The race is on again in DNA sequencing.In what has been described as“the year of the big shake-up”[1],a wave of new competitors entered the market in 2022,challenging industry leader Illumina(San Diego,CA,USA).New s...The race is on again in DNA sequencing.In what has been described as“the year of the big shake-up”[1],a wave of new competitors entered the market in 2022,challenging industry leader Illumina(San Diego,CA,USA).New systems from both Illumina and emerging rivals are now poised to push costs down—closing in on the oft-cited goal of 100 USD per genome.The prospect of more economical sequencing is big news because the spectacular cost reductions that helped fuel the genomics revolution in previous decades have stalled in recent years(Fig.1).Lower costs will make sequencing affordable for a broader array of users and applications in fields such as biology,biotechnology,and medicine.展开更多
The world’s fastest publicly acknowledged supercomputer,known as Frontier,sprawls across 372 m2 of floor space in a building at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory(ORNL)in Tennessee,USA(Fig.1)[1].In May of 2022,the 269...The world’s fastest publicly acknowledged supercomputer,known as Frontier,sprawls across 372 m2 of floor space in a building at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory(ORNL)in Tennessee,USA(Fig.1)[1].In May of 2022,the 269000 kg behemoth became the first computer to cross the so-called exascale barrier and reach a top speed of more than one exaflop,or over one quintillion floating-point operations per second,in the semiannual TOP500 rankings of supercomputer performance[2].Maxing out at 1.1 exaflops,Frontier was more than twice as fast as its nearest competitor,and it repeated the feat in November of 2022 in the next TOP500 standings[3,4].展开更多
In the not-too-distant future,it looks increasingly likely that grocery stores will offer food genetically altered in myriad slight ways to make it healthier,tastier,and more efficient to grow.In 2022,a flurry of rese...In the not-too-distant future,it looks increasingly likely that grocery stores will offer food genetically altered in myriad slight ways to make it healthier,tastier,and more efficient to grow.In 2022,a flurry of research results and regulatory changes around the world brought gene-edited crops closer to consumers’plates.Unlike genetically modified organisms(GMOs)created by introducing deoxyribonucleic acid(DNA)from one organism into another’s genome,the new gene-edited organisms are engineered by using precise clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats(CRISPR)[1]—technology to alter their own genomes.The distinction promises a plethora of new gene-edited crops and,in many countries now,a smoother road to commercialization.展开更多
In June 2022,continuing legislative efforts aimed at decreasing electronic waste and bolstering consumer rights,the European Parliament voted overwhelmingly in favor of a rule requiring all new rechargeable mobile dev...In June 2022,continuing legislative efforts aimed at decreasing electronic waste and bolstering consumer rights,the European Parliament voted overwhelmingly in favor of a rule requiring all new rechargeable mobile devices like smartphones,tablets,earbuds,and keyboards to use universal serial bus type C(USB-C)charging ports by December 2024.The same rules will apply to new laptops beginning in 2026[1].While the law will only be enforced in the European Union(EU),its consequences will likely be felt worldwide as most technology companies will find it cheaper to produce all their devices with USB-C connectors rather than make products with different charging technology only for EU countries.展开更多
Graduate students and scientists who spend long hours in the laboratory pipetting solutions and slogging through other repetitive,tedious procedures may feel like robots.But starting in the fall of 2023,researchers at...Graduate students and scientists who spend long hours in the laboratory pipetting solutions and slogging through other repetitive,tedious procedures may feel like robots.But starting in the fall of 2023,researchers at one university,Carnegie Mellon University(CMU)in Pittsburgh,PA,USA,will be able to delegate the work to actual robots.The university is building a“cloud lab,”a 40 million USD scientific facility that is almost fully automated[1].展开更多
In October 2022,machine learning experts at Deep Mind(London,UK),a subsidiary of Google(Mountain View,CA,USA),reported a“breakthrough”on an extremely common mathematical algorithm called matrix multiplication[1].In ...In October 2022,machine learning experts at Deep Mind(London,UK),a subsidiary of Google(Mountain View,CA,USA),reported a“breakthrough”on an extremely common mathematical algorithm called matrix multiplication[1].In previous years,DeepMind has made headlines with its successes in using deep learning to master various games,such as Go[2],chess,and even the strategic board game Diplomacy,and,in a more recent and clearly practical application with its Alpha Fold program[3].展开更多
