Science news

2D Materials Go Ferromagnetic, Creating a New Scientific Field – IEEE Spectrum

http://spectrum.ieee.org/nanoclast/semiconductors/materials/twodimensional-materials-go-ferromagnetic-creating-a-new-scientific-field Researchers at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory have successfully demonstrated that two-dimensional (2D) layered crystals held together by van der Waal forces—these include graphene and molybdenum disulfide—can exhibit intrinsic ferromagnetism.  The discovery could have a profound impact for applications including magnetic sensors and the developing use of spintronics for encoding information. In general, electronics and optics are turning to →

Neural networks explained

https://m.phys.org/news/2017-04-neural-networks.html#jCp In the past 10 years, the best-performing artificial-intelligence systems—such as the speech recognizers on smartphones or Google’s latest automatic translator—have resulted from a technique called “deep learning.” Most applications of deep learning use “convolutional” neural networks, in which the nodes of each layer are clustered, the clusters overlap, and each cluster feeds data to →

Move Over Spintronics, Here Comes Magnonics to the Rescue of Electronics – IEEE Spectrum

http://spectrum.ieee.org/nanoclast/semiconductors/devices/move-over-spintronics-here-comes-magnonics-to-the-rescue-of-electronics  European collaborative research center called Spin+X has offered a prototype of a device that leverages something called spin waves that may offer a way forward. Spin waves are the synchronous waves of electron spin alignment observed in a magnetic system. If the prototype is any indication, then researcher may have another avenue to explore when traditional electronics reaches →

Star Trek’s Tricorder Now Officially Exists Thanks To A Global Competition | IFLScience

http://www.iflscience.com/technology/star-treks-tricorder-now-officially-exists-thanks-to-a-global-competition/all/ Star Trek’s all-purpose medical device, the Tricorder, has also inspired a fair few people to recreate its near-magical ability to instantly diagnose a patient. As it happens, the non-profit X-Prize Foundation were so keen to get one invented that they started a global competition to see if any mavericks would succeed. Rather remarkably, one team has emerged victorious →

Scientists have pinpointed the annoying genetic mutation that turns us into night owls – ScienceAlert

http://www.sciencealert.com/scientists-say-they-ve-finally-pinpointed-the-cruel-genetic-mutation-that-turns-us-into-night-owls#.WOg6RaJF0a4.facebook “Carriers of the mutation have longer days than the planet gives them, so they are essentially playing catch-up for their entire lives,” says lead researcher Alina Patke from The Rockefeller University in New York. Night owls who struggle to get enough sleep are often diagnosed at sleep clinics with delayed sleep phase disorder (DSPD), and researchers estimate that →

The DIY electronics transforming research

http://www.nature.com/news/the-diy-electronics-transforming-research-1.21768 Arduinos are one of a growing number of low-cost, stripped-down, and highly configurable computing devices that have transformed the field of homebrew and do-it-yourself electronics. Increasingly, they are transforming the research community too.  Available for as little as £4 (US$5) Arduinos and similar devices, such as the Raspberry Pi, pack considerable power on their →