In order for quantum computers to become a reality, it would be hugely helpful if scientists were able to supercool molecules. If a temperature of near absolute zero (-273C/-460F) could be achieved, then the oscillations associated with the molecules’ low energies could be used in the creation of quantum bits for use in quantum processors. Recently, researchers at Yale University got a step closer to that goal, by using laser light to cool molecules.

via Laser-cooled molecules could pave way for quantum computing.

For years, particle physicists and computer scientists have been promising us vastly improved memory chips based on the spin of individual electrons, but concrete advances have been awfully elusive. Now a team at Ohio State has put together a working device to test spintronic memory, and used it successfully.

via First Spintronic Computer Memory Device Successfully Built in Lab | Popular Science.

You might expect black holes to be, well, black, but several decades ago Stephen Hawking calculated that they should emit light. Now, for the first time, physicists led by Francesco Belgiorno of the University of Milan, Italy, claim that they have observed this weird glow in the lab.

via Hawking radiation glimpsed in artificial black hole – physics-math – 28 September 2010 – New Scientist.

ScienceDaily (Sep. 28, 2010) — A type of neuron that, when malfunctioning, has been tied to epilepsy, autism and schizophrenia is much more complex than previously thought, researchers at MIT’s Picower Institute for Learning and Memory report in the Sept. 9 issue of Neuron.

via Interneurons are not all created equally: Some classes of interneurons may underlie distinct brain disorders.

We’ve all seen what a bumpy ride Nokia’s had over the last few months — disappointing profits, the departure of a couple of old friends, and the slight delay of the forthcoming N8. Despite all that, Espoo seems to have at least one stronghold that remained unshaken throughout the storm: its research center in Cambridge, UK. Yep, we’re talking about the magical place where Nokia and University of Cambridge co-develop the core technologies for the futuristic Morph concept. Actually, "futuristic" might be too strong a word here, as we were fortunate enough to see some of Nokia’s latest research at the heart of Morph — namely flexible circuitry and nanowire sensing — demonstrated live yesterday. Curious as to how well the demos went? Then read on — you know you want to.

CLICK THE LINK BELOW TO SEE A VIDEO TOUR

via A grand tour of nanotechnology at Nokia Research Center, Cambridge — Engadget.

This schematic diagram of a thin film organic solar cell shows the top layer, a patterned, roughened scattering layer, in green. The organic thin film layer, shown in red, is where light is trapped and electrical current is generated. The film is sandwiched between two layers that help keep light contained within the thin film.

(PhysOrg.com) — Ultra-thin solar cells can absorb sunlight more efficiently than the thicker, more expensive-to-make silicon cells used today, because light behaves differently at scales around a nanometer, say Stanford engineers. They calculate that by properly configuring the thicknesses of several thin layers of films, an organic polymer thin film could absorb as much as 10 times more energy from sunlight than was thought possible.

via Solar cells thinner than wavelengths of light hold huge power potential.

Click here to access the entire article.

The book Cyber War: The Next Threat to National Security and What to Do About It by Richard A. Clarke and Robert Knake would seem to be a timely read about now.

Click here for the complete MSNBC report.

You may have to scroll down a bit to see them.

Singularity University (SU) announced today that it is launching its first international program…

Click here to read the article.

Click here for more on Singularity University.

Click here for more information on the Singularity.

Click here for the complete Fox News article.

Mazlan Othman, an astrophysicist, is expected to be tasked with coordinating humanity’s response to an extraterrestrial visit, if ever required…

Click here to access the entire article.

Click here for more about aliens.

FutureTimeline.net is indeed a most interesting site. I had not previously spotted it.

Click here to take a look.

If you’ve got more time, click here to learn even more about future predictions.

Biomedical researchers at the University at Buffalo created the new cell lines – named “MSC Universal” – by…

Click here to read the entire article.

Click here for more information on adult stem cells.

Summary:

The development of human-level AI has been a core goal of the AI field since its inception, though at present it occupies only a fraction of the field’s efforts. To help understand the viability of this goal, this article presents an assessment of expert opinions regarding human-level AI research conducted at AGI-09, a conference for this AI specialty.

We found that various experts strongly disagree with each other on certain matters, such as timing and ordering of key milestones. However, we did find that most experts expect human-level AI to be reached within upcoming decades, and all experts give at least some chance that some milestones will be reached within this time. Furthermore, a majority of experts surveyed favor an integrative approach to human-level AI rather than an approach centered on a particular technique. Finally, experts are skeptical about the impact of massive research funding, especially if it is concentrated in relatively few approaches. These results suggest that the possibility of achieving human-level AI in the near term should be given serious consideration. more>>>