On 13 December 2022,a couple was driving through the Angeles National Forest near Los Angeles,CA,USA,when their car slid off the road,plowed 100 m down a steep hillside,and landed upside down at the bottom of a canyon...On 13 December 2022,a couple was driving through the Angeles National Forest near Los Angeles,CA,USA,when their car slid off the road,plowed 100 m down a steep hillside,and landed upside down at the bottom of a canyon[1].Although the couple suffered only minor injuries,they were trapped in the canyon,and in the remote area the passenger could not get any reception on her iPhone 14 cellular phone.Still,she was able to send an SOS through a new feature on the phone that routes such messages via satellites[2].Rescuers alerted to the couple’s location airlifted them out of the canyon later the same day.展开更多
Half a century—plus 37 seconds—after it was first introduced to the world,the leap second has been scheduled for retirement.On 18 November 2022 at the General Conference on Weights and Measures(CGPM)outside of Paris...Half a century—plus 37 seconds—after it was first introduced to the world,the leap second has been scheduled for retirement.On 18 November 2022 at the General Conference on Weights and Measures(CGPM)outside of Paris,France,representatives of governments around the globe decided that astronomical time(known as UT1),which is determined by Earth’s rotation,will be allowed to diverge by more than one second from Coordinated Universal Time(UTC),which is based on the steady ticking of atomic clocks[1].While the change—not to be implemented until 2035—will go unnoticed by most people,it promises to simplify the timekeeping vital to services provided by a wide range of global industries,including transportation,defense,and finance.展开更多
In March 2023,a converted bomber took off from Eielson Air Force Base in Alaska,USA,carrying a payload of delicate scientific instruments(Fig.1).Operated by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration(NOAA)...In March 2023,a converted bomber took off from Eielson Air Force Base in Alaska,USA,carrying a payload of delicate scientific instruments(Fig.1).Operated by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration(NOAA),the flight aimed to collect a plethora of information about the Earth’s stratosphere.Such exploration sounds routine,but the mission’s goal is unusual for a government entity:to inform policy decisions surrounding large-scale,deliberate interventions to alter the stratosphere for climate change mitigation[1].The approach of deflecting sunlight to cool the planet,called solar radiation management or solar geoengineering,was long considered a fringe idea.But with recent funding and attention from government agencies like NOAA,the approach is moving mainstream.展开更多
A farmer is ready to harvest the winter wheat crop when his combine harvester breaks down.Even if the problem would be relatively simple to remedy,the farmer probably cannot make the repair himself or get help from an...A farmer is ready to harvest the winter wheat crop when his combine harvester breaks down.Even if the problem would be relatively simple to remedy,the farmer probably cannot make the repair himself or get help from an independent shop because manufacturers have restricted access to the tools,documentation,and other requirements for fixing their equipment[1].Instead,the farmer will likely have to turn to one of the manufacturer’s dealers,which could mean waiting days or even weeks for a service call from a company technician[2].In the meantime,the farmer’s crop sits unharvested,vulnerable to damage or destruction by bad weather[2].展开更多
Sweat, like blood, contains electrolytes and biomolecules that can reveal aspects of a person’s physiology, from hydration to kidney function. Though scientists have long recognized sweat’s potential use as a medica...Sweat, like blood, contains electrolytes and biomolecules that can reveal aspects of a person’s physiology, from hydration to kidney function. Though scientists have long recognized sweat’s potential use as a medical diagnostic tool, only recently have engineering advances allowed them to explore the possibility in earnest.展开更多
