#Scientists use graphene to create the world's smallest light bulb Scientists have created the world's smallest light bulb from a one atom-thick layer of graphene,
the miracle material that promises to transform everything from smartphones and computers to cars, buildings and satellites.
The ultrathin graphene was turned into a superheated filament-just like the thin wire of an incandescent light bulb
-which glowed at a temperature of about 2500c. The light was so intense it could be seen with the naked eye
even though it was on the atomic scale, which meant the high temperatures were confined to a tiny"hot spot
The discovery could be used as the basis of a new kind of switching device for future optical computers that use pulses of light rather than electricity to process
and transmit digital information far faster than conventional silicon chips, they said. It is the first time that scientists have been able to create a computer chip
which has its own visible light source, said James Hone, professor of mechanical engineering at Columbia University in New york, co-author of the study published in the journal Nature Nanotechnology."
"We've created what is essentially the world's thinnest light bulb. This new type of'broadband'light emitter can be integrated into chips
and will pave the way towards the realisation of atomically thin, flexible and transparent displays,
and graphene-based on-chip optical communications,"Professor Hone said.""We are just starting to dream about other uses for these structures,
for example as micro-hotplates that can be heated to thousands of degrees in a fraction of second to study high-temperature chemical reactions or catalysis,
"he said. Graphene, which was discovered by two Russian emigre scientists working at the University of Manchester,
is composed of layers of carbon laid down in a lattice structure just one atom thick.
and a near-perfect conductor of electricity. The Columbia scientists, working with researchers in South korea, attached small strips of graphene to microscopic metal electrodes which passed an electric current through the suspended strips causing them to heat up and bright
visible light.""The visible light from atomically thin graphene is so intense that it is visible even to the naked eye,
Creating such small light sources on the surface of a computer chip is considered essential for developing the fully integrated"photonic"circuits of optical computers,
which will in theory outperform the processing and speed of conventional silicon chips in today's computers,
The researchers also found that it was possible to vary the wavelengths of the light by altering the distance of the graphene wafers suspended over the silicon substrate of the chip-a potentially useful way of tuning the light source
and expanding its"bandwidth""This is only possible because graphene is transparent, unlike any conventional filament,
Smartphones Being both transparent and conductive, graphene could be perfect for the new generation of touchscreens.
Rust-free cars Graphene repels water and is highly conductive. This combination delays the oxidising reaction that causes rust.
Scientists have created the world's smallest light bulb from a one atom-thick layer of graphene
the miracle material that promises to transform everything from smartphones and computers to cars, buildings and satellites.
The ultrathin graphene was turned into a superheated filament-just like the thin wire of an incandescent light bulb
The discovery could be used as the basis of a new kind of switching device for future optical computers that use pulses of light rather than electricity to process
and transmit digital information far faster than conventional silicon chips, they said. It is the first time that scientists have been able to create a computer chip
which has its own visible light source, said James Hone, professor of mechanical engineering at Columbia University in New york, co-author of the study published in the journal Nature Nanotechnology."
"We've created what is essentially the world's thinnest light bulb. This new type of'broadband'light emitter can be integrated into chips
and will pave the way towards the realisation of atomically thin, flexible and transparent displays,
and graphene-based on-chip optical communications,"Professor Hone said.""We are just starting to dream about other uses for these structures,
for example as micro-hotplates that can be heated to thousands of degrees in a fraction of second to study high-temperature chemical reactions or catalysis,
"he said. Graphene, which was discovered by two Russian emigre scientists working at the University of Manchester,
is composed of layers of carbon laid down in a lattice structure just one atom thick.
and a near-perfect conductor of electricity. The Columbia scientists, working with researchers in South korea, attached small strips of graphene to microscopic metal electrodes which passed an electric current through the suspended strips causing them to heat up and bright
visible light.""The visible light from atomically thin graphene is so intense that it is visible even to the naked eye,
Creating such small light sources on the surface of a computer chip is considered essential for developing the fully integrated"photonic"circuits of optical computers,
which will in theory outperform the processing and speed of conventional silicon chips in today's computers,
The researchers also found that it was possible to vary the wavelengths of the light by altering the distance of the graphene wafers suspended over the silicon substrate of the chip-a potentially useful way of tuning the light source
and expanding its"bandwidth""This is only possible because graphene is transparent, unlike any conventional filament,
Smartphones Being both transparent and conductive, graphene could be perfect for the new generation of touchscreens.
