Biological Computer to Read DNA


US scientists have developed the world's first 'biological computer' composed entirely of DNA molecules constructed on a gold-coated chip, which can accept as many as one billion programs and can decipher images encrypted on DNA chips. 


The Technion (Israel Institute of Technology) and a team from Scripps Research Institute in California have developed the biological computer. In the research, when suitable software was applied to the biological computer, the scientists found that it could decrypt, separately, fluorescent images of Scripps Research Institute and Technion logos. This is the first experimental demonstration of a molecular cryptosystem of images based on DNA computing, say the scientists led by Prof Ehud Keinan. 



"In contrast to electronic computers, there are computing machines in which all four components are nothing but molecules," says Keinan. "For example, all biological systems, and even entire living organisms, are such computers. Every one of us is a bio-molecular computer, that is, a machine in which all four components are molecules "talking" to one another in a logical manner."

The world's first biological computer integrates complex biological molecules in form of hardware and software in these devices. These biological molecules activate one another to carry out some predetermined chemical work, says Keinan. The computer uses molecules for both input and output. For input, a molecule undergoes specific, predetermined changes, following a specific set of rules (software); the output of this chemical computation process is another well-defined molecule.

The biological computer is "built" by combining chemical components into a solution in a tube. Various small DNA molecules are mixed in solution with selected DNA enzymes and ATP. The latter is used as the energy source of the device, reports TOI.

The results are published this week in the Journal of the American Chemical Society by Prof. Ehud Keinan. "An equally significant breakthrough is the incorporation of chips as an integral part of the computer," he says.


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CMOS that Captures Images In Dim Light


Clicking high resolution pictures in dim light will soon become a reality with an upgrade in present CMOS technology by Fraunhofer University.

Fraunhofer University has brought a technology that removes the the drawbacks of Pinned Photodiodes using pixel size 10 µm or above and helps the cameras capture images in dim light. Scientists have developed the lateral drift field photodetector (LDPD) that helps in boosting the speed of traditional CMOS sensors.



Keeping in mind the changing trends in electronics goods, manufacturers have to make CMOS circuits compatible with the smaller and thinner devices. With the reduced size, it is difficult to capture better quality images many-a-times. The problem is more seen if someone is clicking pictures in dim or no light situations like that in astronomy. Usually bigger size pixels are used opdevelop devices that can amount to faster conversion of light to electrical signal. 

Scientists from Fraunhofer hence introduced an upgrade for the the present CMOS sensors. The speed of conversion in these CMOS sensors has been improved for about 100 times that the initial.

According to a report, the optoelectronic device developed by the team is a lateral drift field photodetector (LDPD) which does not let the generated current to diffuse and sends it at an unprecedented speed to the reading device. The scientists have got the technology patented and the team is now awaiting approval for a series production of the device. 

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Laser Enabled Finer Chip Structures

A team of researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has invented a new way of shrinking circuit structures in semiconductors, which is certainly an advancement of the Moore's law. Moore’s law is the standard that defines the growth in semiconductors. The law named after Intel co-founder, Gordon E Moore, states that the number of components in integrated circuits had doubled every year from the invention of the integrated circuit in 1958 until 1965. His prediction proved to be accurate and the law is still practised in the semiconductor industry for long-term planning and to set targets for research and development, said a report.

The chip manufacturing industry resorts to photolithography techniques, which means producing chip features that are larger than the wavelength of the light applied. MIT researchers have developed a new process that can create complex chip structures, which would be 1/8th the size of the wavelength of the light used. It is a process that is described in the paper as "Breaking the Far-Field Diffraction Limit in Optical Nanopatterning via Repeated Photochemical and Electrochemical Transitions in Photochromic Molecules", published in Physical Review Letters. 






The researchers term it as an effect called Stimulated Emission Depletion imaging (STED), which enabled them to go beyond the current limitations of photolithography. Scientists make use of the fluorescent characteristics of materials to emit light when targeted by a laser beam in STED. The power of light emitted can be controlled by the intensity of the laser beam. If the power falls enough, it causes a 'dark patch' that is smaller than the wavelength of the laser light itself. These dark patches can be used as masks, which can be applied to a surface, said a Toms Hardware report.

