Science and technology strategy
The National Science Foundation announced the creation of the Office of the Chief Information Officer
According to the National Science Foundation (NSF) on January 3, NSF announced the establishment of the Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO) to further support the CHIPS and Science Act. NSF reorganizes its information technology function with the creation of OCIO to further improve operational efficiency, promote technological innovation, and keep NSF at the forefront of scientific discovery and technological advancement. Terry L. Carpenter will serve as NSF's Chief Information Officer, leading the office's operations. In addition, OCIO will implement the U.S. government's administrative requirements for the responsible use and development of artificial intelligence, and strengthen NSF cybersecurity management.
Information
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security is soliciting technical support for a machine Xi cloud analytics platform
According to MeriTalk on January 3, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is soliciting technical support for the Advanced Analysis Platform for Machine Learning Xi (CAP-M). The project was developed by the Cyber Security and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) to improve threat response by providing analytics capabilities in a multi-cloud platform. DHS's Request for Information (RFI) wanted the multi-cloud approach of the CAP-M project to enable end users to seamlessly access a variety of capabilities across multiple clouds to meet analytics and computing needs. DHS wanted to be able to seamlessly connect between Amazon AWS, Google Cloud, and Microsoft Azure.
Intel Corporation of the United States will set up an artificial intelligence software company
According to Reuters on January 4, Intel Corporation of the United States, with the help of DigitalBridge, a digital asset management company, is forming an independent company called Articul8 AI around the artificial intelligence software business. The company will build on the results of Intel's enterprise AI business in partnership with the Boston Consulting Group (BCG). Previously, Intel and BCG developed a generative AI system that could run in BCG's internal data centers to address security and privacy concerns. Articul8 is expected to provide a similar service to develop in-house AI models with privacy and security for enterprises.
The City College of New York has developed diamond storage technology to serve optical computing
According to the IEEE Spectrum network, researchers at the City College of New York in the United States have developed a diamond storage technology that can be applied to optical computing scenarios. The researchers were able to pinpoint defects in the crystal lattice of carbon atoms inside the diamond at low temperatures, using a narrow laser beam to excite and process the defects at different resonances individually, thus overcoming the limitations of diffraction effects and enabling the storage of information inside the diamond. The technology can also store multiple pieces of information in each defect, and data can be erased and rewritten as needed. The researchers hope to increase the operating temperature of the system, pushing the technology into play in long-term and high-volume storage.
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has developed an AI automatic interpretation assistant that can improve the interpretability of AI systems
According to TechXplore on January 3, the research team of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the United States has developed an AI automatic interpretation business assistant, which can improve the interpretability of AI systems. The research team used a pre-trained language model to build an automated interpretive assistant (AIA), which uses an AI model to experiment with other systems and interpret their behavior. The research team also introduced the Functional Explanation and Description Benchmark (FIND), which solves a long-standing problem of interpretability in the field by providing explanations of functions in the benchmark (e.g., AIA-generated explanations) compared to functional descriptions. The study was published on the preprint website arXiv.
The Georgia Institute of Technology in the United States has developed the first graphene functional semiconductor
According to TechXplore on January 3, the research team of the Georgia Institute of Technology in the United States has developed the world's first functional semiconductor made of graphene. The research team made a breakthrough in growing graphene on silicon carbide wafers using a special furnace and produced epitaxial graphene, which is a monolayer grown on the crystal plane of silicon carbide. It was found that epitaxial graphene is chemically bonded to silicon carbide and exhibits semiconductor properties. Measurements have shown that this graphene semiconductor has 10 times the mobility of silicon. This breakthrough opens the door to the development of completely new electronic products. The study was published in the journal Nature.
creature
U.S. researchers build organoid-based drug screening system to advance pancreatic cancer drug discovery
According to GEN on January 2, scientists at Weill Cornell Medical College in the United States built an automated drug screening system based on pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma organoids, and tested more than 6,000 compounds on the organoids, and found that one of the compounds called famxicillin maleate can inhibit the growth of organoids. This compound is now used as a therapeutic agent for angina pectoris, where it fights cancer-associated mutations by inhibiting regulators of key cholesterol metabolic pathways. The team plans to use perfluoxacillin maleate as a starting point for the development of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma drug candidates and as a laboratory tool to study cholesterol synthesis in this and other cancers.