Rust-free cars Graphene repels water and is highly conductive. This combination delays the oxidising reaction that causes rust t
#Microsoft's drones to catch mosquitoes and help stop epidemics WASHINGTON: Microsoft researchers are developing autonomous drones that collect mosquitoes to look for early signs that potentially harmful viruses are spreading,
with the goal of preventing disease outbreaks in humans. Project Premonition, launched by American tech company Microsoft,
is developing a system that aims to detect infectious disease outbreaks before they become widespread. Project Premonition could eventually allow health officials to get a jump start on preventing outbreaks of a disease like dengue fever
or avian flu before it occurs, whether or not it is a disease spread by mosquitoes,
researchers said. It will do that by relying on what Ethan Jackson the Microsoft researcher who is spearheading the project,
calls'nature's drones'-mosquitoes-to look for early signs that a particular illness could be on the move.
Researchers have developed a new mosquito trap that uses less energy and relies on lighter weight batteries.
It also has a new bait system for luring mosquitoes, a sensor that automatically sorts the mosquitoes from the other bugs
and chemicals that can preserve the mosquitoes for lab study. It is expected to be significantly cheaper and lighter than current traps.
The team will use drones that can fly the mosquito traps into and out of remote areas in a semi-autonomous way
rather than having to be directed constantly from the ground. Microsoft researchers are beginning to develop ways to make the drones even more autonomous,
and they are also working with US Federal aviation administration officials on regulatory requirements, according to a post on the company's blog.
Once the mosquitoes have been collected, the next challenge is to analyse them for microbes and viruses that could pose a threat to humans.
Until recently, the idea of culling through mosquitoes to try to find diseases that are known both
and unknown would have been wildly impractical, according to James Pipas, a professor of molecular biology at the University of Pittsburgh who also is working on Project Premonition.
But now, the latest developments in molecular biology and genetic sequencing are allowing researchers to cull through samples to look for multiple viruses,
including ones that have not been discovered yet. Researchers can then create cloud-based databases of the information they find,
and come up with algorithms for evaluating which of these viruses could present a threat to humans
or animals that humans rely on. Pipas expects that it will be very difficult to figure out which of the viruses they identify in mosquitoes are a threat
but he also said such a system holds incredible promise for preventing outbreaks. WASHINGTON: Microsoft researchers are developing autonomous drones that collect mosquitoes to look for early signs that potentially harmful viruses are spreading,
with the goal of preventing disease outbreaks in humans. Project Premonition, launched by American tech company Microsoft,
is developing a system that aims to detect infectious disease outbreaks before they become widespread. Project Premonition could eventually allow health officials to get a jump start on preventing outbreaks of a disease like dengue fever
or avian flu before it occurs, whether or not it is a disease spread by mosquitoes,
researchers said. It will do that by relying on what Ethan Jackson the Microsoft researcher who is spearheading the project,
calls'nature's drones'-mosquitoes-to look for early signs that a particular illness could be on the move.
Researchers have developed a new mosquito trap that uses less energy and relies on lighter weight batteries.
It also has a new bait system for luring mosquitoes, a sensor that automatically sorts the mosquitoes from the other bugs
and chemicals that can preserve the mosquitoes for lab study. It is expected to be significantly cheaper and lighter than current traps.
The team will use drones that can fly the mosquito traps into and out of remote areas in a semi-autonomous way
rather than having to be directed constantly from the ground. Microsoft researchers are beginning to develop ways to make the drones even more autonomous,
and they are also working with US Federal aviation administration officials on regulatory requirements, according to a post on the company's blog.
Once the mosquitoes have been collected, the next challenge is to analyse them for microbes and viruses that could pose a threat to humans.
Until recently, the idea of culling through mosquitoes to try to find diseases that are known both
and unknown would have been wildly impractical, according to James Pipas, a professor of molecular biology at the University of Pittsburgh who also is working on Project Premonition.
But now, the latest developments in molecular biology and genetic sequencing are allowing researchers to cull through samples to look for multiple viruses,
including ones that have not been discovered yet. Researchers can then create cloud-based databases of the information they find,
and come up with algorithms for evaluating which of these viruses could present a threat to humans
or animals that humans rely on. Pipas expects that it will be very difficult to figure out which of the viruses they identify in mosquitoes are a threat
#World thinnest bulb created from graphene Researchers have created the world's thinnest light bulb using graphene, an atomically thin and perfectly crystalline form of carbon,
Led by Young Duck Kim, a postdoctoral research scientist in James Hone's group at Columbia University School of engineering, a team of scientists from Columbia, Seoul National University,
and Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science said that they have demonstrated for the first time an on-chip visible light source using graphene as a filament.
