Day: January 19, 2018
Real-world intercontinental quantum communications enabled by the Micius satellite
A joint China-Austria team has performed quantum key distribution between the quantum-science satellite Micius and multiple ground stations located in Xinglong (near Beijing), Nanshan (near Urumqi), and Graz (near Vienna). Such experiments demonstrate the secure satellite-to-ground exchange of cryptographic keys during the passage of the satellite Micius over a ground station. Using Micius as a Read more about Real-world intercontinental quantum communications enabled by the Micius satellite[…]
Information engine operates with nearly perfect efficiency
Physicists have experimentally demonstrated an information engine—a device that converts information into work—with an efficiency that exceeds the conventional second law of thermodynamics. Instead, the engine’s efficiency is bounded by a recently proposed generalized second law of thermodynamics, and it is the first information engine to approach this new bound. The results demonstrate both the Read more about Information engine operates with nearly perfect efficiency[…]
You could soon be manufacturing your own drugs—thanks to 3D printing
Forget those long lines at the pharmacy: Someday soon, you might be making your own medicines at home. That’s because researchers have tailored a 3D printer to synthesize pharmaceuticals and other chemicals from simple, widely available starting compounds fed into a series of water bottle–size reactors. The work, they say, could digitize chemistry, allowing users Read more about You could soon be manufacturing your own drugs—thanks to 3D printing[…]
Why People Dislike Really Smart Leaders
Intelligence makes for better leaders—from undergraduates to executives to presidents—according to multiple studies. It certainly makes sense that handling a market shift or legislative logjam requires cognitive oomph. But new research on leadership suggests that, at a certain point, having a higher IQ stops helping and starts hurting. […] The researchers looked at 379 male Read more about Why People Dislike Really Smart Leaders[…]
Someone is touting a mobile, PC spyware platform called Dark Caracal to governments
Dark Caracal [PDF] appears to be controlled from the Lebanon General Directorate of General Security in Beirut – an intelligence agency – and has slurped hundreds of gigabytes of information from devices. It shares its backend infrastructure with another state-sponsored surveillance campaign, Operation Manul, which the EFF claims was operated by the Kazakhstan government last Read more about Someone is touting a mobile, PC spyware platform called Dark Caracal to governments[…]
New AI System Predicts How Long Patients Will Live With Startling Accuracy
By using an artificially intelligent algorithm to predict patient mortality, a research team from Stanford University is hoping to improve the timing of end-of-life care for critically ill patients. After parsing through 2 million records, the researchers identified 200,000 patients suitable for the project. The researchers were “agnostic” to disease type, disease stage, severity of Read more about New AI System Predicts How Long Patients Will Live With Startling Accuracy[…]