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Science

Creating a Quantum Superposition of Living Things 321

Posted by kdawson from the wanted-dead-and-alive dept.
KentuckyFC writes "Having created quantum superpositions of photons, atoms, and even molecules, scientists are currently preparing to do the same for larger objects — namely viruses. The technique will involve storing a virus in a vacuum and then cooling it to its quantum-mechanical ground state in a microcavity. Zapping the virus with a laser then leaves it in a superposition of its ground state and an excited one. That's no easy task, however. The virus will have to survive the vacuum, behave like a dielectric, and appear transparent to the laser light, which would otherwise tear it apart. Now a group of researchers has worked out that several viruses look capable of surviving the superposition process, including the common flu virus and the tobacco mosaic virus. They point out that after creating the superposition, scientists will be able to perform the Schrodinger's Cat experiment for the first time, which should be fun (but less so for the virus)."
Medicine

Augmented Reality In a Contact Lens 196

Posted by CmdrTaco from the lookit-them-wires-in-there dept.
Toe, The writes "Bionanotechnology researcher Babak A Parviz writes about his research toward producing a computer interface in a contact lens. At the moment, they have only embedded a single LED, but they foresee a much more complex interface such as detailed in Vernor Vinge's Rainbows End. Such lenses potentially could also read human bio-information from the eye, providing medical information on the order of what is now taken from blood tests, but on a continuous basis. An example would be monitoring glucose levels for diabetics. The author states that, 'All the basic technologies needed to build functional contact lenses are in place,' and details what refinements and advances will be necessary to bring this technology to reality."

Comment Re:The decrease in violence is the real key (Score 1) 473

by Velocir (#28554293) Attached to: On Realism and Virtual Murder
America's Army made you 'train' with some weapons before you could play. This included things like pulling the firing handle and clearing jams. Basically it was a pain in the ass. I am all for realism in games - one of the reasons I don't play MMOs like WoW is because the combat and movement/collision are so unrealistic - but things like simulating the annoying parts of firearm use just aren't fun.
Wireless Networking

Wireless Internet Access Uses Visible Light, Not Radio Waves 264

Posted by ScuttleMonkey from the no-tin-foil-hats-required dept.
An anonymous reader writes to tell us that a company has demonstrated a new form of wireless communication that uses light instead of radio waves. "Its inventor, St. Cloud resident John Pederson, says visible-light embedded wireless data communication is the next step in the evolution of wireless communications, one that will expand the possibilities in phone and computer use. The connection provides Web access with almost no wiring, better security and with speeds more than eight times faster than cable."

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"Protozoa are small, and bacteria are small, but viruses are smaller than the both put together."

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