterly fascinating news - we have the discovery of a eukaryotic single-celled organism that appears to have dispensed with its energy-producing mitochondria and replaced it with a different system acquired from bacteria via lateral gene transfer http://www.cell.com/current-biology/abstract/S0960-9822%2816%2930263-9; I’d love to see whether a multicellular organism like a nematode could be engineered with this replacement.
9. 3D Printed Hair
3D printed polymer strands about 100 microns thick produce a surface of well-defined hair that not only provides a soft, different texture for printed objects but can be used to produce surprising effects http://www.engadget.com/2016/05/16/3d-printed-hair-finds-practical-uses/, as can be seen in the video. By making the hairs vibrate for example you can make objects placed on the surface move over it and follow a specific path, or folded onto itself it can produce motors to make objects perform lateral or rotational movement. Of course opposing hairy surfaces can also function as a type of velcro for certain applications. The video is the killer here - really surprising and very clever.
10. Smartphone Urine Test Device
A new microfluidic urinalysis system ensures that paper-based dip-tests receive the correct amount of urine and consistent lighting levels to enable a smartphone (camera) to analyse colour changes over 30 seconds to 2 minutes and provide an accurate diagnosis for any disease detected https://news.stanford.edu/2016/05/16/stanford-engineers-design-home-urine-test-scan-diseases/. At-home, do-it-yourself, point-of-care diagnostic and medical systems are a hot space undergoing a lot of development and this simple urine analysis system using paper dip sticks with 10 colour-changing pads looks like a very convenient and cheap platform that could take advantage of people developing a range of other paper based tests for other disorders.
SciTech Tip Jar: http://www.scitechdigest.net/p/donate.html
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