Nanotechnology

 
 
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    ScienceDaily: Nanotechnology News

  • Tiny batteries: 3-D printing could lead to miniaturized medical implants, compact electronics, tiny robots

    18 Jun 2013 | 11:14 am
    Three-dimensional printing can now be used to print lithium-ion microbatteries the size of a grain of sand. The printed microbatteries could supply electricity to tiny devices in fields from medicine to communications, including many that have lingered on lab benches for lack of a battery small enough to fit the device, yet provide enough stored energy to power them.

  • Working backward: Computer-aided design of zeolite templates

    18 Jun 2013 | 7:20 am
    Taking a page from computer-aided drug designers, researchers have developed a computational method that chemists can use to tailor the properties of zeolites, one of the world's most-used industrial minerals. The method allows chemists to work backward by first considering the type of zeolite they wish to make and then creating the organic template needed to produce it.

  • Which qubit my dear? New method to distinguish between neighboring quantum bits

    18 Jun 2013 | 7:17 am
    Researchers have proposed a new way to distinguish between quantum bits that are placed only a few nanometers apart in a silicon chip, taking them a step closer to the construction of a large-scale quantum computer. In a significant feat of atomic engineering, they were also able to read-out the spins of individual electrons on a cluster of phosphorus atoms that had been placed precisely in silicon.

  • 'Chemical architects' build materials with potential applications in drug delivery and gas storage

    17 Jun 2013 | 11:23 am
    Home remodelers understand the concept of improving original foundations with more modern elements. Using this same approach -- but with chemistry -- researchers have now designed a family of materials that could make drug delivery, gas storage, and gas transport more efficient and at a lower cost.

  • Efficient and inexpensive: Researchers develop catalyst material for fuel cells

    17 Jun 2013 | 8:12 am
    Efficient, robust and economic catalyst materials hold the key to achieving a breakthrough in fuel cell technology. Scientists have developed a material for converting hydrogen and oxygen to water using a tenth of the typical amount of platinum that was previously required. With the aid of state-of-the-art electron microscopy, the researchers discovered that the function of the nanometre-scale catalyst particles is decisively determined by their geometric shape and atomic structure.
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    Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories

  • Research duo develop new green way to synthesize vanillin from sawdust

    19 Jun 2013 | 8:00 am
    (Phys.org) —Chemical researchers D K Abdullah and Ahmad Shamsuri of University Putra Malaysia have found a way to synthesize vanillin from sawdust in an environmentally friendly way. In their paper they've uploaded to the preprint server arXiv, the two describe how they used an ionic liquid to dissolve lignin found in rubber tree sawdust to produce vanillin.

  • An environmentally friendly battery made from wood

    19 Jun 2013 | 7:30 am
    Taking inspiration from trees, scientists have developed a battery made from a sliver of wood coated with tin that shows promise for becoming a tiny, long-lasting, efficient and environmentally friendly energy source. Their report on the device—1,000 times thinner than a sheet of paper—appears in the journal Nano Letters.

  • First known monodactyl dinosaur adding knowledge to the evolution and biogeography of alvarezsauroids

    19 Jun 2013 | 7:20 am
    The alvarezsauroid theropod Linhenykus monodactylus from the Upper Cretaceous of Inner Mongolia, China is the first known monodactyl non−avian dinosaur, providing important information on the complex patterns of manual evolution seen in alvarezsauroids. In a paper published in the journal of Acta Palaeontologica Polonica 58 (1), Dr. XU Xing, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology (IVPP), Chinese Academy of Sciences, and his team provide a detailed description of the osteology of this taxon. Linhenykus shows a number of features that are transitional between…

  • Sound waves precisely position nanowires

    19 Jun 2013 | 7:17 am
    (Phys.org) —The smaller components become, the more difficult it is to create patterns in an economical and reproducible way, according to an interdisciplinary team of Penn State researchers who, using sound waves, can place nanowires in repeatable patterns for potential use in a variety of sensors, optoelectronics and nanoscale circuits.

