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Category: computing – Page 37

Mapping the universe, faster and with the same accuracy

If you think a galaxy is big, compare it to the size of the universe: it’s just a tiny dot which, together with a huge number of other tiny dots, forms clusters that aggregate into superclusters, which in turn weave into filaments threaded with voids—an immense 3D skeleton of our universe.

If that gives you vertigo and you’re wondering how one can understand or even “see” something so vast, the answer is: it isn’t easy. Scientists combine the physics of the universe with data from astronomical instruments and build , such as EFTofLSS (Effective Field Theory of Large-Scale Structure). Fed with observations, these models describe the “cosmic web” statistically and allow its key parameters to be estimated.

Models like EFTofLSS, however, demand a lot of time and computing resources. Since the astronomical datasets at our disposal are growing exponentially, we need ways to lighten the analysis without losing precision. This is why emulators exist: they “imitate” how the models respond, but operate much faster.

New Phoenix attack bypasses Rowhammer defenses in DDR5 memory

Academic researchers have devised a new variant of Rowhammer attacks that bypass the latest protection mechanisms on DDR5 memory chips from SK Hynix.

A Rowhammer attack works by repeatedly accessing specific rows of memory cells at high-speed read/write operations to cause enough electrical interference to alter the value of the nearby bits from one to zero and vice-versa (bit flipping).

An attacker could potentialluy corrupt data, increase their privileges on the system, execute malicious code, or gain access to sensitive data.

The Role of Bioelectrical Patterns in Regulative Morphogenesis: An Evolutionary Simulation and Validation in Planarian Regeneration

Endogenous bioelectrical patterns are an important regulator of anatomical pattern during embryogenesis, regeneration, and cancer. While there are three known classes of instructive bioelectric patterns: directly encoding, indirectly encoding, and binary trigger, it is not known how these design principles could be exploited by evolution and what their relative advantages might be. To better understand the evolutionary role of bioelectricity in anatomical homeostasis, we developed a neural cellular automaton (NCA). We used evolutionary algorithms to optimize these models to achieve reliable morphogenetic patterns driven by the different ways in which tissues can interpret their bioelectrical pattern for downstream anatomical outcomes. We found that: All three types of bioelectrical codes allow the reaching of target morphologies; Resetting of the bioelectrical pattern and the change in duration of the binary trigger alter morphogenesis; Direct pattern organisms show an emergent robustness to changes in initial anatomical configurations; Indirect pattern organisms show an emergent robustness to bioelectrical perturbation; Direct and indirect pattern organisms show a emergent generalizability competency to new (rotated) bioelectrical patterns; Direct pattern organisms show an emergent repatterning competency in post-developmental-phase. Because our simulation was fundamentally a homeostatic system seeking to achieve specific goals in anatomical state space (the space of possible morphologies), we sought to determine how the system would react when we abrogated the incentive loop driving anatomical homeostasis. To abrogate the stress/reward system that drives error minimization, we used anxiolytic neuromodulators. Simulating the effects of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors diminished the ability of artificial embryos to reduce error between anatomical state and bioelectric prepattern, leading to higher variance of developmental outcomes, global morphological degradation, and induced in some organisms a bistability with respect to possible anatomical outcomes. These computational findings were validated by data collected from in vivo experiments in SSRI exposure in planarian flatworm regeneration.

From Sci-Fi to Reality: New Breakthrough Could Bring Holograms to Your Phone

New research from the University of St Andrews is advancing holographic technology, with potential applications in smart devices, communication, gaming, and entertainment. In a paper published in the journal Light, Science and Application, physicists from the School of Physics and Astronomy reported the creation of a new optoelectronic device that combines Holographic Metasurfaces (HMs) with Organic Light-Emitting Diodes (OLEDs).

Until now, holograms have typically been generated using lasers. The St Andrews team, however, demonstrated that pairing OLEDs with HMs provides a more compact and straightforward method. This approach is not only easier to implement but also less expensive, addressing one of the key challenges that has limited wider use of holographic technology.

OLEDs are thin-film devices already common in mobile phone displays and some televisions, where they create colored pixels. Because they are flat and emit light across their surface, OLEDs are also promising for emerging fields such as optical wireless communication, biophotonics, and sensing. Their versatility and ability to integrate with other components make them well-suited for developing miniaturized, light-based systems.

Scientists develop ‘full-spectrum’ 6G chip that could transfer data at 100 gigabits per second — 10,000 times faster than 5G

But now, researchers have integrated the entire wireless spectrum covering nine radio-frequency (RF) bands — from 0.5 to 110 GHz — into a chip measuring just 0.07 by 0.43 inches (1.7 by 11 millimeters).

The new chip is also capable of achieving a data transmission rate of more than 100 gigabits per second, including on low bands used in rural areas, where speeds can be notoriously slow. Communication also remained stable across the entire spectrum, the researchers found. They revealed their research in a study published Aug. 27 in the journal Nature.

Ultra-flat optic pushes beyond what was previously thought possible

Cameras are everywhere. For over two centuries, these devices have grown increasingly popular and proven to be so useful, they have become an indispensable part of modern life.

Today, they are included in a vast range of applications—everything from smartphones and laptops to security and to cars, aircraft, and satellites imaging Earth from high above. And as an overarching trend toward miniaturizing mechanical, optical, and electronic products continues, scientists and engineers are looking for ways to create smaller, lighter, and more energy-efficient cameras for these technologies.

Ultra-flat optics have been proposed as a solution for this engineering challenge, as they are an alternative to the relatively bulky lenses found in cameras today. Instead of using a curved lens made out of glass or plastic, many ultra-flat optics, such as metalenses, use a thin, flat plane of microscopic nanostructures to manipulate light, which makes them hundreds or even thousands of times smaller and lighter than conventional camera lenses.

Microscopes can now watch materials go quantum with liquid helium

A new specimen holder gives scientists more control over ultra-cold temperatures, enabling the study of how materials acquire properties useful in quantum computers.

Scientists can now reliably chill specimens near absolute zero for over 10 hours while taking images resolved to the level of individual atoms with an . The new capability comes from a liquid-helium-cooled sample holder designed by a team of scientists and engineers at the University of Michigan and Harvard University.

Conventional instruments can usually maintain such an extreme temperature, about-423 degrees Fahrenheit or 20 degrees above absolute zero, for a few minutes, capping out at a few hours. But longer periods of time are needed to take atomic-resolution images of candidate materials for advanced technologies.

Habitable planet potential increases in the outer galaxy

What can the galactic habitable zone (GHZ), galactic regions where complex life is hypothesized to be able to evolve, teach scientists about finding the correct stars that could have habitable planets?

This is what a recent study accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysics hopes to address as an international team of researchers investigated a connection between the migration of stars, commonly called stellar migration, and what this could mean for finding habitable planets within our galaxy. This study has the potential to help scientists better understand the astrophysical parameters for finding habitable worlds beyond Earth and even life as we know it. The findings are published on the arXiv preprint server.

For the study, the researchers used a series of computer models to simulate how stellar migration could influence the location and parameters of the GHZ. The models included scenarios both with and without stellar migration to ascertain the statistical probabilities for terrestrial (rocky) planets forming around stars throughout the galaxy. The researchers also used a chemical evolution model to ascertain the formation and evolution of our galaxy, specifically regarding its thickness.

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