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Single ion maps 3D electromagnetic fields above chips with record sensitivity

Researchers at ETH Zurich have developed a method that uses a single ion to detect electromagnetic fields above a surface and to create a three-dimensional map of them. In the future, this approach can be used to improve chips for quantum computers and quantum sensors.

Single electrically charged atoms—ions—have been successfully used for some time as quantum bits in quantum computers and quantum sensors. Unlike the bulky ion traps of the early years, there are now miniaturized chips in which ions can be trapped and manipulated only a hair’s breadth above the surface of the chip. This has many advantages, but also one decisive drawback: Noisy electromagnetic fields coming from the chip itself can severely impair the sensitive quantum states of the ions and hence the performance of the computer or sensor.

A team of researchers led by Jonathan Home, a professor at the Institute for Quantum Electronics at ETH Zurich, has now developed a technique that allows them to create a very precise three-dimensional map of electric and magnetic fields very close to the surface of the chip. In the future, materials for chip production can be better optimized and tested for their suitability for use in quantum applications. The results of their research were recently published in Science Advances.

XMM-Newton and Chandra help revise distance to Milky Way’s outer spiral arms

The European Space Agency’s XMM-Newton and NASA’s Chandra X-ray space telescopes have spotted the aftermath of three bright explosions echoing through the outer spiral arms of our galaxy, the Milky Way. By measuring the distance to these echoes, they found the outer arms to be up to 10% farther away than previously thought.

Perhaps surprisingly, we don’t know much about the structure of our galaxy’s outer regions. It’s difficult to observe our galaxy from the inside: The solar system is well embedded in its disk, preventing a bird’s-eye view, and many regions are obscured by thick clouds of cosmic dust.

But this is changing: We have learned a huge amount since the launch of ESA’s star-surveying Gaia space telescope. Using data collected by Gaia, scientists are mapping the Milky Way galaxy in more detail than ever before by measuring precise distances to its stars. Before Gaia, we weren’t even sure whether our galaxy had two or four spiral arms (we now know the answer to be four).

RNA Folding Energy of Long-Range Genomic Interactions Regulates Discontinuous Transcription in SARS-CoV-2

Coronaviruses use discontinuous transcription to generate subgenomic RNAs (sgRNAs) that encode structural and accessory proteins. However, the factors regulating sgRNA abundance in SARS-CoV-2 remain unclear. Here, we combined strand-specific RNA sequencing, RNA–RNA interaction mapping, prediction of RNA folding energies, and targeted mutagenesis to define the regulation of (–) sgRNA synthesis in SARS-CoV-2 infection. We demonstrated that the relative (–) sgRNA abundance across viral genes is stable throughout infection and largely correlates with corresponding (+) sgmRNA levels. Through meta-analysis of published SPLASH data, we found that the frequency of long-range interactions between the 5′ genomic transcription regulatory sequence TRS-Leader and downstream TRS-Body sequences correlates with sgRNA abundance.

New lidar system maps location, speed and material properties in a single measurement

Researchers have developed a new kind of lidar system that simultaneously measures the location, speed and material properties of objects in a scene. This type of information could be useful for applications such as robotics, autonomous driving and remote sensing.

Lidar uses laser pulses to measure distances and create highly detailed 3D maps of objects and terrain. However, most commercial lidar systems, such as those used in autonomous cars, primarily measure distance.

“Although some emerging lidar technologies can also measure velocity, real-world perception often requires understanding an object’s surface as well,” said Dongyu Du from the University of Toronto in Canada. “Our new system uses a single measurement at each scanned point to capture millimeter-accurate distance, velocity and surface material while using eye-safe laser power.”