  • Pearly perfection

    19 Jun 2013 | 7:12 am
    The mystery of how pearls form into the most perfectly spherical large objects in nature may have an unlikely explanation, scientists are proposing in a new study. It appears in ACS' journal Langmuir, named for 1932 Nobel Laureate Irving Langmuir.
 
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    the Foresight Institute

  • Mass production of higher quality oligonucelotides to spur DNA nanotechnology

    Jim Lewis
    6 Jun 2013 | 12:17 pm
    An illustration of the production of oligonucleotides. Credit: Björn Högberg Currently structural DNA nanotechnology, either scaffolded DNA origami or DNA bricks, is the most promising method to build arbitrarily complex multi-million-atom atomically precise structures (see, for example these posts from the past six months Re-engineering a junction to give a new twist to DNA nanotechnology, Testing and improving scaffolded DNA origami for molecular nanotechnology, and Arbitrarily complex 3D DNA nanostructures built from DNA bricks). One of the major limitations of these methods, however, is…

  • Quantum dot conduction impacted by stoichiometry, not dangling bonds

    Stephanie C
    29 May 2013 | 4:05 pm
    PbS quantum dot array. Credit: MIT Quantum dots are semiconducting, nanoscale clusters that show electronic characteristics distinct from both bulk-scale materials and single molecules. Their special characteristics make quantum dots attractive for a broad range of potential applications, including photovoltaics and nanoscale transistors. The size and shape of quantum dots impact electrical properties and can therefore be used to tune the dots (for example, for absorption/emission of desired wavelengths of light). In the case of photovoltaic cells, the performance of quantum dots has not…

  • Germanane: germanium's answer to graphane

    Stephanie C
    15 May 2013 | 2:44 pm
    credit: Goldberger et al. Soon after graphene sheets were being produced on a laboratory scale routinely, researchers began producing the hydrogenated version graphane (with a hydrogen atom on each carbon). This step is one of many approaches aimed at harnessing graphene’s powerful conductivity and is also being explored for hydrogen storage and other potential applications (more info in this 2009 ScienceDaily article From Graphene to Graphane…). Despite the divergence from planarity which naturally accompanies the shift from sp2 to sp3 hybridization, graphane is considered a 2D…

  • Drexler's book tour extends to U.S. May6-9

    Stephanie C
    4 May 2013 | 3:27 pm
    Recently we pointed at a Forbe’s interview with Eric Drexler, in anticipation of his pending new book Radical Abundance. The book  has shipped, and Drexler’s tour schedule now includes a few stops on the coasts of the U.S: New York: May 6th Los Angeles: May 8th & 9th Seattle: May 9th Find exact times and locations on Drexler’s website, and find more information about the book from publisher Public Affairs and/or from your favorite book store. If you’ve been imagining an updated version of Nanosystems, you’re in for a surprise. The book invites us to take a…

  • Silicene: silicon's answer to graphene

    Stephanie C
    1 May 2013 | 2:50 pm
    Credit: Le Lay et al. On the list of potential post-silicon materials for electronics and chips is none other than silicon. More specifically, silicene — 2D sheets of hexagonally arranged silicon atoms, structurally analogous to graphene and experimentally characterized by physicist Guy Le Lay of Aix-Marseille University in France (2012 abstract here). While graphene possesses exceptional performance qualities, it can’t be directly swapped in to existing silicon-based industry and technology. As described last year in the ExtremeTech article Silicene discovered: Single-layer silicon…
 
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    Nanotechnology News

  • Spot-welding graphene nanoribbons atom by atom

    19 Jun 2013 | 12:00 am
    Scientists at Aalto University, Finland and Utrecht University, the Netherlands have created single atom contacts between gold and graphene nanoribbons.

  • Nanoparticle opens the door to clean-energy alternatives

    18 Jun 2013 | 12:00 am
    Cheaper clean-energy technologies could be made possible thanks to a new discovery. An important chemical reaction that generates hydrogen from water is effectively triggered -- or catalyzed -- by a nanoparticle composed of nickel and phosphorus, two inexpensive elements that are abundant on Earth. The research team is led by Raymond Schaak, a professor of chemistry at Penn State University.

