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martyb writes:

Latest EmDrive tests at Dresden University shows "impossible Engine" does not develop any thrust

After tests in NASA laboratories had initially stirred up hope that the so-called EmDrive could represent a revolutionary, fuel-free alternative to space propulsion, the sobering final reports on the results of intensive tests and analyzes of three EmDrive variants by physicists at the Dresden University of Technology (TU Dresden) are now available. Grenzwissenschaft-Aktuell.de (GreWi) has exclusively interviewed the head of studies Prof. Dr. Martin Tajmar about the results.

As the team led by Prof. Tajmar reported last weekend at the "Space Propulsion Conference 2020 + 1" (which was postponed due to the Corona pandemic) and published in three accompanying papers in the "Proceedings of Space Propulsion Conference 2020 + 1" (Paper 1, Paper 2, Paper 3), they had to confirm the previously discussed interim results, according to which the EmDrive does not develop the thrust previously observed by other teams (such as NASA's Eagleworks and others). The team also confirmed that the already measured thrust forces can be explained by external effects, as they have now been proven by Tajmar and colleagues using a highly sensitive experimental and measurement setup.

On their work on the classical EmDrive Prof. Tajmar reports to GreWi-editor Andreas Müller:

"We found out that the cause of the 'thrust' was a thermal effect. For our tests, we used NASAs EmDrive configuration from White et al. (which was used at the Eagleworks laboratories, because it is best documented and the results were published in the 'Journal of Propulsion and Power'."

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upstart writes in with an IRC submission:

Qubits comprised of holes could be the trick to build faster, larger quantum computers:

[...] [According to A/Prof Dimi Culcer (UNSW/FLEET), who led the theoretical roadmap study,] "Our theoretical studies show that a solution is reached by using holes, which can be thought of as the absence of an electron, behaving like positively-charged electrons."

In this way, a quantum bit can be made robust against charge fluctuations stemming from the solid background.

Moreover, the 'sweet spot' at which the qubit is least sensitive to such noise is also the point at which it can be operated the fastest.

"Our study predicts such a point exists in every quantum bit made of holes and provides a set of guidelines for experimentalists to reach these points in their labs," says Dimi.

Reaching these points will facilitate experimental efforts to preserve quantum information for as long as possible. This will also provide strategies for 'scaling up' quantum bits – ie, building an 'array' of bits that would work as a mini-quantum computer.

"This theoretical prediction is of key importance for scaling up quantum processors and first experiments have already been carried out," says Prof Sven Rogge of the Centre for Quantum Computing and Communication Technology (CQC2T)."

"Our recent experiments on hole qubits using acceptors in silicon already demonstrated longer coherence times than we expected," says A/Prof Joe Salfi of the University of British Columbia. "It is encouraging to see that these observations rest on a firm theoretical footing. The prospects for hole qubits are bright indeed."

Journal Reference:
Zhanning Wang, Elizabeth Marcellina, Alex. R. Hamilton, et al. Optimal operation points for ultrafast, highly coherent Ge hole spin-orbit qubits [open], npj Quantum Information (DOI: 10.1038/s41534-021-00386-2)

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DannyB writes:

Back in March 2003, some of you may remember the (in)famous SCO vs IBM lawsuit claiming that Linux had code which was stolen from Unix. And that Unix was owned by SCO. (neither of those two claims were true, and the falsity of the latter was proven in court first by a bench trial, then after an appeal, by a jury, then after another appeal, just because, by another judge)

The story is very long, and I can't tell it here. SCO claimed for years to have mountains of evidence. Never showed any. After protestations from IBM, the court ordered SCO three times to produce its evidence, the third and final order was Dec 22, 2005. Eventually the court began knocking out the legs from SCO's purported "case". Eventually trial was finally set to begin Monday, September 17, 2007. After boasting loudly for years that SCO wanted its day in court, on the Friday afternoon preceding trial on Monday, SCO declared bankruptcy. How can a company remain in bankruptcy for so many years, until this very day!? Good question. It's stuck at an appeals court that hasn't touched it in years. The docket alone is hundreds(!) of boxes. I'm sure no court unfamiliar with this long and complex case is very eager to first have to read through the docket. This case is firmly in Jarndyce and Jarndyce territory here.

At some point in bankruptcy, the court separated the assets from the litigation. The assets went in one direction (Xinuos), and the lawsuit went in the other direction -- thus keeping the assets now out of reach of any possible counter claim damages from IBM.