Since the introduction of 1G wireless networks in the late 1970s,a new generation of wireless network technology has appeared approximately every ten years[1].Now,companies have started implementing 5G,the latest gene...Since the introduction of 1G wireless networks in the late 1970s,a new generation of wireless network technology has appeared approximately every ten years[1].Now,companies have started implementing 5G,the latest generation of wireless technology[2,3].Earlier transitions to next generation networks boosted cellular communications,mostly by speeding up service and increasing bandwidth.The jump from 4G to 5G promises to bring much more.While 5G will also greatly improve mobile broadband service,it will additionally provide a key platform for cutting-edge applications that go way beyond“smarter”smart phones.展开更多
In the fight against the coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19)pandemic,an old weapon has re-emerged[1].More than a century after Niels Finsen won the 1903 Nobel Prize for discovering that ultraviolet(UV)light could kill ...In the fight against the coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19)pandemic,an old weapon has re-emerged[1].More than a century after Niels Finsen won the 1903 Nobel Prize for discovering that ultraviolet(UV)light could kill germs[2],UV light is surging in popularity as a method for disinfecting hospital rooms and other public spaces.展开更多
On 26 November 2018, Mars welcomed a new visitor: the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)’s InSight lander. After barreling through the Martian atmosphere at 5.5 km·s^-1 and withstanding tempera...On 26 November 2018, Mars welcomed a new visitor: the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)’s InSight lander. After barreling through the Martian atmosphere at 5.5 km·s^-1 and withstanding temperatures of 1500℃, the capsule containing the lander deployed its parachute. At a distance of 9.2 km from the surface, it released its heat shield, exposing the lander’s legs. A couple of minutes later, the capsule dropped the lander into a free fall. With the aid of pulsed retrorockets, InSight settled onto Elysium Planitia, a flat, moderately barren patch of land 4.5°north of the Martian equator. Over the next few weeks, the spacecraft surveyed its new surroundings, checked its systems, took a selfie (Fig. 1), and got to work.展开更多
While messages,letters,or photographs could be altered to change both content and intent,people generally assumed they were not because it was not easily done.But this is no longer true in today’s digital world.Tools...While messages,letters,or photographs could be altered to change both content and intent,people generally assumed they were not because it was not easily done.But this is no longer true in today’s digital world.Tools for altering photos and other media quickly became available with the advent of computers,the internet,and,most recently,smartphones and social media.Now,artificial intelligence(AI)is further transforming digital media,with far more sophisticated programs that can be used to almost seamlessly manipulate video,photographs,audio,and text for a variety of purposes.展开更多
In June 2018, the United States claimed the No. 1 position in supercomputing according to TOP500, which ranks the top 500 most powerful computer systems in the world [1]. The US Department of Energy’s Summit machine ...In June 2018, the United States claimed the No. 1 position in supercomputing according to TOP500, which ranks the top 500 most powerful computer systems in the world [1]. The US Department of Energy’s Summit machine (Fig. 1)[1] claimed this distinction, which previously had been held by China’s Sunway TaihuLight supercomputer.展开更多
The SpaceX rocket that lifted off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on 22 April carried a payload that worries many astronomers[1].The 60 satellites that the rocket transported into space added to a population ...The SpaceX rocket that lifted off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on 22 April carried a payload that worries many astronomers[1].The 60 satellites that the rocket transported into space added to a population explosion of objects in low-Earth orbit.The number of orbiting satellites visible to the unaided eye has already doubled in just over a year,according to calculations by astrophysicist Jonathan McDowell of the Harvard–Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics in Cambridge,MA,USA.And the number of objects in low-Earth orbit could grow more than 10-fold this decade if SpaceX and other companies follow through on their plans to launch "mega-constellations"of hundreds or thousands of satellites[2].展开更多
In November 2019,one of the first approved human trials of the gene-editing technology“CRISPR”reported dramatically positive results in each of the two initial patients given a single round of therapy[1].Both patien...In November 2019,one of the first approved human trials of the gene-editing technology“CRISPR”reported dramatically positive results in each of the two initial patients given a single round of therapy[1].Both patients suffered from a painful,life-threatening,inherited blood disease and had received an infusion of billions of their own hematopoietic stem cells.These precursor blood cells had been altered with CRISPR to produce disease-free blood cells.展开更多
