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No small measure: Probing the mechanics of gold contacts at the nanoscale

Miniaturization lies at the heart of countless technological advances. It is undeniable that as devices and their building blocks get smaller, we manage to unlock new functionalities and come up with unprecedented applications. However, with more and more scientists delving into materials with structures on the atomic scale, the gaps in our current understanding of nanomaterial physics are becoming more prominent.

For instance, the nanomaterial’s surface represents one such knowledge gap. This is because the influence of surface quantum effects becomes much more apparent when the surface-to-volume ratio of a material is high. In nanoelectromechanical systems (NEMS), a current hot topic in research, the physical properties of the nanomaterials greatly differ from their bulk counterparts when their size is reduced to a few atoms. A solid understanding of the mechanical properties of nanowires and nanocontacts—integral components of NEMS—is essential for advancing this technology. But, measuring them has proven a challenging task.

Against this backdrop, a research team from Japan recently achieved an unprecedented feat when they managed to precisely measure the elastic modulus of gold nanocontacts stretched down to a few atoms. The study, published in Physical Review Letters, was led by Prof. Yoshifumi Oshima of Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (JAIST). The rest of the team included post-doctoral research fellow Jiaqi Zhang and Professor Masahiko Tomitori from JAIST, and Professor Toyoko Arai of Kanazawa University.

Ultrafast Photoacoustic Nanometrology of InAs Nanowires Mechanical Properties

InAs nanowires are emerging as go-to materials in a variety of applications ranging from optoelectronics to nanoelectronics, yet a consensus on their mechanical properties is still lacking. The mechanical properties of wurtzite InAs nanowires are here investigated via a multitechnique approach, exploiting electron microscopies, ultrafast photoacoustics, and finite element simulations. A benchmarked elastic matrix is provided and a Young modulus of 97 GPa is obtained, thus clarifying the debated issue of InAs NW elastic properties. The validity of the analytical approaches and approximations commonly adopted to retrieve the elastic properties from ultrafast spectroscopies is discussed. The mechanism triggering the oscillations is unveiled. Nanowire oscillations in this system arise from a sudden expansion of the supporting substrate rather than the nanowire itself.

Artificial intelligence is already upending geopolitics

The TechCrunch Global Affairs Project examines the increasingly intertwined relationship between the tech sector and global politics.

Geopolitical actors have always used technology to further their goals. Unlike other technologies, artificial intelligence (AI) is far more than a mere tool. We do not want to anthropomorphize AI or suggest that it has intentions of its own. It is not — yet — a moral agent. But it is fast becoming a primary determinant of our collective destiny. We believe that because of AI’s unique characteristics — and its impact on other fields, from biotechnologies to nanotechnologies — it is already threatening the foundations of global peace and security.

The rapid rate of AI technological development, paired with the breadth of new applications (the global AI market size is expected to grow more than ninefold from 2020 to 2028) means AI systems are being widely deployed without sufficient legal oversight or full consideration of their ethical impacts. This gap, often referred to as the pacing problem, has left legislatures and executive branches simply unable to cope.

Michael Fossel | Aging: Understanding it, Reversing it

Dr Fossel talking about dementia, telomeres, and clarifying some experimental myths.


Foresight Biotech & Health Extension Meeting sponsored by 100 Plus Capital.
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Michael Fossel, Telocyte.
Aging: Understanding it, Reversing it.

Michael Fossel is Founder and President of Telocyte. He served as the executive director of the American Aging Association, has published more than 100 articles, books, and chapters on age-related disease and the potential for effective intervention via gene therapy, as well as have served as both an advisor to and board member for several biotechnology companies prior to Telocyte.

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A million times faster: DNA nanotechnology could speed up pharmaceutical development while minimizing costs

A new tool speeds up development of vaccines and other pharmaceutical products by more than 1 million times while minimizing costs.

In search of pharmaceutical agents such as new vaccines, industry will routinely scan thousands of related candidate molecules. A novel technique allows this to take place on the nano scale, minimizing use of materials and energy. The work is published in the journal Nature Chemistry.