They attached small strips of graphene to metal electrodes, suspended the strips above the substrate,
what is essentially the world's thinnest light bulb, "said Hone, Wang Fon-Jen professor of mechanical engineering at Columbia Engineering."
"This new type of'broadband'light emitter can be integrated into chips and will pave the way towards the realisation of atomically thin, flexible,
and transparent displays, and graphene-based on-chip optical communications,"said Hone
#In a first, drug offers hope for children with dwarfism An experimental drug, vying to become the first approved treatment for dwarfism, improved growth in children by a significant amount in a preliminary study, the drug's developer,
Biomarin Pharmaceutical, said on Wednesday. In the study, the 10 children who got the highest dose of the drug grew at an average rate of 6. 1cm,
or 2. 4 inches, per year, about a 50%increase from the four centimetres per year they were growing before starting the drug.
The growth rate while on the drug was similar to that of a child without the condition
the company said. Wall street investors and analysts had been hoping for a 50%improvement in growth rate,
and Biomarin shares rose 6%in after-hours trading. Dr William R Wilcox, a human genetics professor at Emory University, called the results"promising."
"But he expressed caution, given that only 10 children were getting the high dose and were treated for only six months."
who has been a consultant to Biomarin. He said that human growth hormone, a drug already marketed for certain children,
can also increase the growth rate for people with dwarfism to 6 centimetres per year but the effect wears off after one year.
or vosoritide, is aimed at treating achondroplasia, the most common form of dwarfism. The company says there may be 24
The drug would not be expected to work in adults because they have stopped growing. Women with achondroplasia typically grow to about four feet tall,
and men a few inches taller. The condition also causes disproportionate growth that can lead to complications like bowed legs, sleep apnea and spinal cord compression,
which can require surgery to correct. It is too soon to say if vosoritide can prevent any of those complications.
The drug is welcomed not universally. Some people with dwarfism say it is not a disease that needs treatment.
But about 80%of children with achondroplasia are born to parents of normal stature, and many parents want treatments for their children.
One is a torturous surgery that lengthens the legs by breaking them h
#First electric plane gets wings in China BEIJING: The world's first electric passenger aircraft to gain an airworthiness certificate has been produced by China,
its official media arm reported. The BX1E has a 14.5-meter wingspan and a maximum payload of 230 kgs.
It can fly at an altitude of 3, 000 meters. The electric aircraft can charge fully within two hours,
allowing a flight time of 45 minutes to one hour, at a maximum speed of 160 km per hour.
The plane was designed by Shenyang Aerospace University and Liaoning general aviation academy in the northeastern Liaoning Province.
The aircraft can be used in pilot training tourism, meteorology and rescue operations. Each BX1E aircraft costs about one million yuan (USD 163,000.
#This vaccine could help block HIV WASHINGTON: Scientists have designed a new experimental HIV vaccine that may stimulate the immune system to block infection from the deadly virus. New research led by scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI),
INTERNATIONAL AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI) and the Rockefeller University shows in mice that the vaccine candidate can stimulate the immune system activity necessary to stop HIV infection.
The findings could provide key information for the development of an effective AIDS vaccine, researchers said.
The research, published in the journals Cell and Science, represents a leap forward in the effort to develop a vaccine against HIV
which has struggled so far to elicit antibodies (immune system molecules) that can effectively fight off different strains of the virus."The results are said pretty spectacular
Dennis Burton, chairman of the TSRI department of immunology and microbial science. While many vaccines for other diseases use a dead
or inactive version of the disease-causing microbe itself to trigger antibody production, immunisations with"native"HIV proteins are ineffective in triggering an effective immune response,
due to HIV's ability to evade detection from the immune system and mutate rapidly into new strains.