Medical devices designed to be implanted in the body have gotten impressively tiny.To a great extent,this miniaturization has also decreased the invasiveness of the devices,simplifying implantation and reducing patien...Medical devices designed to be implanted in the body have gotten impressively tiny.To a great extent,this miniaturization has also decreased the invasiveness of the devices,simplifying implantation and reducing patient risk.Now,the devices are also getting smarter.Engineered to both transmit and measure clinically relevant physiological signals,two new state-of-the-art devices—a pacemaker and a deep brain stimulator(DBS)—can use sophisticated algorithms to autonomously modulate the electrical stimulation they provide.In addition to improving patient outcomes,these smart features are also expanding the potential clinical utility of the devices.展开更多
As it circled the Earth one night in 2017, the Chinese satellite Mozi, also called Micius, aimed a laser at a ground station in northeastern China (Fig. 1). Then, as it traveled toward Europe and into range, it direct...As it circled the Earth one night in 2017, the Chinese satellite Mozi, also called Micius, aimed a laser at a ground station in northeastern China (Fig. 1). Then, as it traveled toward Europe and into range, it directed a beam at a different receiver in Austria. These transmissions, delivered to sites 7600 km apart, were noteworthy because they marked the first time a satellite had relayed secret quantum keys for decrypting and viewing messages. With the keys, scientists in China and Austria were able to exchange and decipher encrypted images. And on 29 September 2017, the researchers used the system to set up an encrypted 75-minute video conference between members of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing and their counterparts at the Austrian Academy of Sciences in Vienna [1].展开更多
文摘The race is on again in DNA sequencing.In what has been described as“the year of the big shake-up”[1],a wave of new competitors entered the market in 2022,challenging industry leader Illumina(San Diego,CA,USA).New systems from both Illumina and emerging rivals are now poised to push costs down—closing in on the oft-cited goal of 100 USD per genome.The prospect of more economical sequencing is big news because the spectacular cost reductions that helped fuel the genomics revolution in previous decades have stalled in recent years(Fig.1).Lower costs will make sequencing affordable for a broader array of users and applications in fields such as biology,biotechnology,and medicine.
文摘The world’s fastest publicly acknowledged supercomputer,known as Frontier,sprawls across 372 m2 of floor space in a building at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory(ORNL)in Tennessee,USA(Fig.1)[1].In May of 2022,the 269000 kg behemoth became the first computer to cross the so-called exascale barrier and reach a top speed of more than one exaflop,or over one quintillion floating-point operations per second,in the semiannual TOP500 rankings of supercomputer performance[2].Maxing out at 1.1 exaflops,Frontier was more than twice as fast as its nearest competitor,and it repeated the feat in November of 2022 in the next TOP500 standings[3,4].
文摘In the not-too-distant future,it looks increasingly likely that grocery stores will offer food genetically altered in myriad slight ways to make it healthier,tastier,and more efficient to grow.In 2022,a flurry of research results and regulatory changes around the world brought gene-edited crops closer to consumers’plates.Unlike genetically modified organisms(GMOs)created by introducing deoxyribonucleic acid(DNA)from one organism into another’s genome,the new gene-edited organisms are engineered by using precise clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats(CRISPR)[1]—technology to alter their own genomes.The distinction promises a plethora of new gene-edited crops and,in many countries now,a smoother road to commercialization.
文摘In June 2022,continuing legislative efforts aimed at decreasing electronic waste and bolstering consumer rights,the European Parliament voted overwhelmingly in favor of a rule requiring all new rechargeable mobile devices like smartphones,tablets,earbuds,and keyboards to use universal serial bus type C(USB-C)charging ports by December 2024.The same rules will apply to new laptops beginning in 2026[1].While the law will only be enforced in the European Union(EU),its consequences will likely be felt worldwide as most technology companies will find it cheaper to produce all their devices with USB-C connectors rather than make products with different charging technology only for EU countries.