German scientists have discovered that ants can recognize and treat wound infections with antibiotics, which is expected to help the development of new antibiotics
According to ScienceDaily on January 2, researchers at the University of Würzburg in Germany found that a complex medical system was spontaneously formed in the Matabele ant colony, that is, to distinguish whether the wound is infected or not, and to effectively treat the wound infection with antibiotics produced by themselves. Chemical analysis showed that the hydrocarbon profile of the ant's cuticle changed in response to wound infection, helping it identify and diagnose the infection status of the injured nestmate. In addition, the ant's secretions contain 112 components, half of which have antibacterial or wound healing effects, and this antibiotic treatment is very effective, reducing mortality by 99%, which is expected to help the development of new antibiotics.
The U.S. research team has developed new high-resolution techniques to help find druggable targets on proteins
According to ScienceDaily on January 2, the Scripps Research Institute in the United States has developed a new high-resolution technology to find potential therapeutic targets for proteins in living cells, or to bring more targeted therapies to almost all human diseases from cancer to Alzheimer's disease. Researchers use chemical probes to capture proteins, and by collecting data on protein-probe interactions, determine where small molecules on proteins can be linked and bind. The team discovered more than a thousand new binding sites on proteins and corresponding small molecules, the vast majority of which were previously unreported binding sites for small molecules, helping to design more effective therapeutics.
Japanese researchers have discovered a new protein that slows down aging
According to Science and Technology Daily on January 3, researchers at Osaka University in Japan discovered the protein HKDC1 that can prevent the formation of "zombie" cells and slow down the aging process. When mitochondria (the powerhouse of cells) and lysosomes don't work properly, cells become "zombie cells," increasing the risk of geriatric diseases such as Alzheimer's disease, heart failure, and some cancers. The protein HKDC1 effectively removes damaged mitochondria and repairs lysosomes, which are necessary to break down and remove worn cellular parts. Therefore, drugs that increase HKDC1 levels promote cellular health and prevent aging. The study is expected to pave the way for new treatments to combat aging-related diseases. The findings were published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
The first drug for the prevention of respiratory syncytial virus infection in China was approved
According to the surging news on January 2, AstraZeneca and Sanofi jointly announced that the long-acting monoclonal antibody nisevimab (trade name: Leweichu) was officially approved by the National Medical Products Administration for the prevention of lower respiratory tract infections caused by respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in neonates and infants. Nisevimab is the first and only approved prophylaxis for respiratory syncytial virus infection in China, and the first and only prophylactic method approved for the protection of infants against RSV infection in mainland China.
A German research team has developed a synthetic biochemical cycle to achieve synthetic carbon dioxide fixation in living cells
According to ScienceDaily on January 2, researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Land Microbiology in Germany have developed a synthetic biochemical cycle "THETA cycle", which can directly convert carbon dioxide into the core component of acetyl-CoA (acetyl-CoA), and increase the yield of acetyl-CoA by 100 times through rational and machine Xi-guided optimization. The researchers applied the cycle to E. coli in three modules to test its viability in vivo. Modularity of this cycle in E. coli represents an important step towards the synthesis of CO2 fixation pathways in living cells, paving the way for highly complex natural CO2 fixation pathways in cell factories.
energy
The UK has introduced new regulations to achieve zero emissions for all new vehicles by 2035
According to SituationTech on January 3, the United Kingdom issued new regulations to achieve zero emissions for all new vehicles by 2035 to support the government's net-zero strategy. The new Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) regulations, which came into effect on 3 January, require 80% of new cars and 70% of new vans sold in the UK to be zero-emission by 2030 and all by 2035. The new regulations have already secured more than £2 billion in government investment to expand charging infrastructure, incentivise EV manufacturers and provide transition subsidies.
RIKEN is developing a new solid-state electrolyte
According to FuelCellChina on January 4, the pilot research team of RIKEN in Japan has successfully developed a solid-state electrolyte that can improve the safety, efficiency and energy density of hydrogen-based batteries and fuel cells, which can transport hydride ions at room temperature. The research team replaced some lanthanum with strontium and a small amount of oxygen on the basis of lanthanum hydride, and found that this formulation can conduct hydride ions at high speeds, and the new formulation and solid-state fuel cells made of titanium also show excellent performance. In the future, the research team will improve the properties of the material and produce electrode materials that can repeatedly attract and release hydrogen.