Yesterday (March 31, 2021) Xinuos filed a new lawsuit against IBM and Red Hat.^{[1] [2] [3]}

takyon writes:

TSMC to Spend $100B on Fabs and R&D Over Next Three Years: 2nm, Arizona Fab & More

TSMC this week has announced plans to spend $100 billion on new production facilities as well as R&D over the next three years. The world's largest contract maker of chips says that its fabs are currently working at full load, so to meet demand for its services going forward it will need (much) more capacity. Among TSMC's facilities to go online in the next three to four years are the company's fab in Arizona as well as its first 2nm-capable fab in Taiwan.

[...] TSMC's capital expenditures (CapEx) budget last year was $17.2 billion, whereas its R&D budget was $3.72 billion, or approximately 8.2% of its revenue. This year the company intends to increase its CapEx to somewhere in the range of $25 to $28 billion, which would make for a 45% to 62% year-over-year increase in that spending. The company's R&D spending will also rise as its revenue is expected to grow. In total, TSMC plans to invest around $30 billion or more on CapEx and R&D this year. Taken altogether, if the company intends to spend around $100 billion from 2021 through 2023, its expenditures in the next two years will be roughly flat with 2021, something that should please its investors.

SK Hynix to Build $106 Billion Fab Cluster: 800,000 Wafer Starts a Month

Capping off a busy week for fab-related news, South Korea authorities this week gave SK Hynix a green light to build a new, 120 trillion won ($106.35 billion) fab complex. The fab cluster will be primarily used to build DRAM for PCs, mobile devices, and servers, using process technologies that rely on extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUV). The first fab in the complex will go online in 2025.

[...] The new fabs will be used to make various types of DRAM using SK Hynix's upcoming production technologies that will use extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography. And with a start date still years away, we're likely looking at a fab that will be used to manufacture DDR5, LPDDR5X, and other future types of DRAM.

See also: TSMC bumps spending up 50% to meet increased demand

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takyon writes:

Pixel 6 will be powered by new Google-made 'Whitechapel' chip

9to5Google can report today that Google's upcoming phones for this fall, including the presumed Pixel 6, will be among the first devices to run on the "GS101" Whitechapel chip.

[...] First rumored in early 2020, Whitechapel is an effort on Google's part to create their own systems on a chip (SoCs) to be used in Pixel phones and Chromebooks alike, similar in to how Apple uses their own chips in the iPhone and Mac. Google was said to be co-developing Whitechapel with Samsung, whose Exynos chips rival Snapdragon processors in the Android space.

Per that report, Google would be ready to launch devices with Whitechapel chips as soon as 2021. According to documentation viewed by 9to5Google, this fall's Pixel phones will indeed be powered by Google's Whitechapel platform.

[...] Putting it all together, this fall's Made by Google phones will not use chips made by Qualcomm, but will instead be built on Google's own Whitechapel hardware platform with assistance from Samsung.

Also at The Verge and XDA Developers.

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An Anonymous Coward writes:

Coronavirus Variant Found in France Can Evade PCR Nasal-Swab Tests:

The French ministry of health and social affairs announced Monday that among a cluster of 79 COVID-19 cases in Brittany, eight patients were infected with the new variant, but several of them tested negative.

[...] The new variant does not yet have a alphanumeric designation. But it's not the first variant that appears able to evade testing. Finnish researchers announced last month that they had identified a strain named Fin-796H with a mutation that made it difficult to detect with some nasal-swab tests, too.

An inability to accurately diagnose infected people could make it harder to curtail the virus's spread at a time when cases across Europe are already spiking.

[...] The standard molecular lab tests — known as reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) tests — hunt for an infection in a swab from a patient's nose, looking for the coronavirus's genetic code.

But according to the French Health Directorate, genetic sequencing revealed that the variant found in Brittany has several mutations on its spike protein that help it evade detection by these diagnostic tests.

Health officials in Brittany eventually confirmed some of the cases caused by the new variant by either testing the patients' blood for antibodies or collecting samples of phlegm the patients coughed up from inside their lungs and running those through a RT-PCR test.

[...] one European diagnostics company, the Novacyt Group, announced Thursday that its PCR tests can successfully detect the new variant.

Original Submission

upstart writes in with an IRC submission:

Defective Macs 'Knowingly Sold By Apple' In Stage Light Case - 9To5Mac:

A federal judge has ruled that Apple is assumed* to have knowingly sold defective Macs, in response to an application for a class action lawsuit against the company. The lawsuit is over the MacBook Pro “stage light” fault, in which the backlight takes on the appearance of stage lighting at the bottom of the screen before later failing completely.

*Update: Legal commentators have pointed out that the judge has not ruled that Apple did so, but in deciding that there is merit to the case, he in law assumes the allegations to be true.

