Research Bits: Aug. 23


Algae-powered microprocessor Engineers from the University of Cambridge, Arm Research, Scottish Association for Marine Science, and Norwegian University of Science and Technology used a widespread species of blue-green algae to power an Arm Cortex M0+ microprocessor continuously for over a year. The algae, Synechocystis, is non-toxic and harvests energy from photosynthesis. The tiny electri... » read more

Emergent magnetic monopoles isolated using quantum-annealing computer


Using D-Wave’s quantum-annealing computer, Los Alamos National Laboratory has shown that it’s possible to isolate magnetic monopoles. This research could one day enable future nanomagnets.   Abstract: "Artificial spin ices are frustrated spin systems that can be engineered, wherein fine tuning of geometry and topology has allowed the design and characterization of exotic eme... » read more

Manufacturing Bits: Sept. 3


Dancing With The Stars In telescopes, the ability to see distant stars and galaxies is driven by the light-gathering area and detectors in the system. In the last 50 years, the collecting area in large-scale telescopes has increased by only a factor of four, according to researchers from the University of California at Santa Barbara. Meanwhile, the sensitivity of CCD detectors has increased... » read more