South Korea's superconducting tokamak fusion research facility completed the upgrade of the deflector
According to the China Nuclear Think Tank on January 3, KSTAR, a superconducting tokamak fusion research device of the Korea Fusion Energy Research Institute (KFE), completed the replacement of the carbon deflector with a tungsten deflector and began plasma experiments. The deflector is one of the core components of the tokamak magnetic fusion unit, which is directly oriented to the plasma, is used for the emission of exhaust gases and impurities, and is subjected to the highest surface heat load. KSTAR originally used a carbon deflector that could not meet the long-term operation requirements at 100 million °C. As a result, KFE started developing the tungsten deflector in 2018, manufactured the first prototype in 2021, and started installing the tungsten deflector in September 2022 until the recent installation was completed.
ocean
Ukraine has put into service unmanned boats capable of launching rockets
According to the Observer Network on January 3, Ukraine dispatched the "Sea Baby" (Seababy) unmanned boat and used its RPV-16 thermobaric rocket launcher to launch rockets at Russian ships in the waters near the Crimean peninsula city of Sevastopol. This is the first time that an unmanned boat capable of launching rockets of the Ukrainian army has participated in actual combat. However, the Ukrainian side did not mention whether the operation caused losses to the Russian army, and then the Russian army released a video of the destruction of the Ukrainian unmanned boat. Different from the unmanned boat with direct detonation in the past, this unmanned boat can launch rockets to attack targets at a distance of 3 kilometers, changing point-to-point killing to point-to-point killing.
Japan's helicopter carrier "Kaga" underwent sea trials after the adaptation and modification of F-35B fighters
According to the news of national defense science and technology on January 3, the 4th Escort Group of the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force disclosed for the first time that the Japanese "Izumo"-class helicopter carrier "Kaga" is undergoing sea trials after completing the modification of the F-35B short-range vertical take-off and landing fighter. Since March 2022, the Kaga has been refitted by Japan United Shipbuilding Corporation to become a "light aircraft carrier", and the main contents of the modification are to change the shape of the bow, add a heat-resistant coating to the flight deck, and change some logos. On November 17, 2023, after completing the refit, it returned to Kure Port, and immediately started sea trials.
aviation
Turkey's new generation of stealth UAV Anka-3 successfully made its first flight
According to the US defense website on January 2, Turkey's new generation of stealth combat drone Anka-3 completed its test flight for the first time. In its first flight, the drone flew for 1 hour and 10 minutes, at an altitude of 8,000 feet (2,439 meters) and at a speed of 150 knots (278 kilometers per hour). According to reports, the maximum ceiling of the drone is 13,411 meters, and the maximum speed is 425 knots (about 787 km / h). Once all tests are completed, the drone will serve as unmanned equipment for the Turkish armed forces and will be used to suppress and destroy enemy defenses, as well as to perform surveillance and depth strike missions.
The U.S. Army awarded Bombardier Defense an unspecified contract to develop a prototype of a new spy aircraft
According to the DefenseNews website on January 4, the U.S. Army awarded Bombardier Defense a three-year contract of unknown value for the development of a new prototype of the "High Precision Detection and Utilization System" (HADES) spy aircraft. According to the contract, the company will provide at least one Globe-6500 aircraft as a prototype fuselage for the new spy aircraft, giving it long endurance and high-altitude reconnaissance capabilities. Currently, HADES project members include: L3 Harris, Raytheon, MAG Aerospace, Sierra Nevada, Leidos and Bombardier Defense. The U.S. Army said HADES will be the Army's first intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft with advanced depth sensing capabilities to support the Army's long-range reconnaissance operations in the Indo-Pacific region.
According to the commander-in-chief of Ukraine, 10 Russian "Dagger" hypersonic missiles were successfully intercepted using the "Patriot" system
According to the MSN website on January 3, Ukrainian Commander-in-Chief Valery Zaluzhny said that the Ukrainian Armed Forces successfully intercepted 10 Russian "Dagger" hypersonic missiles using the "Patriot" system. It has been learned that the "Dagger" missile adopts a double-cone missile body aerodynamic structure that can be maneuverably guided, the head and body of the missile are not separated, the maximum reentry speed is about Mach 7, the terminal speed is less than the Mach number 5, and the terminal guidance maneuver speed may be reduced to Mach 3. In addition, the Ukrainian army said that it successfully intercepted 59 Kh-101/555 cruise guides, as well as 3 3M14 "Caliber" cruise missiles.
