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Category: computing – Page 2

While many experts in the quantum industry are concerned about the hype surrounding the technology, some are suggesting quantum tech might not be hyped enough. According to one respected deep-tech investor, quantum computing is still underestimated and is only a few years away from commercial use.

Karthee Madasamy, founder of Silicon Valley venture fund MFV Partners, told Nikkei Asia he sees strong momentum in quantum computing, likening it to how ChatGPT surprised the world.

“People are going to underestimate [quantum computing] … It’s like ChatGPT,” he told Nikkei Asia. “Until ChatGPT, nobody was thinking about natural language … Now everybody’s like, ‘It’s going to kill this world.’”

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James Fodor discusses what he is researching, mind uploading etc.

As of 2020, James Fodor, is a student at the Australian National University, in Canberra, Australia. James’ studies at university have been rather diverse, and have at different times included history, politics, economics, philosophy, mathematics, computer science, physics, chemistry, and biology. Eventually he hopes to complete a PhD in the field of computational neuroscience.

James also have a deep interest in philosophy, history, and religion, which he periodically writes about on his blog, which is called The Godless Theist. In addition, James also has interests in and varying levels of involved in skeptical/atheist activism, effective altruism, and transhumanism/emerging technologies. James is a fan of most things sci-fi, including Star Trek, Dr Who, and authors such as Arthur C. Clarke and Isaac Asimov.

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Continue reading “James Fodor — Exploring the Frontiers of Computational Neuroscience” | >

00:00 Intro.
00:20 José Delgado’s beginnings with BCIs.
00:42 Use of BCI to reduce aggression.
00:57 How the brain and nerve cells work.
03:00 Stimulation of brain areas (motor cortex)
03:51 How Utah arrays works!
05:16 Measurement of voltage peaks (spikes)
06:06 How the Neuralink N1 works!
08:20 How the Stentrode by Synchron works!
09:40 The future of exoskeletons.
09:53 Are we becoming machines ourselves?

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A team of quantum computer researchers at quantum computer maker D-Wave, working with an international team of physicists and engineers, is claiming that its latest quantum processor has been used to run a quantum simulation faster than could be done with a classical computer.

In their paper published in the journal Science, the group describes how they ran a quantum version of a mathematical approximation regarding how matter behaves when it changes states, such as from a gas to a liquid—in a way that they claim would be nearly impossible to conduct on a traditional computer.

Over the past several years, D-Wave has been working on developing quantum annealers, which are a subtype of quantum computer created to solve very specific types of problems. Notably, landmark claims made by researchers at the company have at times been met with skepticism by others in the field.

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Light-emitting diodes (LEDs) are widely used electroluminescent devices that emit light in response to an applied electric voltage. These devices are central components of various electronic and optoelectronic technologies, including displays, sensors and communication systems.

Over the past decades, some engineers have been developing alternative LEDs known as quantum LEDs (QLEDs), which utilize (i.e., nm-size semiconducting particles) as light-emitting components instead of conventional semiconductors. Compared to traditional LEDs, these quantum dot-based devices could achieve better energy-efficiencies and operational stabilities.

Despite their potential, most QLEDs developed so far have been found to have significantly slower response speeds than typical LEDs using inorganic III-V semiconductors. In other words, they are known to take a longer time to emit light in response to an applied electrical voltage.

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Time crystals realized in the so-called quasiperiodic regime hold promise for future applications in quantum computing and sensing.

In ordinary crystals, atoms or molecules form a repeating pattern in space. By extension, in quantum systems known as time crystals, particles form a repeating pattern in both space and time. These exotic systems were predicted in 2012 and first demonstrated in 2016 (see Viewpoint: How to Create a Time Crystal). Now Chong Zu at Washington University in St. Louis and his colleagues have experimentally realized a new form of time crystal called a discrete-time quasicrystal [1]. The team suggests that such states could be useful for high-precision sensing and advanced signal processing.

Conventional time crystals are created by subjecting a collection of particles to an external driving force that is periodic in time. Zu and his colleagues instead selected a quasiperiodic drive in the form of a structured but nonrepeating sequence of microwave pulses. The researchers applied this quasiperiodic drive to an ensemble of strongly interacting spins associated with structural defects, known as nitrogen-vacancy centers, in diamond. They then tracked the resulting dynamics of these spins using a laser microscope.

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A new optical amplifier is changing the game. Unlike conventional amplifiers, this chip-based breakthrough leverages optical nonlinearity rather than rare-earth elements, allowing signals to strengthen themselves. The result? A compact, high-performance device with a bandwidth three times wider than traditional solutions.

Expanding the Limits of Optical Amplification

Modern communication networks rely on optical signals to transmit massive amounts of data. However, like weak radio signals, these optical signals need amplification to travel long distances without degrading. For decades, erbium-doped fiber amplifiers (EDFAs) have been the standard solution, extending transmission range without requiring frequent signal regeneration. Despite their effectiveness, EDFAs operate within a limited spectral range, restricting the growth of optical networks.

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Proteins are long molecules that must fold into complex three-dimensional structures to perform their cellular functions. This folding process occasionally goes awry, resulting in misfolded proteins that, if not corrected, can potentially lead to disease. Now, a new study has described a potential mechanism that could help explain why some proteins refold in a different pattern than expected.

The researchers, led by chemists at Penn State, found that a type of misfolding, in which the proteins incorrectly intertwine their segments, can occur and create a barrier to the normal folding process. Correcting this misfold requires high-energy or extensive unfolding, which slows the folding process, leading to the unexpected pattern first observed in the 1990s.

“Misfolded proteins can malfunction and lead to disease,” said Ed O’Brien, professor of chemistry in the Eberly College of Science, a co-hire of the Institute for Computational and Data Sciences at Penn State, and leader of the research team. “So, understanding the mechanisms involved in the folding process can potentially help researchers prevent or develop treatments for diseases caused by misfolding.”

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