The judge said the court would also consider allegations that Apple deleted forum posts complaining about the issue …

Apple at first denied warranty repairs on affected machines, before creating a Display Backlight Service Program to address it in the 13-inch model, but excluded the 15-inch model. The plaintiffs in the class action suit allege that Apple continued to sell 15-inch models that it knew were prone to this fault, without warning consumers.

[...] U.S. District Judge Edward Davila determined that the consumers’ allegations of Apple conducting intensive pre-release testing, which the consumers say was conducted by a team of “reliability engineers” who carried out stress tests and other procedures that would have alerted Apple to defects behind the display failures, sufficiently demonstrate that Apple was aware of the alleged defect.

[...] “The court finds that the allegations of pre-release testing in combination with the allegations of substantial customer complaints are sufficient to show that Apple had exclusive knowledge of the alleged defect,” the judge wrote in his opinion.

Original Submission

upstart writes in with an IRC submission for Runaway1956:

NASA Says There Are Still Easter Eggs on Its Mars Rover That Nobody Has Discovered:

NASA has been hinting that it hid two more Easter eggs on the Perseverance rover it’s currently steering around the surface of Mars — and that nobody has spotted them yet.

The space agency posted a few clues on Twitter, urging followers to investigate and uncover them before a big, on-theme Easter reveal this upcoming Sunday. NASA says that both hidden surprises can be seen in Perseverance’s collection of raw images. But because there are over 16,500 of those online, you may also need the hints that NASA has been dropping on Twitter throughout the week.

[...] “Hint on Easter egg #1: every vehicle has one. Hint on Easter egg #2: it’s in our nature,” NASA tweeted on Wednesday. On Friday, NASA followed up to mention that the second one is “‘wheely’ tricky to spot,” so, you know, do with that what you will.

Happy hunting!

Original Submission

upstart writes in with an IRC submission for Runaway1956 (emphasis elided):

Uber ordered to pay $1.1m to blind woman refused rides:

Uber has been ordered to pay $1.1m (£795,000) to a blind woman who was refused rides on 14 occasions.

Lisa Irving said on some occasions, drivers were verbally abusive, or harassed her about transporting her guide dog, Bernie, in the car. One driver allegedly cut her trip short after falsely claiming to have arrived at her destination.

An independent arbitrator ruled Uber's drivers had illegally discriminated against her due to her condition. It rejected Uber's claim that the company itself was not liable, because, it argued, its drivers had the status of contractors rather than employees.

Mrs Irving, from San Francisco, said she had worried about her safety after being stranded multiple times late at night due to being rejected by drivers. She also alleged that cancelled rides also led to her being late for work, which contributed to her being fired from her job. The behaviour from drivers continued despite her complaining to Uber, she said.

[...] "I'm sorry it came to this," Mrs Irving told the San Francisco Chronicle newspaper. "I would have preferred that my civil rights be respected. But it sends a strong message that this is not acceptable."

What kind of lowlife . . .

Original Submission

takyon writes:

Quantum Motion unveils 9-second silicon qubit

Quantum Motion, a four-year-old UK-based startup is today announcing a quantum computing breakthrough, demonstrating that a stable qubit can be created on a standard silicon chip, similar to those used in smartphones.

[...] Even chipmaker Intel, which is testing a similar silicon-based approach in collaboration with Delft-based startup QuTech, talks about times of 1 second — and this is several orders of magnitude longer than what has been achieved by quantum companies using the superconducting approach.

[...] But more importantly, if the silicon approach works, the quantum computer industry would not have to build a new set of chip foundries — they could use the infrastructure that is already there. It would also be easier to combine quantum and classic computers if both use the same silicon chip and transistor architecture.

[...] Some of the quantum computing technologies may also be quite bulky when you scale up to multiple thousands of qubits. But in theory, a million of Quantum Motion's electron-spin qubits could be packed onto a 1cm square chip. You would still need the elaborate chandelier-like refrigerator to keep the chips at a fraction of a kelvin above absolute zero, but just one such refrigerator — similar in size to a server rack — can hold many chips.

Press release.

Also at TechRadar.

Journal Reference:
Virginia N. Ciriano-Tejel, Michael A. Fogarty, Simon Schaal, et al. Spin Readout of a CMOS Quantum Dot by Gate Reflectometry and Spin-Dependent Tunneling [open], PRX Quantum (DOI: 10.1103/PRXQuantum.2.010353)

Original Submission

Freeman writes:

Amazon colluded with publishers to fix book prices, class-action suit alleges:

A small independent bookstore filed a class-action lawsuit against Amazon last week, alleging that the e-commerce giant colluded with the five major book publishers to fix wholesale prices and block other sellers "from competing on price or product availability."

