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Phoenix666 writes:

a diverse team of scientists centered at Bilkent University and Middle East Technical University (both in Ankara, Turkey) have found a way to pack laser-written structures deep inside silicon chips. In the latest issue of Nature Photonics, the researchers describe their novel approach, which uses a focused infrared laser beam to create 1-μm-resolution building blocks in a sliver of silicon. For the first time, the researchers demonstrate arbitrary 3-D fabrication inside silicon, without structures above or below.

Then, the researchers converted these complex 3-D architectures into functional optical devices such as lenses, waveguides, holograms and other optical elements. "We achieved this by exploiting dynamics arising from nonlinear laser-material interactions, leading to controllable building blocks," says Dr. Onur Tokel of the Department of Physics at Bilkent, who is the lead author of the paper. "In any 3-D fabrication method, there is a trade-off between speed, resolution, and complexity. With our approach, we are hitting the sweet spot. The critical realization is noticing that most practical components can be made out of rod- or needle-like building blocks. Our method enables creating precisely such blocks, while also preserving a width of about 1 micrometer for each block. Better yet, the rods can be combined to create a 2-D layer, or even more complex 3-D shapes, which can simply be created by scanning the laser beam over the chip."

A further outcome of the method is related to 3-D printing or sculpting. The researchers found that by exposing the laser-modified areas to a specific chemical etchant, it is possible to realize 3-D sculpturing of the entire wafer. They demonstrated various microscopic components, such as microchannels, thru-Si vias, cantilevers and micropillars. Creation of some of these is prohibitively difficult with other methods.

We're so close now.

Original Submission

Phoenix666 writes:

Parents want teachers to do more when it comes to teaching their children about social and life skills inside the classroom, according to a new report.

The joint study between Monash University researchers and the Australian Scholarship Group (ASG) is the only one of its kind to investigate the state of education in Australia from parents' perspective.

Undertaken by Monash Faculty of Education associate professors Sivanes and Shane N. Phillipson, the report said Australian parents want their children to have access to a "holistic education".

According to the study, 69 per cent of parents believe schools should do more to teach their child about social skills. When ethnicity is factored in, the proportion increases substantially to 94 per cent among Indian and other Asian parents.

Furthermore, 49 per cent of parents agree they would like their child's school to do more about teaching them how to behave in public, which increases to 74 per cent among Indian and other Asian parents.

The mantra "The Corps is mother, the Corps is father" springs to mind.

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takyon writes:

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/10/world/asia/north-korea-hack-war-plans.html

North Korean hackers stole a vast cache of data, including classified wartime contingency plans jointly drawn by Washington and Seoul, when they breached the computer network of the South Korean military last year, a South Korean lawmaker said Tuesday.

One of the plans included the South Korean military's plan to remove the North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, referred to as a "decapitation" plan, should war break out on the Korean Peninsula, the lawmaker, Rhee Cheol-hee, told reporters.

Mr. Rhee, a member of the governing Democratic Party who serves on the defense committee of the National Assembly, said he only recently learned of the scale of the North Korean hacking attack, which was first discovered in September last year.

It was not known whether any of the military's top secrets were leaked, although Mr. Rhee said that nearly 300 lower-classification confidential documents were stolen. The military is still unable to catalog nearly 80 percent of the 235 gigabytes of leaked data, he said.

Original Submission

cafebabe writes:

Before Uber lost its license to operate in London, the first half of Keiser Report Episode E1112: Uber Business considered the scenario of Uber's collapse. Figures are taken from a financial report but the hosts add startling commentary. Uber has lost about US$3 billion and more than 10% is due to bad car leases to Uber drivers. To maximize the number of available drivers, Uber arranged leases to 40,000 drivers. These are on generous terms, such as unlimited mileage, inclusive repairs and the option to return a vehicle with a US$250 penalty. Uber expected losses of US$500 per vehicle. However, with some vehicles accumulating 20,000 miles within six months, vehicles have depreciated to 1/2 of their showroom price. So, average loss per vehicle is US$9,000. For 40,000 vehicles, this is about US$360 million.

How did such an elementary mistake get so bad? Some tranches of funding have been provided by investment banks, such as Goldman Sachs, who charge fees for investment advice into high-tech shares (such as Uber), charge fees for brokerage services for shares (including Uber) and have have their own holdings in Uber. Although Goldman Sachs would presumably be "too big to fail", Uber certainly isn't. Enron collapsed after a peak market capitalization of US$80 billion. Without adjusting for inflation, Uber is worth about US$70 billion. However, much of this value is captured from a finite pool of taxi license "medallions". For example, a medallion for a New York Yellow Cab has traded above US$1 million. It is now 1/10 of that value and Max Keiser believes this is still over-valued due to ongoing market uncertainty.