The MIT Researchers opine that this invention can help in constructing semiconductors with much finer structures than what is possible today. MIT said that there could also be an opportunity to apply this technology in photonic devices. 
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Marine Solar Cell : taking energy from water

Can you imagine a solar cell taking energy from water? If you think its weird, you need to think again. Phil Pauley, a British industrial designer, has already done this. Pauley has designed Marine Solar Cells, which are capable of taking energy from both the sun and the sea water on which it floats. 



The designer was successful in doing this with the help of a web of energy generators. With the web of energy generators, he made it possible to capture energy off-shore, as he cleverly combined floating photovoltaics and natural buoyancy displacement.


According to an Ubergizmo report, the reflective nature of water enables the solar component’s efficiency to be increased by another 20 per cent or so compared to having it remain stationary on land. An even more interesting fact is that the Marine Solar Cells can be manufactured by recycled materials. Because of its connection with underwater mooring, the marine solar cells can be placed just about anywhere off-shore. This can result in subsea batteries or power plants. This technology is presently in its conceptual stage. 
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Nano-Ear That Can Hear Sound Of Bacteria

Scientists at Ludwig-Maximilians University, Munich have created a nano-ear which can trap sound waves much below the human ear can hear. With this technology, scientists have added an entirely new dimension to the domains of acoustics and biology. This nano-ear studies sound waves emitted by micro-organisms.

A team of German engineers including Jochen Feldmann and Andrey Lutich have achieved the breakthrough. After working on the principle of sensing sound waves at nano level, the two scientists have come to the conclusion that if gold nano particles are used along with lasers, an instrument which has sensitivity 6 magnitudes less than human ears can be created. 





The duo used a beam of laser at specific point in this experiment. They created an electric field with the network of lasers. According to a report, this makes the electric dipole moment attract nearest nano particle in the Web so created. 

The frequency of the sound waves making vibrations in nano-particles is sensed and related to sound waves of a particular frequency. The engineers claim that with this nano-ear, one can hear sense sound as low as -60dB. 

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Undergraduate Research at LIGO

Undergraduate students are encouraged to participate in the development of gravitational-wave astronomy through the LIGO Project. This intensive summer program takes place each year at Caltech, funded in part through the Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) Program of the National Science Foundation. Undergraduate students from all institutions (both U.S. and foreign) are invited to apply to the LIGO Summer Undergraduate Research Program. Research awards include a summer stipend and some funding for travel to Caltech as needed.

The LIGO Project is an NSF-supported endeavor to design, build, and operate an astrophysical observatory for the detection and study of gravitational radiation. The observatory includes two sites (Hanford, Washington and Livingston Parish, Louisiana) with laser interferometric detector systems. (More information on LIGO can be found on the LIGO home page, and from "LIGO: The Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory," A. Abramovici, et al., Science, 256, 325, 1992.)   The aim of the LIGO Summer Undergraduate Research Program is to organize the participation of undergraduate students in research associated with the LIGO Project.

LIGO research projects may cover many areas of science and engineering related to the detection of gravitational radiation, including:
  • Laboratory projects in mechanical, laser, optical, and electronic systems
  • Modeling and analysis of optomechanical systems
  • Software development projects
  • Modeling of astrophysical sources of gravitational radiation
The LIGO Summer Program runs from approximately June 18 through August 24, 2012 (exact dates are not yet known, but will be posted here shortly). These dates are somewhat flexible, depending on a student's particular circumstances. It is also possible to work longer than the standard 10 weeks of the program (for more pay), if this is arranged in advance.

Be quick last date to apply is 10 Feb 2012

For complete information refer to LIGO page
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Tegra 3 mobile processors : Most energy efficient

Tegra 3 comes with DIDIM technology which optimises the energy use per pixel, per frame and hence the end result in battery saving is huge.

If you're waiting for Transformer Prime, HTC Quattro or other Tegra 3 devices, you'd already be thinking about how the quad core would impact battery life. Most users think quad core would use every possible bit of battery life available faster than dual core devices do, but Tegra 3 is going to be different.
Chief executive officer of Nvidia, Jen Hsun, said, "We save as much power in the backlight without changing the visual fidelity at all to save, essentially, the entire power used by our chip."



The touchscreen uses much of the phone's power. Tegra 3 comes with DIDIM technology which optimises the energy use per pixel, per frame and hence the end result in battery saving is huge.
The technology adjusts the backlight of images on the screen to save battery. When the processor is fully active, it consumes only 1-2 Watt. The display consumes 3-6 Watt as per brightness, so the DIDIM technology saves more power than the Tegra 3 CPU uses.


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