The suit [(pdf)] seeks to compensate independent booksellers for Amazon's and publishers' practices and put an injunction on the alleged anticompetitive practices. The named plaintiff is Bookends and Beginnings, a physical and online bookstore located in Evanston, Illinois, just north of Chicago. Amazon, which got its start selling books during the dot-com boom, has dominated the retail book market in recent years, selling an estimated 90 percent of all e-books and over 40 percent of physical books.

[...] The class-action lawsuit seeks unspecified damages to compensate booksellers. In previous years, book publishers have paid tens of millions of dollars to settle price-fixing lawsuits, and Apple paid $450 million in a settlement after its appeal to the Supreme Court was denied.

Original Submission

canopic jug writes:

LBRY, an MIT-licensed, decentralized protocol competing against the likes of YouTube, has an accompanying cryptocurrency. After a three year investigation, the SEC is now suing LBRY Inc, the developer, for $11 million. The SEC is making the accusation that the tokens amount to unregulated security, or tradable financial assets. The LBRY protocol is used by services like Odysee and others.

Apparently the SEC complaint fails to acknowledge steps LBRY has been taking to comply with the law. So far LBRY has spent more than $1 million in legal fees and that, despite multiple attempts to get advice on legal operation from the SEC, none were given.

The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged LBRY, a blockchain company, with conducting an unregistered offering of digital asset securities.

According to the SEC's complaint, from at least July 2016 to February 2021, LBRY, which offers a video sharing application, sold digital asset securities called "LBRY Credits" to numerous investors, including investors based in the US. The complaint alleges that LBRY did not file a registration statement for the offering, and that the offering failed to satisfy any exemption from registration. The complaint further alleges that by failing to file a registration statement, LBRY denied prospective investors the information required for such an offering to the public. As alleged, LBRY received more than $11 million in U.S. dollars, Bitcoin, and services from purchasers who participated in its offering.

The SEC's complaint, filed in the federal district court in New Hampshire, charges LBRY with violating the registration provisions of Sections 5(a) and 5(c) of the Securities Act of 1933. The SEC seeks permanent injunctive relief, disgorgement plus prejudgment interest, and civil penalties.

LBRY now has a FAQ for the lawsuit because, if the case is as they frame it, all cryptocurrency development will be profoundly affected by the outcome of this case.

Original Submission

Freeman writes:

Factory mix-up spoils 15 million doses of J&J COVID vaccine:

About 15 million doses of Johnson & Johnson's one-shot COVID-19 vaccine were ruined, and future vaccine shipments will be delayed. This all follows a mix-up at a manufacturing facility in Baltimore, according to multiple media reports.

Johnson & Johnson had partnered with Emergent BioSolutions to manufacture the active ingredient of its vaccine. But according to two US officials who spoke with Politico, workers at the West Baltimore facility mixed up the ingredients in Johnson & Johnson's vaccine with those for a different coronavirus vaccine. Emergent BioSolutions is also a manufacturing partner of AstraZeneca, according to The New York Times, which first reported the problem.

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upstart writes in with an IRC submission for AzumaHazuki:

Concerns raised over safety of common food preservative:

A new study is raising questions over the safety of a commonly used food preservative found in hundreds of products. It's suspected the compound, tert-butylhydroquinone (known as tBHQ or E319), impairs effective immune system activity and the researchers are calling for greater surveillance of the immunological effects of food additives.

“The pandemic has focused public and scientific attention on environmental factors that can impact the immune system,” says lead author on the new study, Olga Naidenko. “Before the pandemic, chemicals that may harm the immune system’s defense against infection or cancer did not receive sufficient attention from public health agencies. To protect public health, this must change.”

[...] The study suggests the ToxCast data reveals a number of signs tBHQ influences immune activity. The researchers do, however, make clear these findings are based on animal and mechanistic studies. Further investigation needs to be done to better understand how this compound affects human immune parameters, including “defense against infection, anti-tumor immune responses, and autoimmune reactivity.”

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MrPlow writes:

Submitted via IRC for TheMightyBuzzard

Australian researchers have discovered the gene responsible for a particularly nasty form of hormone-sensitive breast cancer. They believe their work may also provide a genetic trail of breadcrumbs to hunt other cancers in future.

[...] Among them were estrogen receptor-positive (ER+) cancers called IntClust2, characterized by a section of DNA in chromosome 11 standing out, with one gene in particular, called AAMDC, a potential calling card for some of the most intractable forms of cancer known to humanity.

Source: Major breakthrough as researchers pinpoint exact gene responsible for one of deadliest forms of breast cancer

Original Submission