The world population will hit 7 billion on Halloween this year, according to a guesstimate from the United Nations. So, should you be scared?
Scientists have overcome a major hurdle facing quantum computing: how to protect quantum information from degradation by the environment while simultaneously performing computation in a solid-state quantum system. The research, reported in a recent issue of Nature, opens the door to robust quantum computation with solid-state devices and using quantum technologies for magnetic measurements with…
The Obama administration announced a broad plan to foster development of the nation’s “bioeconomy,” including the use of renewable resources and biological manufacturing methods. The National Bioeconomy Blueprint, as the plan is called, discusses a variety of measures and strategies to spur research and development of medical treatments, crops, biofuels and biological manufacturing processes that…
The audiences at TED talks are used to being wowed as they learn about advances in technology. Even by TED standards, however, the 2011 presentation by Anthony Atala of the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine was amazing. Unseen by the audience at first, various vials and nozzles hummed with mysterious activity behind Atala while…
Manmade increases in carbon dioxide might be having effects that are larger than expected
Scientists have picked up fragments of people’s thoughts by decoding the brain activity caused by words that they hear. The remarkable feat has given researchers fresh insight into how the brain processes language, and raises the tantalizing prospect of devices that can return speech to the speechless. Though in its infancy, the work paves the…
For years, scientists and engineers have been juggling various combinations of acids, steam, bacteria, catalysts and the digestive juices of microorganisms to convert agricultural waste and even household garbage into motor fuel. So far, such alternative fuels have not moved beyond small pilot plants, despite federal incentives to encourage companies to develop them. But that…