Anyhow, in the scenario that Uber collapses, investment banks keep their fees. However, their holdings may require a bailout, may be offset as a tax loss, or in the worst case, they'll have to go through the grind of jubbing other shares to their clients. It would be trivial to slice 'n' dice US$720 million of subprime vehicle leases (total value, not the loss). However, if Uber is placed into administration, the situation is far less optimistic for drivers. Obviously, drivers lose a source of income. However, 40,000 drivers may incur unilateral changes to their lease arrangements. For some, they may have a lease on a vehicle that they cannot utilize and cannot return. This could bankrupt some individuals. Meanwhile, institutional investors would be largely unaffected.

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Phoenix666 writes:

Three cities in Colorado — a state whose fortunes have been tied to the boom and bust of oil, gas and other commodities — are among the top 10 leading destinations for the nation's best and brightest as old cow and mining towns morph into technology hubs, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Boulder, the small college town located just north of Colorado's capital, is ranked No. 1 nationally in the Bloomberg Brain Concentration Index, which tracks business formation as well as employment and education in the sciences, technology, engineering and mathematics. Fort Collins and Denver follow at No. 4 and No. 10, respectively.

Are the best and brightest taking up skiing, or seeking higher ground amid rising sea levels?

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takyon writes:

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently approved a gene therapy for the first time, to treat a form of leukemia. Now an FDA panel has endorsed a gene therapy for an inherited form of blindness. The FDA usually follows the recommendations of its advisory committees:

Gene therapy, which has had a roller-coaster history of high hopes and devastating disappointments, took an important step forward Thursday. A Food and Drug Administration advisory committee endorsed the first gene therapy for an inherited disorder — a rare condition that causes a progressive form of blindness that usually starts in childhood. The recommendation came in a unanimous 16-0 vote after a daylong hearing that included emotional testimonials by doctors, parents of children blinded by the disease and from children and young adults helped by the treatment.

"Before surgery, my vision was dark. It was like sunglasses over my eyes while looking through a little tunnel," 18-year-old Misty Lovelace of Kentucky, told the committee. "I can honestly say my biggest dream came true when I got my sight. I would never give it up for anything. It was truly a miracle." Several young people described being able to ride bicycles, play baseball, see their parents' faces, read, write and venture out of their homes alone at night for the first time. "I've been able to see things that I've never seen before, like stars, fireworks, and even the moon," Christian Guardino, 17, of Long Island, N.Y., told the committee. "I will forever be grateful for receiving gene therapy."

The FDA isn't obligated to follow the recommendations of its advisory committees, but the agency usually does. If the treatment is approved, one concern is cost. Some analysts have speculated it could cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to treat each eye, meaning the cost for each patient could approach $1 million. Spark Therapeutics of Philadelphia, which developed the treatment, hasn't said how much the company would charge. But the company has said it would help patients get access to the treatment.

Despite the likely steep price tag, the panel's endorsement was welcomed by scientists working in the field. "It's one of the most exciting things for our field in recent memory," says Paul Yang, an assistant professor of ophthalmology at the Oregon Health and Science University who wasn't involved in developing or testing the treatment. "This would be the first approved treatment of any sort for this condition and the first approved gene therapy treatment for the eye, in general," Yang says. "So, on multiple fronts, it's a first and ushers in a new era of gene therapy."

Also at MIT.

Previously: Gene Therapy Cure for Sickle-Cell Disease
Gene Therapy to Kill Cancer Moves a Step Closer to Market

Original Submission

Phoenix666 writes:

"At every step along the way, the future is built by people who believe it can be better."

That's the message Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook's CEO, brought to the company's fourth annual Oculus Connect virtual reality developer conference Wednesday. As in previous years, Zuckerberg joined the stage to discuss the promise of what virtual reality can be and show off some goodies.

The company tallied 100 million app downloads, he said, and added that the company continues to work on a less-bulky version of its headsets.

But he said the company has a goal: Get 1 billion people in VR.

Maybe Zuckerberg can take those billion people along on his virtual cartoon tour of Puerto Rico's hurricane damage.

Original Submission

takyon writes:

https://spectrum.ieee.org/tech-talk/computing/hardware/intel-accelerates-its-quantum-computing-efforts-with-17qubit-chip

Intel says it is shipping an experimental quantum computing chip to research partners in The Netherlands today. The company hopes to demonstrate that its packaging and integration skills give it an edge in the race to produce practical quantum computers.