This challenge has led researchers to believe that a successful AIDS vaccine will need a series of related
but slightly different proteins (immunogens) to train the body to produce broadly neutralizing antibodies against HIV-a twist on the traditional"booster shot,
where a person is exposed to the same immunogen multiple times. The scientists tested one of these potential proteins,
an immunogen called eod-GT8 60mer, using a technique called B cell sorting. The researchers showed that immunisation with eod-GT8 60mer produced antibody"precursors"with some of the traits necessary to recognize
and block HIV infection. This suggested that eod-GT8 60mer could be a good candidate to serve as the first in a series of immunisations against HIV
researchers said.""The vaccine appears to work well in our mouse model to'prime'the antibody response,
"said TSRI professor David Nemazee z
#TOI impact: Energy supplied by humanitarian kite The Zephyr project, a photovoltaic balloon designed by students,
aims to supply energy to disaster areas. In the Iliad, Zephyr is a violent, stormy wind,
while in the Odyssey and more recent literature, it is depicted as gentle and light a warm breeze that melts the snow.
In this project set up by two ambitious young Parisian graduates, Zephyr takes the form of a flying device that comes to the rescue of those living without electricity in disaster areas.
In emergency situations, the question of energy supply is often of critical importance. At the moment electricity in refugee camps generally comes from heavy,
polluting generators that require expensive fuel oil. The supply chains for such oil can be broken, making procurement unpredictable.
These problems gave the students the idea of designing a photovoltaic balloon inspired by inflatable balloons,
which can generate energy anywhere even in disaster areas where it is not possible to install land-based infrastructure as a result, for example, of a natural catastrophe.
The students, graduates of Telecom Paristech and the Ecole Nationale Superieure des Arts Decoratifs, met
while working together from November 2013 to March 2014 on'energies of the future'at the Laboratoire,
a facility set up in Paris to bring together engineers and designers. Energy for fifty people: The principle is based on a highly mobile,
low-cost kit made up of a box housing the technology and a lightweight sail. The landbased housing contains an electrical transformer
and is less than a cubic meter in volume, while the sail is 3. 8 m in diameter
and is covered with 15 m2 of lightweight solar panels.''All you need to do is unfurl the sail
and allow it to inflate. The balloon collects solar energy and transports it to the ground via a cable,
while the batteries store surplus energy and take over the power supply at night, 'explains Cedric Tomissi, one of the two young designers behind the project.
The electrolyser uses nine litres of water plus the solar energy collected, coupled with the batteries inside the housing, to produce the gas needed to inflate Zephyr in half a day.
Halfway between a balloon and a kite, this hybrid device has a yield of up to 3 kilowatt hours (kwh
comparable to that of a traditional generator. This is enough to supply lighting and heating to around fifty people living, for example, in a refugee camp or emergency hospital.
The idea has gone not unnoticed. The young entrepreneurs have won already several awards, including the 2014 Artscience prize, the 2014 James Dyson Award,
first prize at the 2014 Student Entrepreneurship Day run by the Universite Paris-Saclay, the 2014 Humanitech Challenge jointly organised by the Red Helmets Foundation and Orange and EDF's'Sharing energy in the city, 2030'challenge.
They were given also the opportunity to present their project at EDF's stand at the Saint-Etienne Design Biennale in March.'
'It's a simple, environmentally friendly device,'explains Jonathan Bouzy, a project manager at Soft IQ and member of the Humanitech Challenge panel of judges.'
'They are applying existing technology in a brand new way. That's what"high tech"is all about.'
'A technical feasibility study was carried out on the balloon last November in partnership with EDF, Dassault systemes, the Red Helmets Foundation and the Institute of Research and development on Photovoltaic Energy (IRDEP.
The students worked particularly closely with the IRDEP to improve the balloon's photovoltaic technology.
After one of the engineers who set up the project left the team to pursue other professional avenues,
Zephyr entered into a partnership with the EI-CESI engineering school, giving final-year Master's degree students the opportunity to work on technical aspects of the project.
From student project to start-up: The next stage is to build an initial prototype, which should be completed in January 2017
and will serve as'proof of concept'.'''We think that we will need 25,000 euros to make it,
'explains Julie Dautel, a designer who is currently studying at the Sciencespo Paris research university.
Zephyr has received already around ten thousand euros from the various prizes that it has won and a fundraising campaign is planned to run from September 2015 to January 2016.
The team hopes to use this investment to take on additional staff, particularly engineers. The two young entrepreneurs want to turn this student project into a start-up.
Zephyr is also currently applying to join the Sciences-Po Paris incubator. The duo is aiming to move into an industrial phase
and start selling the balloon in 2018. More investment (one million euros) will be required at this later stage.
In the long term, the aim is to sell an entire range of balloons adapted to generate energy in different kinds of situations,
including non-humanitarian applications.''The balloon can be used for homes in remote areas where the roof cannot take the weight of traditional solar panels,
at campsites and in nomadic encampments like those found in Africa and Asia. It can even be used to support communications technology,
'explains Julie Dautel. For now, it will be some time before Zephyr is ready to take to the air.
