A large universal quantum computer is still an engineering dream, but machines designed to leverage quantum effects to solve specific classes of problems—such as D-wave’s computers—are alive and well. But an unlikely rival could challenge these specialized machines: computers built from purposely noisy parts.
This week at the IEEE International Electron Device Meeting (IEDM 2022), engineers unveiled several advances that bring a large-scale probabilistic computer closer to reality than ever before.
Quantum computers are unrivaled for any algorithm that relies on quantum’s complex amplitudes. “But for problems where the numbers are positive, sometimes called stochastic problems, probabilistic computing could be quite competitive,” says Supriyo Datta, professor of electrical and computer engineering at Purdue University and one of the pioneers of probabilistic computing.
The ability to integrate fiber-based quantum information technology into existing optical networks would be a significant step toward applications in quantum communication. To achieve this, quantum light sources must be able to emit single photons with controllable positioning and polarization and at 1.35 and 1.55 micrometer ranges where light travels at minimum loss in existing optical fiber networks, such as telecommunications networks. This combination of features has been elusive until now, despite two decades of research efforts.
Recently, two-dimensional (2D) semiconductors have emerged as a novel platform for next-generation photonics and electronics applications. Although scientists have demonstrated 2D quantum emitters operating at the visible regime, single-photon emission in the most desirable telecom bands has never been achieved in 2D systems.
To solve this problem, researchers at Los Alamos National Laboratory developed a strain engineering protocol to deterministically create two-dimensional quantum light emitters with operating wavelength tunable across O and C telecommunication bands. The polarization of the emissions can be tuned with a magnetic field by harnessing the valley degree of freedom.
Sign up for a Curiosity Stream subscription and also get a free Nebula subscription (the streaming platform built by creators) here: https://curiositystream.com/isaacarthur. In the future humanity may build enormous structures, feats of mega-engineering that may rival planets or even be of greater scope. This episode catalogs roughly 100 major types of Megastructure, from those that are cities in space to those that rival galaxies.
Credits: The Megastructure Compendium. Science & Futurism with Isaac Arthur. Episode 346, June 9, 2022 Written & Produced by Isaac Arthur. Narrated by Isaac Arthur & Sarah Fowler Arthur.
Water and wood may one day be all that’s needed to provide electrical power for a household. At a time when energy is a critical issue for many millions of people worldwide, scientists in Sweden have managed to generate electricity with the help of these two renewable resources.
The method reported by researchers at KTH Royal Institute of Technology focuses on what naturally happens after wood is placed in water, and the water evaporates. Transpiration, a process in which water moves through a plant, is constantly occurring in nature. And it produces small amounts of electricity, known as bioelectricity.
Yuanyuan Li, assistant professor at the Division of Biocomposites at KTH, says that with some nanoengineering of wood—and pH tuning—small but promising amounts of electricity can now be harvested.
Researchers use the device to study heart attacks and hope to test new heart medications.
Researchers have developed a device that can mimic aspects of a heart attack with hopes of using the device to test and develop novel heart medications. The research team, from the University of Southern California Alfred E. Mann Department of Biomedical Engineering in the U.S., created the tool, which they call a “heart attack on a chip.”
The study was published in the journal Science Advances.
Understanding a heart attack through simulation
The device can simulate key components of a heart attack, also called a myocardial infarction, in a practical, structured system. Researchers hope it will one day serve as a place to test for new heart drugs.
“This enables us to more clearly understand how the heart is changing after a heart attack. From there, we and others can develop and test drugs that will be most effective for limiting the further degradation of heart tissue that can occur after a heart attack,” said Megan McCain, an associate professor of biomedical engineering and stem cell biology and regenerative medicine. She also developed the device with postdoctoral researcher Megan Rexius-Hall.
One key objective of electronics engineering research is to develop computing devices that are both highly performing and energy-efficient, meaning that they can compute information quickly while consuming little power. One possible way to do this could be to combine units that perform logic operations and memory components into a single device.
So far, most computing devices have been made up of a processing unit and a physically separate memory component. The creation of a device that can efficiently perform both these functions, referred to as a logic-in-memory architecture, could help to significantly simplify devices and cut down their power consumption.
While a few of the logic-in-memory architectures proposed so far achieved promising results, most existing solutions come with practical limitations. For instance, some devices have been found to be unstable, unreliable or only applicable to specific use cases.
Scientists from EPFL and the University of Lausanne have used a chip that was originally designed for environmental science to study the properties of biocement formation. This material has the potential to replace traditional cement binders in certain civil engineering applications.
The chip is the size of a credit card and its surface is engraved with a flow channel measuring one meter from end to end that is as thick as a human hair. Researchers can inject a solution into one end of the channel and, with the help of time-lapse microscopy, observe the solution’s behavior over several hours. Medical scientists have used similar chips for health care applications, such as to examine how arteries get clogged or how a drug spreads into the bloodstream, while environmental engineers have applied them to the study of biofilms and contaminants in drinking water.
Now, a team of civil engineers at EPFL’s Laboratory of Soil Mechanics (LMS), together with scientists from the Faculty of Geosciences and Environment at the University of Lausanne (UNIL), have repurposed the chip to understand complex transport-reaction phenomena involved in the formation of new kinds of biocement.
Genetically engineering humans is a controversial topic. Some people believe that it is unethical, while others believe that it could be beneficial to humanity. There are pros and cons to both sides of the argument, and it is important to consider all of them before making a decision whether we should be genetically engineering humans or not.
As Chief Scientist of TRISH, Dr. Fogarty leads an innovative and high-risk research and technology development portfolio to address the most challenging human health and performance risks of space exploration.
At Sophic Synergistics, which is a women-owned and women-led Human Centered Design firm specializing in integrating human factors engineering and human health and performance into a business model, Dr. Fogarty’s Division focuses on developing and expanding the application of medical technologies for use in remote medicine, telemedicine, and home healthcare.
In both roles, Dr. Fogarty’s goal is to increase access to high quality healthcare and empower patients and medical providers by incorporating precision medicine and cutting-edge science and technology with actionable data both in space and on Earth.
Dr. Fogarty has over twenty years of experience in medical physiology and extreme environments and was the NASA Human Research Program Chief Scientist. Her approach prioritizes communication and collaboration with industry academia, government and commercial spaceflight programs, and international partners. She values and seeks collaborations with external institutions and government agencies to assess fundamental and mechanistic discoveries as well as innovative prevention and treatment strategies for application to preserve health and performance.
Dr. Fogarty has a Ph.D. in Medical Physiology from Texas A&M University School of Medicine and a B.S. in Biology from Stockton University. She is currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine, an editor of the Fundamentals of Aerospace Medicine 4th and 5th edition, and associate editor for the journal npj Microgravity.
Researchers at the UPC’s Department of Electronic Engineering have developed a new type of magnetometer that can be integrated into microelectronic chips and that is fully compatible with the current integrated circuits. Of great interest for the miniaturization of electronic systems and sensors, the study has been recently published in Microsystems & Nanoengineering.
Microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) are electromechanical systems miniaturized to the maximum, so much so that they can be integrated into a chip. They are found in most of our day-to-day devices, such as computers, car braking systems and mobile phones. Integrating them into electronic systems has clear advantages in terms of size, cost, speed and energy efficiency. But developing them is expensive, and their performance is often compromised by incompatibilities with other electronic systems within a device.
MEMS can be used, among many others, to develop magnetometers—a device that measures magnetic field to provide direction during navigation, much like a compass—for integration into smartphones and wearables or for use in the automotive industry. Therefore, one of the most promising lines of work are Lorentz force MEMS magnetometers.