The chip contains 17 superconducting qubits—the quantum computer's fundamental component. According to Jim Clarke, Intel's director of quantum hardware, the company chose 17 qubits because it's the minimum needed to perform surface code error correction, an algorithm thought to be necessary to scaling up quantum computers to useful sizes.

Intel's research partners, at the TU Delft[1] and TNO[2] research center Qutech, will be testing the individual qubits' abilities as well as performing surface code error correction and other algorithms.

[...] For the new quantum chip, Intel adapted so-called flip chip technology to work at millikelvin temperatures. Flip chip involves adding a dot of solder to each bond pad, flipping the chip upside down atop the circuit board, and then melting the solder to bond it. The result is a smaller, denser, and lower inductance connection.

[1] TU Delft: Technische Universiteit Delft aka Delft University of Technology... is the largest and oldest Dutch public technological university, located in Delft, Netherlands. It counts as one of the best universities for engineering and technology worldwide, typically seen within the top 20.It is repeatedly considered the best university of technology in the Netherlands.
[2] TNO: Nederlandse Organisatie voor Toegepast Natuurwetenschappelijk Onderzoek (TNO; English: Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research) is a nonprofit company in the Netherlands that focuses on applied science.

Also at The Next Platform, Tom's Hardware, and TechCrunch. Intel Newsroom.

Original Submission

Phoenix666 writes:

As U.S. cities begin to plan to adapt to impacts from climate change, local decision makers face difficult choices about how to even get started.

A new study led by a University of Kansas urban planning researcher sheds light on tradeoffs between taking a narrow approach focused on connections between climate change adaptation and reducing risks from hazards like Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria, and taking a broader approach connecting adaptation to a wide array of city functions.

"Climate change impacts will be pervasive - forcing changes to transportation, housing, emergency management and countless other parts of our daily lives—and cities will need holistic strategies," said Ward Lyles, assistant professor of urban planning in the KU School of Public Affairs & Administration. "Our research identifies a paradox, however. Cities that begin with a narrower focus as part of planning for natural hazards appear to lay a stronger foundation for a more comprehensive approach down the line. Meanwhile, cities that start by tackling the comprehensive range of climate-related impacts initially may lack the focus needed to robustly address climate change impacts, like flooding and severe storms."

Fat chance. Waterworld is happening, baby.

Original Submission

takyon writes:

2012 TC₄ has passed by Earth:

2012 TC4 is estimated to be 45 to 100 feet (15 to 30 meters) in size. Orbit prediction experts say the asteroid poses no risk of impact with Earth. Nonetheless, its close approach to Earth is an opportunity to test the ability of a growing global observing network to communicate and coordinate their optical and radar observations in a real scenario.

This asteroid was discovered by the Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System (Pan-STARRS) on Hawaii back in 2012. Pan-STARRS conducts a near-Earth object (NEO) survey funded by NASA's NEO Observations Program, a key element of NASA's Planetary Defense Coordination Office. However, 2012 TC4 traveled out of the range of asteroid-tracking telescopes shortly after it was discovered.

Based on the observations they were able to make in 2012, asteroid trackers predicted that it should come back into view in the fall of 2017. Observers with the European Space Agency and the European Southern Observatory were the first to recapture 2012 TC4, in late July 2017, using one of their large 8-meter aperture telescopes. Since then, observers around the world have been tracking the object as it approaches Earth and reporting their observations to the Minor Planet Center.

This "test" of what has become a global asteroid-impact early-warning system is a volunteer project, conceived and organized by NASA-funded asteroid observers and supported by the NASA Planetary Defense Coordination Office (PDCO). As explained by Michael Kelley, program scientist and NASA PDCO lead for the TC4 observation campaign, "Asteroid trackers are using this flyby to test the worldwide asteroid detection and tracking network, assessing our capability to work together in response to finding a potential real asteroid-impact threat."

Previously: NASA Formalizes Planetary Defense Coordination Office to Track Asteroids
NASA and FEMA Conduct Asteroid Threat Response Exercise
Surprise Flyby of Asteroid on January 9, 2017
NASA to Redirect an Asteroid's Moon With Kinetic Impact
Asteroid 2012 TC4 Will Pass Close to Earth on October 12th
4.4 Kilometer Asteroid Safely Passes by Earth (two moons discovered)

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Celestial writes:

CEO Chris Beard revealed in an interview with CNET that Mozilla may start offering "freemium" services in the near future:

There's another side as we start to look at products that we could potentially offer. Some of them start to look like services, exploring the freemium models. There'd be a free level always, but also some premium services offering.

