SciTech Digest – 08/2017.

Permalink here: http://www.scitechdigest.net/2017/02/mems-afm-on-chip-low-power-voice-chip.html

MEMS AFM on-chip, Low power voice chip, Wireless power, LysoSENS development, Chiral carbon nanotubes, MOF molecular looms, Molecular biology of sleep, Electrical brain interfaces, DNA computer drugs, Printable solar cells.

1. On-chip MEMS AFM

A MEMS-based atomic force microscope has been created on a single chip complete with all of the sensors and components needed to control the device http://www.utdallas.edu/news/2017/2/15-32432_Jonsson-School-Engineers-Shrink-Microscope-to-Dime_story-wide.html. The one square centimeter sized device operates an oscillating cantilever that is moved across the surface of the sample to be imaged. While it might not have the sensitivity of a high-end laboratory system such a device should make entry-level AFM applications much cheaper and more widespread – a lot more people having access to and using an AFM can only be a good thing.

2. Low Power Voice Control Chip

A low power voice-control and speech recognition chip has been developed that achieves an energy saving of between 90% – 99%, effectively running speech-recognition software for between 0.2 – 10 milliwatts instead of the usual 1 watt that a phone uses http://news.mit.edu/2017/low-power-chip-speech-recognition-electronics-0213. Such low-powered capabilities are ideally suited to internet of things applications and low-power sensors and interfaces with embedded communications. The chip itself incorporates three different hardware implementations of neural networks of varying complexity.

3. Better Wireless Power Transfer

Disney research has demonstrated a quasistatic cavity resonance device for transferring power wirelessly to receivers in devices with 40% to 95% efficiency, and can transfer 1900 watts in this way safely https://www.disneyresearch.com/publication/quasistatic-cavity-resonance-for-ubiquitous-wireless-power-transfer/. I’ve covered several different technologies attempting to do similar wireless power transfer but this latest attempt appears to significantly improve the range, power, and efficiency. Again, a mature technology would be a key enabler of internet of things devices, sensors, and applications.

4. LysoSENS Moves Towards the Clinic

Ichor Therapeutics has demonstrated very promising results in cells for clearing types of lysosomal garbage and is now seeking to complete animal studies and move into a Phase 1 human clinical trial https://www.fightaging.org/archives/2017/02/ichor-therapeutics-announces-lysoclear-sens-rejuvenation-therapy-and-series-a-fundraising-for-further-development/. The therapy comes from bacterial enzymes that can break down certain types of lysosomal garbage, and which have also been modified to be targeted to the lysosomes of target cells. In this specific, niche case the therapy breaks down the garbage and removes the accumulated damage A2E metabolic waste aggregates in retinal cells that leads to different types of macular degeneration, and so represents a good, early, embryonic rejuvenation and anti-aging therapy.

5. Catalysts for Chiral Carbon Nanotubes

New work reveals that different carbon nanotube growth catalysts can preferentially form carbon nanotubes with different chiralities – the pattern of graphene hexagons around the tube that control metallic or semiconducting properties of the carbon nanotube https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/02/170215131554.htm. Tungsten carbide produces semiconducting carbon nanotubes with 80% – 90% purity, while molybdenum carbide helps produce metallic carbon nanotubes. Meanwhile carbon nanotubes and graphene have been combined into functional 3D graphene rebar structures http://news.rice.edu/2017/02/13/graphene-foam-gets-big-and-tough/.

6. Molecular Looms from MOFs

Metal Organic Framework materials are now being used to precisely position (four-armed in this case) monomer molecules that are then cross-linked in a precise array similar to two-dimensional polymer textiles http://www.kit.edu/kit/english/pi_2017_020_metal-organic-frameworks-used-as-looms.php. This is a clever nanotechnology application for building precisely structured and formulated materials with near perfect atomic organisation. After formation the molecule-thick 2D polymer sheets are actually held together by the mechanical forces resulting from the weave pattern. A versatile platform for creating a wide variety of different, precise, 2D polymer sheets with customisable properties and structures at the atomic scale.

7. The Molecular Biology of Sleep

The molecular biology underpinning and controlling sleep is being further mapped out as part of a huge study in mice with the discovery of two new genes that play a key role in regulating sleep https://www.quantamagazine.org/20170214-sleep-control-machinery-in-the-brain/. The first, Sik3, influences the total amount of sleep needed, while the second, Nalcn, influences the amount of REM dreaming sleep that is attained. This study took years and involved mutating the genes of thousands of mice and hooking them up to brainwave monitors while they slept. With these targets identified there is further scope to rationally design interventions able to modify sleep in humans.

8. Better Electrical Brain Interfaces

In just one week we had three different improved electronic brain interfaces announced. First, a new complementary metal oxide semiconductor nanoelectrode array can image and map the changing electrical signals within a large group of living cells http://spectrum.ieee.org/nanoclast/semiconductors/devices/nanoelectrode-array-measures-electrical-signals-across-network-of-cells. Second, ultra-flexible nanoelectronic threads can act as reliable brain probes that enable scar-free integration for neural signal recording https://cns.utexas.edu/news/new-ultra-flexible-probes-form-reliable-scar-free-integration-with-the-brain. Finally, glassy-carbon electrodes transmit more robust signals to restore function in people with damaged spinal cords http://newscenter.sdsu.edu/sdsu_newscenter/news_story.aspx?sid=76593.

