Lifeboat Foundation

Quantum entanglement, one of the most intriguing features of multi-particle quantum systems, has become a fundamental building block in both quantum information processing and quantum computation. If two particles are entangled, no matter how far away they are separated, quantum mechanics predicts that measurement of one particle leads to instantaneous wave-function collapse of the other particle.

Such “spooky action at a distance” is non-intuitive, and in 1935, Einstein attempted to use entanglement to criticize quantum mechanics to suggest that the quantum description of physical reality is incomplete. Einstein believed that no information could travel faster than light, and suggested that there might be some local hidden variable theories that could explain the world in a deterministic way, if and only if they obey realism and locality. In 1964, J. S. Bell showed that the debate can be experimentally resolved by testing an inequality; by measuring correlations between entangled parties, the result calculated from local hidden variable theories should be constrained by the Bell inequality, which, on the other hand, can be violated in the predictions of quantum mechanics.

By reducing the velocity of light dramatically, researchers at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology implemented a Bell Test and were able to generate frequency-bin entangled narrowband biphotons from spontaneous four-wave mixing (SFWM) in cold atoms with a double-path configuration, where the phase difference between the two spatial paths can be controlled independently and nonlocally.

Continue reading “Researchers demonstrated violation of Bell’s inequality on frequency-bin entangled photon pairs” »

Until now, all artificial retinal research has used only rigid, hard materials. The new research, by Vanessa Restrepo-Schild, a 24 year old Dphil student and researcher at the Oxford University, Department of Chemistry, is the first to successfully use biological, synthetic tissues, developed in a laboratory environment. The study could revolutionise the bionic implant industry and the development of new, less invasive technologies that more closely resemble human body tissues, helping to treat degenerative eye conditions such as retinitis pigmentosa.

Just as photography depends on camera pixels reacting to light, vision relies on the retina performing the same function. The retina sits at the back of the human eye, and contains protein cells that convert light into electrical signals that travel through the nervous system, triggering a response from the brain, ultimately building a picture of the scene being viewed.

Vanessa Restrepo-Schild led the team in the development of a new synthetic, double layered retina which closely mimics the natural human retinal process. The retina replica consists of soft water droplets (hydrogels) and biological cell membrane proteins. Designed like a camera, the cells act as pixels, detecting and reacting to light to create a grey scale image. The Colombian native said: “The synthetic material can generate electrical signals, which stimulate the neurons at the back of our eye just like the original retina.”

Continue reading “First Synthetic Retina Created” »

Microsoft is holding an event this month, the company announced tonight, at which it says it will “show the world what’s next.” The event will take place in Shanghai on May 23rd, but Microsoft didn’t specify either the precise location of the event or exactly what it will be showing. The company did tell The Verge to expect new hardware, however.

There are some additional clues to that new hardware to be gleaned from social media. Panos Panay — Microsoft’s vice president of devices and the creator of the Surface — tweeted the announcement alongside the hashtag “#Surface.” The tag, and Panay’s planned attendance in Shanghai, could mean that Microsoft is ready to show off the Surface Pro 5.

Someone may have finally cracked a form of DVD encryption believed to be impenetrable. Potentially, this could mean it’s now possible to download 4K Blu-Ray movies online, though you shouldn’t get too excited yet.

According to TorrentFreak, an allegedly cracked copy of The Smurfs 2 — why that one, of all films, is a mystery — surfaced on HD Bit Torrent community UltraHDClub. There are no other details at the moment.

We’ve teamed up with Product Hunt to offer you the chance to win an all expense paid trip to TNW Conference 2017!

Continue reading “Pirates may have cracked the code to 4K UHD torrents” »

Physicists use standard wireless transmitter to create hologram.

Human saliva contains a painkiller more powerful than morphine.

Amazon is building a massive biodome in downtown Seattle…

If you wear a smartwatch, you know how limiting it is to type it on or otherwise operate it. Now European researchers have developed an input method that uses a depth camera (similar to the Kinect game controller) to track fingertip touch and location on the back of the hand or in mid-air, allowing for precision control.

Continue reading “Precision typing on a smartwatch with finger gestures” »

A researcher in the U.K. has developed the world’s first synthetic, soft tissue retina. Because it doesn’t contain any hard materials, the device should be able to bypass many of the problems posed by current mechanical implants.