That Yahoo! money has to run out at some point.

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Phoenix666 writes:

Energy-saving Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) could help meet demand for wireless communications without affecting the quality of light or environmental benefits they deliver, new research funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) has shown.

A University of Edinburgh team has found that transmitting digital data via LEDs at the same time as using them to generate light does not make the light dimmer or change its colour. Nor does it make the LED more energy-hungry. Dr Wasiu Popoola of the University of Edinburgh, who led the research, says these concerns have held back the more widespread adoption of Light Fidelity, or LiFi, which uses household LEDs to enable data transfer.

But these findings help eliminate key hurdles to using LEDs to help satisfy the increasing global thirst for wireless communications. Preserving the quality of lighting is, in particular, a vital consideration as it can have a major effect on the physical and mental wellbeing of people in both their homes and their workplaces. LEDs have secured a huge increase in their share of the worldwide lighting market in recent years, as well as being used extensively in TV and other displays.

Uh huh. That's the same technology they use to keep the rest of you from seeing what I see.

Original Submission

takyon writes:

The European Southern Observatory (ESO) will announce an "unprecedented discovery" on Monday:

ESO will hold a press conference on 16 October 2017 at 16:00 CEST, at its Headquarters in Garching, Germany, to present groundbreaking observations of an astronomical phenomenon that has never been witnessed before.

[...] By registering for the conference, journalists agree to honour an embargo, details of which will be provided after registration, and not to publish or discuss any of the material presented before the start of the conference on 16 October 2017 at 16:00 CEST.

LEAK IT!

Update: The announcement will be related to gravitational waves, and may involve a neutron star collision, which would also be visible using optical methods.

Original Submission

Phoenix666 writes:

Microsoft is amping up its renewable energy portfolio by signing a power purchase agreement for 100 percent of GE's Tullahennel wind farm in Ireland. The energy from the 37-MW wind farm located in County Kerry will go towards powering Microsoft's data centers in the country which support its growing cloud services.

Microsoft has been committing more resources to greening its data centers in recent years, going beyond just procuring renewable energy sources to trying to push new sustainable technologies and ideas forward. The company has built an experimental data center in Wyoming that operates off the grid and is powered fully by biogas and they've sunk a small data center in the ocean to prove the concept of underwater data centers that can be both cooled and powered by the sea.

Original Submission

cmn32480 writes:

A major shift from the Boy Scouts of America:

Irving, Texas – October 11, 2017 – Today, the Boy Scouts of America Board of Directors unanimously approved to welcome girls into its iconic Cub Scout program and to deliver a Scouting program for older girls that will enable them to advance and earn the highest rank of Eagle Scout. The historic decision comes after years of receiving requests from families and girls, the organization evaluated the results of numerous research efforts, gaining input from current members and leaders, as well as parents and girls who've never been involved in Scouting – to understand how to offer families an important additional choice in meeting the character development needs of all their children.

"This decision is true to the BSA's mission and core values outlined in the Scout Oath and Law. The values of Scouting – trustworthy, loyal, helpful, kind, brave and reverent, for example – are important for both young men and women," said Michael Surbaugh, the BSA's Chief Scout Executive. "We believe it is critical to evolve how our programs meet the needs of families interested in positive and lifelong experiences for their children. We strive to bring what our organization does best – developing character and leadership for young people – to as many families and youth as possible as we help shape the next generation of leaders."

[...] Starting in the 2018 program year, families can choose to sign up their sons and daughters for Cub Scouts. Existing packs may choose to establish a new girl pack, establish a pack that consists of girl dens and boy dens or remain an all-boy pack. Cub Scout dens will be single-gender — all boys or all girls. Using the same curriculum as the Boy Scouts program, the organization will also deliver a program for older girls, which will be announced in 2018 and projected to be available in 2019, that will enable them to earn the Eagle Scout rank. This unique approach allows the organization to maintain the integrity of the single gender model while also meeting the needs of today's families.

I'll admit it, I was a little surprised by the announcement. As a longtime member of the BSA and an Eagle Scout, I find this extremely interesting. I know some who are dead set against it, and others who are totally for it. My personal opinion is that it will be a good thing, both for the BSA and for the young men and women who become part of the organization.

The biggest loser in all of this will probably be the Girl Scouts. I can see their membership numbers dwindling rapidly if/when this takes off.

As a side note, Scouting has been co-ed in many countries for decades.