Lifeboat Foundation

Most modern electronic devices rely on tiny, finely-tuned electrical currents to process and store information. These currents dictate how fast our computers run, how regularly our pacemakers tick and how securely our money is stored in the bank.

In a study published in Nature Physics, researchers at the University of British Columbia have demonstrated an entirely new way to precisely control such electrical currents by leveraging the interaction between an electron’s spin (which is the quantum magnetic field it inherently carries) and its orbital rotation around the nucleus.

“We have found a new way to switch the electrical conduction in materials from on to off,” said lead author Berend Zwartsenberg, a Ph.D. student at UBC’s Stewart Blusson Quantum Matter Institute (SBQMI). “Not only does this exciting result extend our understanding of how electrical conduction works, it will help us further explore known properties such as conductivity, magnetism and superconductivity, and discover new ones that could be important for quantum computing, data storage and energy applications.”

Lego is an unusual candidate to make thermal computing cost less.

Braintree founder Bryan Johnson, MBA’07, invests in bold ventures on the next frontier.

Bryan Johnson is determined to explore the depths of your mind and help save humanity from its direst threats.

Continue reading “How one entrepreneur is tackling humanity’s most pressing problems” »

What our senses allow us to experience may not reflect what actually exists. It may be a creation of our own consciousness, or a computer simulation designed by superintelligent beings.

O„.o.

The processor that makes your laptop or cell phone work was fabricated using quartz from this obscure Appalachian backwater.

Still baffled by quantum computing? How about turning to comic books (graphic novels for the well-read among you) for some clarity and a little humor on QC. The National Science Foundation has done just as part of its EPiQC (Enabling Practical-scale Quantum Computing) program. So far eight €˜Zines €™ have been created with more to come.

€œComic books offer approachable ways to convey both humor and information. One might think that comic books would not be able to convey complex information like the ideas behind QC. In this case, one would be wrong, at least for one as creative as the University of Chicago €™s Diana Franklin, as part of the National Science Foundation (NSF) funded https://www.epiqc.cs.uchicago.edu/”>EPIQC Expedition in Computing, € wrote Mark Hill of the University of Wisconsin-Madison in a recent blog for Computing Community Consortium, run by NSF.

€œIn particular, Diana and colleagues have developed eight, with more coming, €œ https://www.epiqc.cs.uchicago.edu/zines”>zines € that are comic-book-like pamphlets obtained by printing and folding a single sheet of paper. The topics include quantum notation, superposition, and history. In my humble opinion, these are great examples of the synergy possible with research and education done together. Enjoy! €.

Google’s parent Alphabet touted its quantum supremacy achievement last year. It doesn’t talk about a group at X working on software.

Google’s parent touted its quantum supremacy achievement last year. It doesn’t talk about a group at X working on software.

Have humans become an indoor species? Given that Americans spend, on average, 93 percent of their time indoors, it would seem that we are indeed suffering from what some call “nature deficit disorder.”

We don’t need a fancy term to realize we might benefit from spending more time outdoors. Getting out for a gentle walk or a vigorous hike is likely to reduce stress, improve health, and increase emotional well-being.

If you spend much time on a computer, you probably reach a time in the day when you have so many browser tabs and programs open that your computer slows considerably. It’s time for a reset.

If your PC is running on any modern #Intel CPU built before Oct 2018, it’s likely vulnerable to a new hardware issue, dubbed CacheOut (CVE-2020–0549), that could let attackers leak sensitive data from OS kernel, VMs and even from SGX enclave. :-o.

Researchers demonstrated a new speculative execution vulnerability, dubbed ‘CacheOut’ assigned CVE-2020–0549, in Intel processors that could allow attackers to leak targeted sensitive data from OS kernel, co-resident virtual machines, and even stored within Intel’s secured SGX enclave.