  • Unzipped nanotubes unlock potential for batteries

    17 Jun 2013 | 12:00 am
    Graphene nanoribbons and tin oxide make an effective anode for lithium ion batteries, as discovered in early tests at Rice University.

  • Controlling magnetic clouds in graphene

    16 Jun 2013 | 12:00 am
    Wonder material graphene can be made magnetic and its magnetism switched on and off at the press of a button, opening a new avenue towards electronics with very low energy consumption.

  • Nano-thermometer enables first atomic-scale heat transfer measurements

    15 Jun 2013 | 12:00 am
    In findings that could help overcome a major technological hurdle in the road toward smaller and more powerful electronics, an international research team involving University of Michigan engineering researchers, has shown the unique ways in which heat dissipates at the tiniest scales.
 
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    Nanotechnology and Development News

  • Can Nanotech Save Dying Shrimp Farms?

    18 Jun 2013 | 7:51 am
    Farmers in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam, have suffered severe losses over the past several years due to shrimp succumbing to diseases and dying in large numbers. Nguyen Van Buoi, the head of Ben Tre Province's Aquaculture Division, said nearly 700 of the 3,800 hectares of intensive and semi-intensive shrimp farming are currently affected by the disease. The two common diseases causing the problems are the white spot syndrome and acute hepatopancreatic necrosis syndrome. Test results have shown that a nanosilver solution has the ability to kill several bacteria implicated in the diseases, as well…

  • Nanoparticles Helping to Recover More Oil

    18 Jun 2013 | 7:47 am
    Nanoparticles could help petroleum companies recover oil left behind in abandoned oil wells. More than half a reservoir’s oil can be left behind due to the difficulty and expense required for removal. Oil companies, to maintain pressure within a reservoir, displace oil by injecting water. The water forces out all the oil located in areas near the injection point. Eventually, however, water injection loses its effect, and water begins emerging from the production well instead of oil. Once this happens, oil companies have little choice but to shut down the well. Now researchers at the Centre…

  • Nanotechnology for Green Innovation - A New OECD Paper

    18 Jun 2013 | 7:43 am
    The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Working Party on Nanotechnology (WPN) has released a new paper, “Nanotechnology for Green Innovation.” The paper brings together information collected through discussions and projects relevant to the development and use of nanotechnology for green innovation. Much of the report relies upon the preliminary results from the WPN project on the Responsible Development of Nanotechnology, as well as conclusions from a symposium, “Assessing the Economic Impact of Nanotechnology,” held in March 2012, and organized by the WPN and…

  • Molecular Nanotech: So Long, Scarcity, Hello Healthier, Longer Lives

    13 Jun 2013 | 10:22 am
    In this opinion piece, Dick Pelletier, a columnist who writes about future science and technologies, says molecular nanotechnology “promises a utopian future with scarcity-free lifestyles for everyone on the planet; and healthcare miracles that could one day push human lifespan to the edge of immortality.” Scientists must first, however, create a tiny microscopic-size tool called a fabricator that is able to grasp individual atoms and molecules and form them into objects. Futurists believe the first fabricators could be developed by the early 2020s. Nanofactories, with billions of…

  • U of T Breakthrough Allows Fast, Reliable Identification of Pathogens -- University of Toronto

    13 Jun 2013 | 10:18 am
    Researchers at the University of Toronto, Canada, have developed an electronic chip able to analyze blood and other clinical samples for infectious bacteria with record-breaking speed. Current methods of culturing bacteria in a laboratory can take days to report the specific source of the infection, and even longer to pinpoint the correct antibiotic to clear the infection. The new technology, however, is able to identify the pathogen in minutes, while also looking for many different bacteria and drug resistant markers. Shana Kelley, a senior author of the study, said, “Overuse of…
 
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    TINC's Posts - Nanopaprika.eu - The International NanoScience Community

  • Research and industry frontrunners gather in Dublin at the EuroNanoForum, Europe’s largest nanotechnology conference