Japan awarded Mitsubishi Heavy Industries a $491 million contract to produce and deliver 12 new naval combat helicopters for the Maritime Self-Defense Force
According to TheDefensePost on January 2, Japan awarded Mitsubishi Heavy Industries a $491 million contract to produce and deliver 12 new SH-60L naval combat helicopters for the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF). The helicopter is a modified SH-60K helicopter with an upgraded on-board system, a high-speed data transmission link and a new gearbox, and is mainly used to perform submarine strike missions in bad weather or adversarial environments. The Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force said the SH-60L will be one of the most advanced anti-sea and anti-submarine helicopters in the Maritime Self-Defense Force.
The U.S. Air Force awarded Raytheon a $345 million contract for the production of more than 1,500 small-diameter bombs
According to the airandspaceforces website on January 4, the U.S. Air Force awarded Raytheon a contract worth $345 million to produce more than 1,500 small-diameter bombs II (SDB II) for the Air Force, Navy and foreign military sales. The SDB II is a smart bomb with pop-up wings that can be loaded on the BRU-55 and BRU-61 multi-weapon racks, which can increase the weapon load and target strike capability of a fighter in a single sortie. According to Raytheon, the SDB II's wings provide bombs with more than 45 miles (72.4 kilometers) of standoff glide capability, reducing the risk of aircraft exposure and attacking moving targets.
space flight
The United States released the "Space Manufacturing Technology" report to provide support for accelerating the development of space manufacturing technology in the United States
According to the National Defense Science and Technology News on January 3, NASA, together with the U.S. Department of Defense and the Department of Commerce, submitted the "Space Manufacturing Technology Report" to the National Space Commission, aiming to accelerate the development of U.S. space manufacturing technology, improve the basic capabilities of the space industry, and ensure that the space sector is included in federal programs such as the "National Manufacturing Innovation Network Program". The report focuses on five areas: developing emerging space fabrication technologies, building public-private partnerships, funding space fabrication technology centers, creating synergies with other federal programs, and building talent. In addition, the report proposes a list of seven emerging space manufacturing technologies: additive manufacturing, advanced materials, robotics and automation, digital manufacturing systems, clean and sustainable manufacturing, electronics manufacturing, and hypersound.
Materials
Researchers in the United States have developed a new computational method for the rapid discovery of high-entropy ceramics
According to phys.org.com on January 3, researchers at Duke University in the United States have developed a new calculation method that can quickly discover high-entropy ceramics. High-entropy ceramics combine the properties of high-entropy alloys and ceramics, covering carbides, nitrides, borides, silicides, sulfides, simple oxides, rare earth silicates, rare earth phosphates, etc., with excellent mechanical properties, thermal stability and chemical stability, which can be used for thermal barrier protection, wear-resistant and corrosion-resistant coatings, thermoelectric materials, batteries, catalysts and radiation-hardened equipment, etc. The researchers developed a convolution algorithm, cPOCC, to divide a large number of configurations in complex solid solutions such as carbonitrides, thereby greatly simplifying the computational requirements, and introduced the "Disordered Enthalpy-Entropy Descriptor" (DEED) in the aflow++ ab initio framework to predict more than 900 new formulations of stable disordered ceramics. The researchers selected 17 of these materials for laboratory synthesis and confirmed the accuracy of the descriptors. This algorithm can be used to predict the functional synthesizability of various potential ceramic materials and promote the research and development of new ceramic materials. The findings were published in the journal Nature.
Advanced manufacturing
Singaporean researchers 3D print multilayer achromatic metalenses, expanding the design possibilities of photonic devices
According to China Optics on December 31, researchers from the Singapore University of Technology and Design and the National University of Singapore collaborated to achieve 3D printing multilayer achromatic metalenses (Multilayer Achromatic Metalens, MAM), breaking the mutual limitations between bandwidth, numerical aperture and efficiency when designing single-layer metalenses. By combining topology optimization and adjoint methods, the research team reverse-engineered multilayer achromatic metalenses with numerical aperture sizes of 0.5 and 0.7 that can operate in the 400 to 800 nm wavelength band, and fabricated the design in low refractive index materials with the help of two-photon polymerization micro-nano 3D printing. The work also demonstrated the broadband imaging performance of metalenses under white light and RGB narrowband illumination. These results highlight the potential of the collaboration of inverse design and high-precision micro-nano 3D printing technologies for complex structures to achieve broadband and multifunctional optical components. This breakthrough provides a new way to design and manufacture wide-band optical components and devices, and the related research was published in Science Advances.
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