9. DNA Computer Smart Drugs

A new DNA computer is able to process the presence and concentration of multiple specific antibodies in the body at once in order to diagnose particular disease states https://www.tue.nl/en/university/news-and-press/news/17-02-2017-dna-computer-brings-intelligent-drugs-a-step-closer/ or see the paper http://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms14473. In this process DNA strands are designed to bind to different antibodies, and when mixed with complementary reporter DNA sequences, these sequences only release the “signal” strand when those specific antibodies are present. These output signals are then processed by a range of DNA computer and logic elements to provide information on the nature of the disease that is present. I’m impressed by how sophisticated the DNA computing and health diagnostics platform is becoming.

10. Printable Perovskite Solar Cells

A new chemical reaction allows an electron-selective solar cell layer to be grown in solution out of nanoparticles directly on top of electrodes and that also incorporate perovskite solar-power ink http://news.engineering.utoronto.ca/printable-solar-cells-just-got-little-closer/, and at much lower temperatures than was previously possible. The solar cells created with this process in the lab demonstrated an energy efficiency of 20.1%. The promise of printable solar cells is being able to cheaply produce high-efficiency panels via established printing techniques or even custom-printing onto most desired surfaces.

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Originally shared by Phys.org

Smartphones are revolutionizing medicine – Smartphones are revolutionizing the diagnosis and treatment of illnesses, thanks to add-ons and apps that make their ubiquitous small screens into medical devices, researchers say.

http://ow.ly/Uhsh509E9v4

Didn’t Nikola Tesla develop something like this?

Originally shared by Singularity Hub

Just Stand Inside this Room and it Will Wirelessly Charge Your Phone

http://bit.ly/2m8HNQk

Via Winchell Chung.

Originally shared by George S Hammond

Lots of inspiration here, as the article ranges beyond just an obscure script. I find that fictional worlds (especially in speculative fiction) sometimes ignore the complexities in written and performing arts that are present in real-world cultures, even in the distant past. I think that even just tangential references to this kind of cultural complexity can add verisimilitude.

http://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/nushu-chinese-script-women

There are all kinds of fishhooks in sharing health data; it’s even more sensitive than financial data, in some ways, and there aren’t widely accepted standards. But if it’s aggregated, it can be astonishingly useful.

Originally shared by Singularity Hub

Our Health Data Can Save Lives, But We Have to Be Willing to Share http://suhub.co/2kXz31P

I fall somewhere between Pinker, who this article critiques, and its author, with a bias to the Pinker or optimistic side. I think we are becoming more peaceful and altruistic, but not as universally or quickly as Pinker represents, and – as Grey warns – it’s not an inevitable progression, but could be rolled back.

It’s over to those of us who think and care about such things to throw our weight behind peace and altruism and oppose darker solutions.

Originally shared by Laura Gibbs

This is a good read. I don’t know enough to have an opinion myself, but I was certainly surprised to see John Dee make an appearance here towards the end!

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/mar/13/john-gray-steven-pinker-wrong-violence-war-declining

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/mar/13/john-gray-steven-pinker-wrong-violence-war-declining

What I found interesting was that, even taking inflation into account, houses and loaves of bread are about twice as expensive as they were a century ago. I can understand houses; there’s a lot more that goes into building a modern house than went into building one in 1917, plus, of course, there are more people, thus more demand for houses. But why a loaf of bread? What makes that twice as expensive?

On the upside, average wages have also gone way up (again, after adjustments for inflation).

Originally shared by Singularity Hub

How the World Has Changed From 1917 to 2017 http://suhub.co/2kKMJKP

Originally shared by Deborah Teramis Christian

This Pentagon training video was developed to briefly explore the challenges presented by megacities in the near future (~2030-ish). It presents a rather dystopian view of high-contrast differences: haves surrounded by have-nots, security threats, technology and poverty, alternate forms of governance, and the huge difficulties presented in terms of security. Their main point is that the military as presently constituted is incapable of effecting security in this kind of setting without significant alteration in force doctrines.

The Intercept article in which this is embedded calls this a hyperbolic vision of a distopian future, but speaking as a sociologist, futurist, and science fiction writer, I think the Intercept itself is hyperbolicly dismissive of a future that is not only highly likely, but already exists in many third-world regions. If anything, this short video understates the conditions and challenges that urban areas (and security forces) will face in about 20 years time; or certainly mid-century at latest, due (if for no other reason) to the massive changes that will happen in consequence of population displacement and economic impact from global warming (flooding of coastal areas, climate pattern changes, forced population migrations, gravitation to economic hubs that are megacities, etc etc).

At the very least, this is great grist for the mill for anyone thinking or writing about our near-future world. Personally I would skip reading the Intercept article first (with its critical, dismissive tone) and initially watch the video instead. Form first impressions from that, and then happy reading.

This video and related military publications have been picked up on by some dystopian analysts on the net, and there is more to be found on the web regarding this vid and the subject matter (although I think the buzz I’ve seen is jumping-to-extreme and cynical conclusions based on this minimal input. One example of this hair-on-fire commentary is here: http://rutherford.org/publications_resources/john_whiteheads_commentary/coming_soon_to_a_city_near_you_the_u.s._militarys_plan_to_take_over_am).

As If, Mike Reeves-McMillan

https://theintercept.com/2016/10/13/pentagon-video-warns-of-unavoidable-dystopian-future-for-worlds-biggest-cities/