    TINC
    18 Jun 2013 | 12:54 pm
    DUBLIN, 18 June 2013 – The EuroNanoForum 2013 starts today at the Convention Centre in Dublin, Ireland. The 6th biannual conference is the place for the global nanotechnology community to hear about the latest research findings, to convey visions for the market impact of nanotechnology, and to demonstrate commercial products at the Nanotech Europe exhibition. The event brings together the field’s top scientists, leading international companies and high-level decision-makers in order to advance the beneficial use of nanotechnology. EuroNanoForum 2013 looks at the whole picture of…

  • Abstract submission deadline: June 24! International Symposium in Applied Bioimaging-From molecule to man | Porto, Portugal, October 3 - 4, 2013

    TINC
    18 Jun 2013 | 12:26 pm
    Dear colleagues,  After the success of the 1st International Symposium in Applied Bioimaging, hosted by INEB and co-organized with IPATIMUP and IBMC, we are very pleased to announce this year’s event, that will take place in Porto on October 3-4, under the topic – From molecule to man.  The Symposium targets those who have an interest in the application of bioimaging, especially in the field of biomaterials, regenerative medicine and nanomedicine.  The symposium will have the duration of two days, preceded by a hands-on workshop on bioimaging (held on October 2). Lectures will…

  • Nanomedicine - Capture and detection of cancer cells in whole blood with magnetic–optical nanoovals

    TINC
    17 Jun 2013 | 7:30 am
    Title: Capture and detection of cancer cells in whole blood with magnetic–optical nanoovals Authors: Saheel Bhana​‌, Elise Chaffin​‌, Yongmei Wang​‌, Sanjay R Mishra​‌ & Xiaohua Huang Abstract: Aim: To develop a simple assay for the capture and detection of rare cancer cells in whole blood using iron oxide–gold (IO–Au) nanoparticles. Materials & methods: IO–Au nanoovals (NOVs) were synthesized, coated with Raman tags and linked with antibodies targeting breast cancer. An integrated system was constructed for on-line magnetic cell capture and surface-enhanced…

  • Phd Opportunity In Physics At King's College London In The Experimental Biophysics and Nanotechnology Group

    TINC
    17 Jun 2013 | 7:15 am
    Applications are invited from exceptional candidates for PhD studentships in the Experimental Biophysics and Nanotechnology group. Description Particular area of research include nanophotonics, plasmonics, coherent scattering, scattering in random media, single molecule spectroscopies, quantum optics, ultrafast optical spectroscopies, non-linear optics, random lasing, photonic networks, light transport in complex media, fluorescence spectroscopy and microscopy, scanning probe spectroscopies, bio and nano imaging, nanoparticles, nano emulsion, electronic materials, sintered electronic…

  • Ph.D. and junior Postdoc positions in computational physics applied to nanomedicine - University of Udine, Italy

    TINC
    13 Jun 2013 | 1:45 pm
    The "MOlecular NAnoscience for LIfe Science Applications" (MONALISA) group at the University of Udine, Italy, invites applications for Ph.D. and junior Postdoc positions in computational physics applied to nanomedicine. The project will primarily involve the use and development of Molecular Dynamics and Monte Carlo based methods to introduce and develop novel strategies for the design and optimisation of biosensors. The ideal candidate is expected to have a strong motivation in applying those computational techniques to problems of medical interest, while their prior knowledge is preferable…
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    Chemicals & Nanomaterials

  • Reality check on TSCA reform legislation

    Richard Denison
    5 Jun 2013 | 6:49 am
    By Richard DenisonRichard Denison, Ph.D. is a Senior Scientist. [NOTE:  This post was mostly written before Monday’s sad news of the death of Senator Lautenberg.  I have decided to post it now, both out of admiration for his steadfast determination to advance meaningful reform of the Toxic Substances Control Act even in a tough political environment, and to clarify and elaborate on EDF’s position supporting the introduction of the new legislation.] Since the May 22 introduction of the bipartisan Chemical Safety Improvement Act of 2013 (S. 1009), co-sponsored by the late Senator…