By Caroline de Malet (Le Figaro) The Zephyr project, a photovoltaic balloon designed by students,
aims to supply energy to disaster areas. In the Iliad, Zephyr is a violent, stormy wind,
while in the Odyssey and more recent literature, it is depicted as gentle and light a warm breeze that melts the snow.
In this project set up by two ambitious young Parisian graduates, Zephyr takes the form of a flying device that comes to the rescue of those living without electricity in disaster areas.
In emergency situations, the question of energy supply is often of critical importance. At the moment, electricity in refugee camps generally comes from heavy,
polluting generators that require expensive fuel oil. The supply chains for such oil can be broken, making procurement unpredictable.
These problems gave the students the idea of designing a photovoltaic balloon inspired by inflatable balloons
which can generate energy anywhere even in disaster areas where it is not possible to install land-based infrastructure as a result, for example, of a natural catastrophe.
The students, graduates of Telecom Paristech and the Ecole Nationale Superieure des Arts Decoratifs, met
while working together from November 2013 to March 2014 on'energies of the future'at the Laboratoire,
a facility set up in Paris to bring together engineers and designers. Energy for fifty people: The principle is based on a highly mobile,
low-cost kit made up of a box housing the technology and a lightweight sail. The landbased housing contains an electrical transformer
and is less than a cubic meter in volume, while the sail is 3. 8 m in diameter
and is covered with 15 m2 of lightweight solar panels.''All you need to do is unfurl the sail
The balloon collects solar energy and transports it to the ground via a cable, while the batteries store surplus energy and take over the power supply at night,
'explains Cedric Tomissi, one of the two young designers behind the project. The electrolyser uses nine litres of water plus the solar energy collected, coupled with the batteries inside the housing, to produce the gas needed to inflate Zephyr in half a day.
Halfway between a balloon and a kite, this hybrid device has a yield of up to 3 kilowatt hours (kwh
comparable to that of a traditional generator. This is enough to supply lighting and heating to around fifty people living, for example, in a refugee camp or emergency hospital.
The idea has gone not unnoticed. The young entrepreneurs have won already several awards, including the 2014 Artscience prize, the 2014 James Dyson Award,
first prize at the 2014 Student Entrepreneurship Day run by the Universite Paris-Saclay, the 2014 Humanitech Challenge jointly organised by the Red Helmets Foundation and Orange and EDF's'Sharing energy in the city, 2030'challenge.
They were given also the opportunity to present their project at EDF's stand at the Saint-Etienne Design Biennale in March.'
'It's a simple, environmentally friendly device,'explains Jonathan Bouzy, a project manager at Soft IQ and member of the Humanitech Challenge panel of judges.'
'They are applying existing technology in a brand new way. That's what"high tech"is all about.'
'A technical feasibility study was carried out on the balloon last November in partnership with EDF, Dassault systemes, the Red Helmets Foundation and the Institute of Research and development on Photovoltaic Energy (IRDEP.
The students worked particularly closely with the IRDEP to improve the balloon's photovoltaic technology.
After one of the engineers who set up the project left the team to pursue other professional avenues,
giving final-year Master's degree students the opportunity to work on technical aspects of the project. From student project to start-up:
The next stage is to build an initial prototype, which should be completed in January 2017 and will serve as'proof of concept'.'
''We think that we will need 25,000 euros to make it, 'explains Julie Dautel, a designer who is currently studying at the Sciencespo Paris research university.
Zephyr has received already around ten thousand euros from the various prizes that it has won and a fundraising campaign is planned to run from September 2015 to January 2016.
The team hopes to use this investment to take on additional staff, particularly engineers. The two young entrepreneurs want to turn this student project into a start-up.
Zephyr is also currently applying to join the Sciences-Po Paris incubator. The duo is aiming to move into an industrial phase
and start selling the balloon in 2018. More investment (one million euros) will be required at this later stage.
In the long term, the aim is to sell an entire range of balloons adapted to generate energy in different kinds of situations,
including non-humanitarian applications.''The balloon can be used for homes in remote areas where the roof cannot take the weight of traditional solar panels,
at campsites and in nomadic encampments like those found in Africa and Asia. It can even be used to support communications technology,
'explains Julie Dautel. For now, it will be some time before Zephyr is ready to take to the air.
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