On-chip Fabs, latest connectomes, brain-like computing architecture, printable MEMS, single-lens depth perception, synthetic hamburgers, next-gen chips.
1. Building a Semiconductor Fab on a Chip.
It seems the tools are now in place for researchers to seriously consider bulding semiconductor fabrication facilities on a single chip, and so create chips that themselves can create micro- and nano-scale semiconductor components such as integrated circuits and nano-electromechanical systems http://www.nanowerk.com/spotlight/spotid=31758.php. Such a chip would have MEMS versions of the various systems that are found in a modern billion dollar semiconductor fabrication facility with things like lithographic atom-writers, micro-heaters, micro-spray emitters, film monitors, mechanical oscillators, resistive heaters, micro-thermometers, shutters/masks, imaging tools, electrical interconnects, etc. Using micro-machines to produce micro-machines that produce nanostructures on-site.
2. First Detailed Wiring Diagram and Map of Retinal Neurons Produced.
A detailed wiring diagram of a patch of mouse retina has been produced, which maps the structure and connections amongst 950 neurons http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2013/making-connections-in-the-eye-0807.html; the video is well worth the watch How brains see. An automated system sliced the retinal tissue, imaged the slices, and colour coded individual neurons - human volunteers then taught the computer program how to stitch the slices together again to create the 3D connectome of the tissue. The system automatically classified different neurons, found dedicated circuits for things like motion detection, and identified a new type of neuron that wasn’t known to be in the retina before. Full automation and scale-up will be needed to produce such detailed connectome maps of whole brains.
3. Brain-Like Architecture for Brain-Like Computing.
IBM released a new brain-like computer architecture called TrueNorth that leverages the company’s neurosynaptic core chips that it has developed http://www.technologyreview.com/news/517876/ibm-scientists-show-blueprints-for-brain-like-computing/. As just one proof-of-concept the group showed how TrueNorth could be used to build a more efficient biologically inspired visual processor (perhaps using insights from the connectome work in #2 above?). Other demonstrations included (i) a functioning simulation of a massive network of neurosynaptic cores - 2 billion cores & 100 trillion synapses - run on a supercomputer, (ii) neurosynaptic core as a unit containing 256 neurons, axons, and associated synapses, (iii) a new programming methodology for the chips based on “corelets”, (iv) the fact that they will continue refining the software, which is derived from a basic model of how the brain functions and is not restricted by enduring questions about how the brain really works. A lot more information on the system and the tie-in with DARPA’s SyNAPSE program can be found here:
http://www.kurzweilai.net/ibm-research-creates-new-foundation-to-program-synapse-chips. This platform will be transformative as it matures.
4. Printable Biocompatible MEMS.
For the first time printable biocompatible microelectromechanical systems have been created http://www.aftau.org/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=18963. These flexible micro-actuators and sensors would be ideal for implantation into the human body for example, and by using less power could be used in such applications as implantable diagnostic sensors, next generation prosthetics that are able to better interface with biological tissues, and even MEMS-powered microfluidic systems.
5. Perceiving Depth Through a Single Lens.
3D images can now be created from any single camera in a single position, simply by taking two images focused at different depths http://www.seas.harvard.edu/news/2013/08/seeing-depth-through-single-lens. The slight differences between these two images provide enough information to allow a new computer model to create a new image as if the two images were taken side-by-side. This allows the creation of 3D stereo images without the need for expensive hardware. The embedded video is worth a watch to see the results the team achieved with the system.
6. More Advances with Carbon Electronics.
A new nanocomposite material that combines copper and carbon nanotubes has been developed that allows both high ampacity and high conductivity, and is able to transport 100 times greater current density than conventional copper, silver, or gold conductors
http://www.nanowerk.com/spotlight/spotid=31710.php, which will find uses in applicaitons from power transmission to chip interconnects. We also had a new graphene-based supercapacitor achieve the highest-ever energy density for such a device, reaching parity with conventional lead-acid batteries http://monash.edu.au/news/show/soft-approach-leads-to-revolutionary-energy-storage.
7. First Laboratory-Grown Hamburger Patty.
The first synthetic hamburger patty, gown entirely from stem cells in a laboratory was unveiled and consumed this week http://spectrum.ieee.org/tech-talk/energy/environment/worlds-first-labgrown-burger-unveiled-and-eaten-in-london. A taste of things to come, this burger was made from cow stem cells that were grown into 20,000 strands of muscle the size of a grain of rice that were then mashed together with other standard ingredients. Taste, texture, and consistency were all good but one noted shortcoming, to be addressed in later versions, was the lack of fat and juiciness. In related mass-meat-production news, a much improved feedstock was developed for farmed prawns and better vegetarian feed was developed for farmed fish http://nextbigfuture.com/2013/08/healthier-for-people-more.html.
8. Memristor Memory Chips Get Closer to Market.
A company called Crossbar emerged with a new memristor memory chip to compete with HP’s entry into the memristive memory space http://www.crossbar-inc.com/events/press-releases/crossbar-emerges-from-stealth-mode.html. These new memristive memory chips will compete with Flash by offering 1TB of storage on a single postage-stamp-sized chip, lower power requirements, 20x faster write speeds than NAND Flash, and 10x more durable than NAND.
9. Moore’s Law Isn’t Anywhere Near Finished.
Vertical chip-stacking is beginning in earnest with Samsung entering mass-production of the first 3D vertically-stacked NAND Flash memory chips that will contain 128GB of storage http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20130805006358/en/Samsung-Starts-Mass-Producing-Industry%E2%80%99s-3D-Vertical. That’s 128GB microSD cards on the horizon, with 512GB cards a couple of generations after that. The company Applied Materials also released a new roadmap for getting to FinFET transistors 3nm in size, providing ample scope for many more generations of Moore’s Law http://nextbigfuture.com/2013/08/amd-roadmap-to-3-nanometers-through.html.
10. Steerable Robotic Needle Enables More Precise Brain Surgery.
A new image-guided robotic system uses a steerable needle to penetrate a patient’s brain with minimal damage to nearby tissue http://news.vanderbilt.edu/2013/08/brain-clot-robot/. The system can be customised depending on the depth, location, and scale of the operation the surgeon is conducting. Originally developed to help clear and clean-up blood clots in the brain much quicker, and much more precisely than was previously possible, the system might also be used in future to deliver drugs or neural prosthetics to precise areas of the brain.
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