  • EDF statement on the passing of Senator Frank Lautenberg

    EDF Blogs
    3 Jun 2013 | 1:35 pm
    By EDF BlogsIn Memoriam: Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) “We at EDF join in mourning today’s death of Sen. Frank Lautenberg. “Over his long career, Frank Lautenberg was a tireless advocate for protecting America’s health and environment. As a member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, he helped pass laws that have made our air and water cleaner, promoted clean energy and made our families healthier. “EDF had the honor of working with him many times over the years, most recently on one of his top priorities — a bipartisan effort to protect Americans from the…

  • My mother is not Angelina Jolie

    Rachel Shaffer
    21 May 2013 | 3:42 am
    By Rachel ShafferRachel Shaffer is a research assistant. Last week, Angelina Jolie announced that she recently had a double mastectomy: surgery to remove both of her breasts. She chose to undergo such a difficult procedure because she, like her mother who had breast cancer (and died of ovarian cancer), carries the BRCA1 gene, a genetic mutation that significantly raises her risk of breast and ovarian cancer. While Jolie does not have cancer, this surgery lowers her chances of developing the disease in the future. That otherwise healthy women are choosing to take such drastic steps to reduce…

  • Why can’t ACC tell the truth about the Safe Chemicals Act?

    Richard Denison
    6 May 2013 | 3:55 am
    By Richard DenisonRichard Denison, Ph.D. is a Senior Scientist. It’s very disheartening to see just how far the American Chemistry Council (ACC) has moved away from anything resembling a good-faith effort to debate and advance meaningful reform of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA).  There’s more than enough in TSCA reform for stakeholders to debate and disagree about without adding distortions and outright falsehoods to the mix, yet ACC seems intent on doing just that. The latest indication?  An April 16, 2013 post to ACC’s blog titled “A new year, but the same unworkable Safe…

  • April brings showers…and a flurry of new studies on the risks of perfluorinated chemicals

    Rachel Shaffer
    30 Apr 2013 | 6:21 am
    By Rachel ShafferRachel Shaffer is a research assistant. What do waterproof jackets, car wax, and non-stick pans have in common? Aside from being great Father’s Day presents (Dad, I’m thinking ahead this year!), they also all are made with perfluorinated compounds, or PFCs. There are hundreds of different PFCs, and their oil- and water-resistant properties make them useful in a variety of products, from cookware and carpets to food-packaging and electronics.   Unfortunately, these chemicals have less desirable properties as well. Thanks to their strong molecular bonds, PFCs do not…
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    Metamodern

  • TEDx talk in Lisbon, week in Portugal

    Eric Drexler
    17 Jun 2013 | 2:01 pm
    I’m giving a TEDx talk tomorrow morning (“A Future of Radical Abundance: Transforming the Material Basis of Civilization”), then talks at several Universities in Portugal, all invited and arranged by the United States Embassy in Lisbon. Back to Oxford next week.

  • Writeup on APM now cross-posted at Nanowerk

    Eric Drexler
    11 Jun 2013 | 4:15 am
    See “The physical basis of high-throughput atomically precise manufacturing”.

  • Must-read papers for anyone who practices, manages, or thinks about systems engineering

    Eric Drexler
    6 Jun 2013 | 10:21 am
    Larger pipes, smaller motors, surprising improvements While in Baku, I met with Amory Lovins, a remarkable physicist / engineer / policy analyst who has changed the world’s understanding of energy systems, how they work, and how they can be radically improved. Amory’s decades of experience and thought have led to deep insights regarding not only energy systems, but systems engineering itself. In his work, Amory has identified surprising (even shocking) gaps between technological potential and engineering results, gaps opened by a failure to frame problems correctly, to consider…

  • Baku blogging

    Eric Drexler
    2 Jun 2013 | 9:04 pm
    On the road and speaking today: Baku Futures Forum Next Big Things for the Future of Azerbaijan: Implications for Action Today (Post-oil Economy) June 3, 2013 Hilton Hotel, Baku Organizers: Azerbaijan Future Studies Society, The Millennium Project Partners: Ministry of Communications and Information Technologies of Azerbaijan Centre for Strategic Studies under the President of Azerbaijan, and Azerbaijan State Economic University. International speakers and participants from NASA, US National Science Foundation, Russian Academy of Natural Sciences, Chinese Academy of Social Science,…

  • A new introduction: “APM in brief” (and its physical principles)

    Eric Drexler
    23 May 2013 | 5:05 pm
    A new introduction “APM in brief” (see the column to the right) outlines the importance of atomically precise manufacturing and the current state of progress. “The Physical Basis of High-Throughput Atomically Precise Manufacturing” (see link at the end) is a new page on the technology itself. I hope that these items help to clarify the topic, especially for new readers. I welcome your comments and questions.
 