文摘Graduate students and scientists who spend long hours in the laboratory pipetting solutions and slogging through other repetitive,tedious procedures may feel like robots.But starting in the fall of 2023,researchers at one university,Carnegie Mellon University(CMU)in Pittsburgh,PA,USA,will be able to delegate the work to actual robots.The university is building a“cloud lab,”a 40 million USD scientific facility that is almost fully automated[1].
文摘In October 2022,machine learning experts at Deep Mind(London,UK),a subsidiary of Google(Mountain View,CA,USA),reported a“breakthrough”on an extremely common mathematical algorithm called matrix multiplication[1].In previous years,DeepMind has made headlines with its successes in using deep learning to master various games,such as Go[2],chess,and even the strategic board game Diplomacy,and,in a more recent and clearly practical application with its Alpha Fold program[3].
文摘On 13 December 2022,a couple was driving through the Angeles National Forest near Los Angeles,CA,USA,when their car slid off the road,plowed 100 m down a steep hillside,and landed upside down at the bottom of a canyon[1].Although the couple suffered only minor injuries,they were trapped in the canyon,and in the remote area the passenger could not get any reception on her iPhone 14 cellular phone.Still,she was able to send an SOS through a new feature on the phone that routes such messages via satellites[2].Rescuers alerted to the couple’s location airlifted them out of the canyon later the same day.
文摘Half a century—plus 37 seconds—after it was first introduced to the world,the leap second has been scheduled for retirement.On 18 November 2022 at the General Conference on Weights and Measures(CGPM)outside of Paris,France,representatives of governments around the globe decided that astronomical time(known as UT1),which is determined by Earth’s rotation,will be allowed to diverge by more than one second from Coordinated Universal Time(UTC),which is based on the steady ticking of atomic clocks[1].While the change—not to be implemented until 2035—will go unnoticed by most people,it promises to simplify the timekeeping vital to services provided by a wide range of global industries,including transportation,defense,and finance.
文摘In March 2023,a converted bomber took off from Eielson Air Force Base in Alaska,USA,carrying a payload of delicate scientific instruments(Fig.1).Operated by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration(NOAA),the flight aimed to collect a plethora of information about the Earth’s stratosphere.Such exploration sounds routine,but the mission’s goal is unusual for a government entity:to inform policy decisions surrounding large-scale,deliberate interventions to alter the stratosphere for climate change mitigation[1].The approach of deflecting sunlight to cool the planet,called solar radiation management or solar geoengineering,was long considered a fringe idea.But with recent funding and attention from government agencies like NOAA,the approach is moving mainstream.
文摘A farmer is ready to harvest the winter wheat crop when his combine harvester breaks down.Even if the problem would be relatively simple to remedy,the farmer probably cannot make the repair himself or get help from an independent shop because manufacturers have restricted access to the tools,documentation,and other requirements for fixing their equipment[1].Instead,the farmer will likely have to turn to one of the manufacturer’s dealers,which could mean waiting days or even weeks for a service call from a company technician[2].In the meantime,the farmer’s crop sits unharvested,vulnerable to damage or destruction by bad weather[2].
文摘Sweat, like blood, contains electrolytes and biomolecules that can reveal aspects of a person’s physiology, from hydration to kidney function. Though scientists have long recognized sweat’s potential use as a medical diagnostic tool, only recently have engineering advances allowed them to explore the possibility in earnest.
文摘Since the introduction of 1G wireless networks in the late 1970s,a new generation of wireless network technology has appeared approximately every ten years[1].Now,companies have started implementing 5G,the latest generation of wireless technology[2,3].Earlier transitions to next generation networks boosted cellular communications,mostly by speeding up service and increasing bandwidth.The jump from 4G to 5G promises to bring much more.While 5G will also greatly improve mobile broadband service,it will additionally provide a key platform for cutting-edge applications that go way beyond“smarter”smart phones.