More than 40,000 molecules can be synthesized and analyzed within an area smaller than a pinhead. The method, developed through a highly interdisciplinary research effort in Denmark, promises to drastically reduce the amounts of material, energy, and economic cost for .

Revolutionary DNA Nanotechnology Speeds Up Development of Vaccines

Revolutionary tool will meet future pandemics with accelerated response.

A new tool speeds up development of vaccines and other pharmaceutical products by more than one million times while minimizing costs.

In search of pharmaceutical agents such as new vaccines, industry will routinely scan thousands of related candidate molecules. A novel technique allows this to take place on the nano scale, minimizing use of materials and energy. The work is published in the prestigious journal Nature Chemistry.

Battery breakthrough doubles lifespan of electric car batteries

Engineers have discovered a way to more than double the lifespan of batteries used in smartphones and electric cars.

The battery breakthrough was successfully demonstrated by researchers at the University of Queensland in Australia, who increased the lifespan of a lithium-ion (li-ion) battery from several hundred charge/ discharge cycles, to more than 1,000.

“Our process will increase the lifespan of batteries in many things, from smartphones and laptops, to power tools and electric vehicles,” said Professor Lianzhou Wang from the Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology.

Printing circuits on rare nanomagnets puts a new spin on computing

New research artificially creating a rare form of matter known as spin glass could spark a new paradigm in artificial intelligence by allowing algorithms to be directly printed as physical hardware. The unusual properties of spin glass enable a form of AI that can recognize objects from partial images much like the brain does and show promise for low-power computing, among other intriguing capabilities.

“Our work accomplished the first experimental realization of an artificial spin glass consisting of nanomagnets arranged to replicate a neural network,” said Michael Saccone, a post-doctoral researcher in at Los Alamos National Laboratory and lead author of the new paper in Nature Physics. “Our paper lays the groundwork we need to use these practically.”

Spin glasses are a way to think about material structure mathematically. Being free, for the first time, to tweak the interaction within these systems using electron-beam lithography makes it possible to represent a variety of computing problems in spin-glass networks, Saccone said.

Immortalists Magazine

How Will Nanotechnologies Transform Humanity?

#WomenOfImpact #Nanotech #WeLoveScience #Immortality


Immortalists Magazine is an experimental project by multi-media, conceptual artist, Dinorah Delfin.

Inspinspired by Trans-, Post-, and Meta-Humanist philosophy & innovations. The aim is to bring greater awareness to Transhumanism & the science of Radical Life Extension. Immortalists Magazine reflects the personal opinions of the artist.

Mind-Body Philosophy | Solving the Hard Problem of Consciousness with Patrick Grim

Mind-body philosophy | solving the hard problem of consciousness.

Recent advances in science and technology have allowed us to reveal — and in some cases even alter — the innermost workings of the human body. With electron microscopes, we can see our DNA, the source code of life itself. With nanobots, we can send cameras throughout our bodies and deliver drugs directly into the areas where they are most needed. We are even using artificially intelligent robots to perform surgeries on ourselves with unprecedented precision and accuracy.

Materialism says that the cosmos, and all that is contains, is an objective physical reality. As a result, philosophers who subscribe to this school of thought assert that consciousness, and all that it entails, arises from material interactions. As such, the material world (our flesh, neurons, synapse, etc.) is what creates consciousness.

Idealism says that the universe is entirely subjective and that reality is something that is mentally constructed. In other words, consciousness is something that is immaterial and cannot be observed or measured empirically. Since consciousness is what creates the material world, according to this school of thought, it is unclear if we can ever truly know anything that is mind-independent and beyond our subjective experience.

Dualism essentially holds that mental phenomena are, in some respects, non-physical in nature. In this respect, the mind and the body exist, but they are distinct and separable.

Although most modern philosophers subscribe to the materialist view, determining, and ultimately understanding, the nature of human consciousness using an empirical methodology is a remarkably difficult task. The primary issue with accomplishing the aforementioned is that empirical science requires things to be measured objectively. And when it comes to consciousness, everything is subjective.