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    Soft Machines

  • Decelerating change in the pharmaceutical industry

    Richard Jones
    13 Jun 2013 | 5:31 am
    Medical progress will have come to a complete halt by the year 2329. I reach this anti-Kurzweilian conclusion from a 2012 paper – Diagnosing the decline in pharmaceutical R&D efficiency – which demonstrates that, far from showing an accelerating rate of innovation, the pharmaceutical industry has for the last 60 years been seeing exponentially diminishing returns on its research and development effort. At the date of the anti-singularity, the cost of developing a single new drug will have exceeded the world’s total economic output. The extrapolation is ludicrous, of…

  • Innovation policy and long term economic growth in the UK – a story in four graphs

    Richard Jones
    10 May 2013 | 4:16 am
    I have a post up on the blog of the Sheffield Political Economy Research Institute – The failures of supply side innovation policy – discussing the connection between recent innovation policy in the UK and our current crisis of economic growth. Rather than cross-posting it here, I tell the same story in four graphs. 1. The UK’s current growth crisis follows a sustained period of national disinvestment in R&D Red, left axis. The percentage deviation of real GDP per person from the 1948-1979 trend line, corresponding to 2.57% annual growth. Sources: solid line, 2012 National…

  • Nanotechnology, K. Eric Drexler and me

    Richard Jones
    21 Mar 2013 | 1:38 am
    Next week – on the 26th March – I’m participating in a discussion event sponsored by the thinktank Policy Exchange at NESTA, in London. Also on the panel is K. Eric Drexler, the originator of the idea of nanotechnology in its most expansive form, as an emerging technology which, when fully developed, will have truly transformational effects. It will, in this view, allow us to make pretty much any material, device or artefact for little or no cost, we will be able to extend human lifespans almost indefinitely using cell-by-cell surgery, and we will create computers so…

  • Fulfilling the promises of emerging biotechnologies

    Richard Jones
    18 Jan 2013 | 7:21 am
    At the end of last year, the Nuffield Foundation for Bioethics published a report on the ethics of emerging biotechnologies, called Emerging Biotechnologies: technology, choice and the public good. I was on the working party for that report, and this piece reflects a personal view about some of its findings. A shorter version was published in Research Fortnight (subscription required). In a speech at the Royal Society last November George Osborne said that, as Chancellor of the Exchequer, it is his job “to focus on the economic benefits of scientific excellence”. He then listed eight key…

  • We sold out our energy future

    Richard Jones
    7 Dec 2012 | 2:25 am
    Everyone should know that the industrial society we live in depends on access to plentiful, convenient, cheap energy – the last two hundred years of rapid economic growth has been underpinned by the large scale use of fossil fuels. And everyone should know that the effect of burning those fossil fuels has been to markedly increase the carbon dioxide content of the atmosphere, resulting in a changing climate, with potentially dangerous but still uncertain consequences. But a transition from fossil fuels to low carbon sources of energy isn’t going to take place quickly; existing low…
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    Next Big Future

  • China's Currency Could Appreciate 500% In Next Three Decades according to Jim Rogers

    19 Jun 2013 | 12:59 am
    Famed investor and co-founder of the Quantum Fund, Jim Rogers said in Shanghai that he expects renminbi, China’s currency, to appreciate 300, 400 or even 500 percent in the next 20 to 30 years. Jim Rogers was a partner of George Soros. Jim has a net worth of over $300 million. He wrote books predicting the boom in commodity prices since the 1990s and has been a China bull since at least 1984. Compared to the yuan’s value in 2005 (when it was 8.3 to 1 US $), Rogers expects it to appreciate by as much as 500 percent in the future. This would be about 1.7 to 1 US$. Rogers went as far as to…