The Neuroscience of Happiness and Pleasure

The evolutionary imperatives of survival and procreation, and their associated rewards, are driving life as most animals know it. Perhaps uniquely, humans are able to consciously experience these pleasures and even contemplate the elusive prospect of happiness. The advanced human ability to consciously predict and anticipate the outcome of choices and actions confers on our species an evolutionary advantage, but this is a double-edged sword, as John Steinbeck pointed out as he wrote of “the tragic miracle of consciousness” and how our “species is not set, has not jelled, but is still in a state of becoming” (). While consciousness allows us to experience pleasures, desires, and perhaps even happiness, this is always accompanied by the certainty of the end.

Nevertheless, while life may ultimately meet a tragic end, one could argue that if this is as good as it gets, we might as well enjoy the ride and in particular to maximize happiness. Yet, it is also true that for many happiness is a rare companion due to the competing influences of anxiety and depression.

In order to help understand happiness and alleviate the suffering, neuroscientists and psychologists have started to investigate the brain states associated with happiness components and to consider the relation to well-being. While happiness is in principle difficult to define and study, psychologists have made substantial progress in mapping its empirical features, and neuroscientists have made comparable progress in investigating the functional neuroanatomy of pleasure, which contributes importantly to happiness and is central to our sense of well-being.

Connectomics: Unraveling the Wiring of Neural Networks

Working in connectomics means creating comprehensive maps of brain and nervous system networks. Your research includes the identification and measurement of all parts of each neuron: the soma, dendrites, axonal path and branching patterns and combining that data with the synapses and gap junctions of the entire circuit.

Your microscopy challenges are extensive; submicron resolution is required over long distances inside large volumes of dense and complicated tissues.

The Topological Lower Bound of Boltzmann Entropy: Resolving the Pure Top Boundary Condition through Proton Phase-Locking (v.01)

We establish a fundamental, non-zero lower bound for thermodynamic entropy by mapping Ludwig Boltzmann’s classical relation onto the rigid topological boundaries of GLAB chronal dynamics. In standard statistical mechanics, the number of microstates is treated as an abstract mathematical variable capable of reducing to unity , which phenomenologically implies an absolute zero entropy state . We demonstrate that this boundary condition is physically unattainable because the minimal, topologically closed space-phase cell possesses an irreversible internal structure dictated by the free proton configuration. Characterizing the stable proton as an asymmetric quantum “pure top” subject to the Janibekov instability, we prove that it inherently occupies a degenerate phase space composed of 2 intrinsic spin projections and 3 spatial rotational axes. This yields a strict, immutable minimum statistical weight of. Consequently, the absolute minimum entropy of any isolated domain in our universe is bounded by the Proton Constant:. We mathematically demonstrate that if this lower bound were violated, the phase-locking mechanism governing stellar nucleosynthesis would collapse, rendering the existence of periodic nuclear cycles and stable matter impossible.

Google releases new privacy controls for activity history, personalization

Google is rolling out new privacy controls for Search services and Google Play, giving you more control over saved history and personalized recommendations.

In an email titled “New privacy settings for Search services,” sent to users and seen by Bleeping Computer, Google said it is “updating our settings to give you even more control over saved history and personalized recommendations across Google Search services and Google Play.”

Google noted that Search services include “Search, Maps, Shopping, Hotels, Flights, Translate, and News,” and users will see the change in their Google Account in the next few days.

Google Is Mapping the Human Brain… and It Gets Terrifying

Google is using AI to map the human brain, generate synthetic neurons, and speed up one of the most ambitious neuroscience projects ever attempted. But as brain mapping, connectomics, and AI brain decoding move forward, a terrifying question appears: what happens to mental privacy when machines can understand the brain better than we do?

This mini-documentary explores Google’s brain mapping research, synthetic neurons, AI mind decoding, neural privacy, and the future of human thought in the age of artificial intelligence.

CHAPTERS:
00:00 Google’s Brain Mapping Project.
02:00 The Scale of the Human Brain.
04:36 Synthetic Neurons Explained.
06:40 AI Is Already Decoding Thoughts.
10:15 The Rise of Neural Privacy.
14:51 Brain Maps and the Future of AI
17:11 Who Owns Your Mind?

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