文摘In the fight against the coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19)pandemic,an old weapon has re-emerged[1].More than a century after Niels Finsen won the 1903 Nobel Prize for discovering that ultraviolet(UV)light could kill germs[2],UV light is surging in popularity as a method for disinfecting hospital rooms and other public spaces.
文摘On 26 November 2018, Mars welcomed a new visitor: the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)’s InSight lander. After barreling through the Martian atmosphere at 5.5 km·s^-1 and withstanding temperatures of 1500℃, the capsule containing the lander deployed its parachute. At a distance of 9.2 km from the surface, it released its heat shield, exposing the lander’s legs. A couple of minutes later, the capsule dropped the lander into a free fall. With the aid of pulsed retrorockets, InSight settled onto Elysium Planitia, a flat, moderately barren patch of land 4.5°north of the Martian equator. Over the next few weeks, the spacecraft surveyed its new surroundings, checked its systems, took a selfie (Fig. 1), and got to work.
文摘While messages,letters,or photographs could be altered to change both content and intent,people generally assumed they were not because it was not easily done.But this is no longer true in today’s digital world.Tools for altering photos and other media quickly became available with the advent of computers,the internet,and,most recently,smartphones and social media.Now,artificial intelligence(AI)is further transforming digital media,with far more sophisticated programs that can be used to almost seamlessly manipulate video,photographs,audio,and text for a variety of purposes.
文摘In June 2018, the United States claimed the No. 1 position in supercomputing according to TOP500, which ranks the top 500 most powerful computer systems in the world [1]. The US Department of Energy’s Summit machine (Fig. 1)[1] claimed this distinction, which previously had been held by China’s Sunway TaihuLight supercomputer.
文摘The SpaceX rocket that lifted off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on 22 April carried a payload that worries many astronomers[1].The 60 satellites that the rocket transported into space added to a population explosion of objects in low-Earth orbit.The number of orbiting satellites visible to the unaided eye has already doubled in just over a year,according to calculations by astrophysicist Jonathan McDowell of the Harvard–Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics in Cambridge,MA,USA.And the number of objects in low-Earth orbit could grow more than 10-fold this decade if SpaceX and other companies follow through on their plans to launch "mega-constellations"of hundreds or thousands of satellites[2].
文摘In November 2019,one of the first approved human trials of the gene-editing technology“CRISPR”reported dramatically positive results in each of the two initial patients given a single round of therapy[1].Both patients suffered from a painful,life-threatening,inherited blood disease and had received an infusion of billions of their own hematopoietic stem cells.These precursor blood cells had been altered with CRISPR to produce disease-free blood cells.
文摘Medical devices designed to be implanted in the body have gotten impressively tiny.To a great extent,this miniaturization has also decreased the invasiveness of the devices,simplifying implantation and reducing patient risk.Now,the devices are also getting smarter.Engineered to both transmit and measure clinically relevant physiological signals,two new state-of-the-art devices—a pacemaker and a deep brain stimulator(DBS)—can use sophisticated algorithms to autonomously modulate the electrical stimulation they provide.In addition to improving patient outcomes,these smart features are also expanding the potential clinical utility of the devices.
文摘As it circled the Earth one night in 2017, the Chinese satellite Mozi, also called Micius, aimed a laser at a ground station in northeastern China (Fig. 1). Then, as it traveled toward Europe and into range, it directed a beam at a different receiver in Austria. These transmissions, delivered to sites 7600 km apart, were noteworthy because they marked the first time a satellite had relayed secret quantum keys for decrypting and viewing messages. With the keys, scientists in China and Austria were able to exchange and decipher encrypted images. And on 29 September 2017, the researchers used the system to set up an encrypted 75-minute video conference between members of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing and their counterparts at the Austrian Academy of Sciences in Vienna [1].