  • Elon Musk will keep Spacex Private until the Goal of Human Colonies on Mars are Achieved

    18 Jun 2013 | 3:26 pm
    Elon Musk has said that there will be no initial public offering (IPO) of SpaceX stock before humans have begun to settle Mars. “No near term plans to IPO SpaceX,” Musk wrote in a short message posted to Twitter June 6. “Only possible in very long term when Mars Colonial Transporter is flying regularly.” The Mars Colonial Transporter is a conceptual vehicle that Musk has discussed as part of his company’s stated long-term goal: sending human settlers to Mars. Solar City and Tesla Motors are now publicly traded companies which provide Elon Musk with about $3 billion of his net worth.

  • Future of Asymetric warfare, Gini coefficient, and DARPA reinvention of traditional military powers

    18 Jun 2013 | 11:25 am
    There are several articles and researchers who believe that asymetric warfare will become dominant in the future. This is usually based on advanced tiny drones, cheap bioweapons, dirty nukes or massive nuclear proliferation and molecular nanotechnology. Eric Drexler has talked about unconstrained access to an unconstrained range of [nanotech]-level technologies would place unpredictable capabilities in the hands of hostile non-state actors, leading to unacceptable and unpredictable risks. These forecasts of asymetric warfare becoming triumphant assume that there is unconstrained action or…

  • Google's Billion connection deep learning neural net that was $1 million in hardware last year can be built with $20,000 in GPUs this year

    18 Jun 2013 | 11:24 am
    You can now build a 1-billion-connection model with $20,000 worth of hardware. It opens up the world for researchers to improve the performance of speech recognition and computer vision. Down the line, this research on souped-up versions of neural networks running on GPUs could give rise to more powerful — and financially lucrative — GPU-based applications at large tech companies. Ng’s team also built a super-sized, 11-billion-connection version of the cat detector for roughly $100,000. He wants to build a high-performance computer that will allow researchers who don’t have the deep…

  • New Particle Hints at Four-Quark Matter

    18 Jun 2013 | 11:24 am
    Two experiments have detected the signature of a new particle, which may combine quarks in a way not seen before. Particle physicists seem to have a pretty good handle on the fundamental particles of the universe, but there are some glaring holes in this understanding. Quarks are a good example of this. We know that all nuclear matter is made up of quarks, and we have a pretty good understanding of how two quarks interact at close range. But our quark theory cannot tell us which quark combinations will result in a bound particle or a stable nuclei. All we can go on is experience, and…
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    Boston Business News - Local Boston News | Boston Business Journal

  • Kibits launches Collaborate.com, aiming to transform mobile teamwork

    19 Jun 2013 | 6:00 am
    Boston startup Kibits on Wednesday released a new mobile app and Web app, Collaborate.com, which aims to dramatically simplify the way business teams work together using their mobile devices. The service replaces the Kibits consumer social networking app, since businesses have proven to be the most interested in using the technology, Kibits co-founder and CEO Matt Cutler said in an interview. "The biggest users were business teams, and the answer that came back was, 'We've been searching for a…

  • Childrens' meal ordering service Smart Lunches raises $1.6M

    19 Jun 2013 | 6:00 am
    Boston-based Smart Lunches, an online ordering service for meals provided to children outside of the home, on Wednesday said it has raised $1.6 million in new funding from venture and individual investors. New investors in the round included Menlo Park, Calif.-based Western Technology Investment, Boston-based Romulus Capital, Adelphic Mobile co-founder Jennifer Lum and Black Wolf Group chairman Bill Blass. Returning investors included Boston-based Data Point Capital, which had led a roughly $1…

  • NSA spinoff Sqrrl debuts commercially with tech to set big data free

    19 Jun 2013 | 6:00 am
    Cambridge startup Sqrrl on Wednesday announced the full commercial debut of its database software for powering big-data applications. Founded last year, Sqrrl offers an enterprise version of Apache Accumulo, which lets businesses apply controls to sensitive pieces of data so that the rest of the data doesn't have to be locked up. The company says its software, in limited release, has already been deployed by organizations in government, financial services, health care telecommunications and academia. Sqrrl…

  • Teradyne CFO joins Hittite Microwave board

    19 Jun 2013 | 5:51 am
    Hittite Microwave Corp. (Nasdaq:HITT) in Chelmsford, Mass. has tapped an executive at Teradyne Inc. to join its board of directors. Gregory Beecher, who has sat in the role of CFO at Teradyne (NYSE:TER), a supplier of Automatic Test Equipment used to test semiconductors, wireless products, storage and electronic systems, since 2001 and treasurer since 2997, was elected as a member of the Hittite board and appointed to serve as a member of its Audit Committee. Founded in 1985, Hittite Microwave…

  • Blue Cross to launch new health plan for colleges

    19 Jun 2013 | 4:26 am
    Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts is rolling out a health plan specifically for the 60 or so private universities in Massachusetts, which currently purchase health insurance independently. The new plan, called Higher Ed Blue, will help colleges to save up to 5 percent off of premiums by the second year. The insurer said the unique population was ripe for a product specifically for them. “Colleges have very low turnover, some tenured professors can stay for 30, 40 years,” said Larry Croes,…
 
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    Carpe Nano

  • Free vs. Freeing

    6 Jun 2013 | 6:49 pm
    This essay was originally posted on Patricia Seybold's Customers.comDrive through the green hills of the Virginia horse country: dotting the rolling landscape are lavishestates of the truly rich, distant stone monuments to old money overlooking countless acres of beauty and protection. Nearer the cities lie gated communities of the merely well-off, cloisters of fine homes and upscale condominiums onto whose streets only the authorized are admitted by uniformed guards. Then come the jumbled neighborhoods of the common, for whom horses are perhaps something to bet on and cheer if they’re of…

  • Here's a clue for critics of Apple's "Genius" ads

    30 Jul 2012 | 11:20 am
    What should one advertise?Hint: There's an old saying, "If you've got it, flaunt it."And that's what Apple is doing with its new Genius ads, in heavy rotation during the Olympics.  Personally, I find them a bit annoying, but that's the point: they're not for me. They're for computer users who have spent 45 artery-bursting minutes listening to horrible music, waiting for an incomprehensible, script-reading troll working a phone bank in a far-off land to not solve their problem. They're for other companies' customers, in other words.In advertising, you spotlight your differentiations.

  • An industry pundit whiffs the ball

    22 Feb 2012 | 9:04 pm
    Like most techie types, I watch Apple's turnaround into the world's most valuable company with wonderment and admiration.  It helps that I'm a fan and user of their products from the Macintosh 512 days.  I've had great luck with Macs and iDevices and have enjoyed unbelievably good support from Apple itself.  And there's not enough popcorn in the world to feed my fascination as the company once again re-invents the notion of personal computing right before our very eyes.In the limited time I have for what's become my favorite spectator sport, among my top go-to blogs for matters…

  • Another Reprieve for Moore's Law

    7 Jan 2012 | 8:26 pm
    Current semiconductor line widths are pushing 20nm, or less than a dozen copper atoms wide.  But just as pinching a hose reduces its flow, the narrowing of current traces on microchips has suggested the impending end of the exponential increase in integrated-circuit densities known as Moore's Law.Not so fast.  As reported in "Ohm’s Law Survives to the Atomic Scale" in Science v. 335 n. 6064, interconnects with the current-carrying capacity of today's copper traces can be formed by dotting four-atom-wide silicon pathways with phosphorus atoms:We report on the fabrication of wires…

  • Atheists will have to do better than this

    25 Dec 2011 | 7:16 pm
    Christmas Day musings...A nice little e-flurry has built around several bloggers' trading of a provocative comment from a book by Penn Jillette:"There is no god and that’s the simple truth. If every trace of any single religion died out and nothing were passed on, it would never be created exactly that way again. There might be some other nonsense in its place, but not that exact nonsense. If all of science were wiped out, it would still be true and someone would find a way to figure it all out again."Sigh.  Where to begin.Well, for starters, an exactly parallel construct would…
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