When rats rest, their brains simulate journeys to a desired future such as a tasty treat, finds new University College London (UCL) research funded by the Wellcome Trust and Royal Society.

The researchers monitored brain activity in rats, first as the animals viewed food in a location they could not reach, then as they rested in a separate chamber and finally as they were allowed to walk to the food. The activity of specialized brain cells involved in navigation suggested that during the rest the rats simulated walking to and from food that they had been unable to reach.

The study, published in the open access journal eLife, could help to explain why some people with damage to a part of the brain called the hippocampus are unable to imagine the future.

“During exploration, mammals rapidly form a map of the environment in their hippocampus,” says senior author Hugo Spiers (UCL Experimental Psychology). “During sleep or rest, the hippocampus replays journeys through this map that may help strengthen the memory. It has been speculated that such replay might form the content of dreams. Whether or not rats experience this brain activity as dreams is still unclear, as we would need to ask them to be sure. Our new results show that during rest the hippocampus also constructs fragments of a future yet to happen. Because the rat and human hippocampus are similar, this may explain why patients with damage to their hippocampus struggle to imagine future events.”

In the experiment, animals were individually placed on a straight track with a T-junction ahead. Access to the junction as well as the left and right hand arms beyond it was prevented by a transparent barrier. One of the arms had food at the end, the other side was empty. After observing the food the rats were put in a sleep chamber for an hour. Finally after the barrier was removed, the animals were returned to the track and allowed to run across the junction and on to the arms.

During the rest period, the data showed that place cells that would later provide an internal map of the food arm were active. Cells representing the empty arm were not activated in this way. This indicates that the brain was simulating or preparing future paths leading to a desired goal.

“What’s really interesting is that the hippocampus is normally thought of as being important for memory, with place cells storing details about locations you’ve visited,” explains co-lead author Freyja Ólafsdóttir (UCL Biosciences). “What’s surprising here is that we see the hippocampus planning for the future, actually rehearsing totally novel journeys that the animals need to take in order to reach the food.”

The results suggest that the hippocampus plans routes that have not yet happened as well as recording those that have already happened, but only when there is a motivational cue such as food. This may also imply the ability to imagine future events is not a uniquely human ability.

“What we don’t know at the moment is what these neural simulations are actually for,” says co-lead author Caswell Barry (UCL Biosciences). “It seems possible this process is a way of evaluating the available options to determine which is the most likely to end in reward, thinking it through if you like. We don’t know that for sure though and something we’d like to do in the future is try to establish a link between this apparent planning and what the animals do next.”

http://www.laboratoryequipment.com/news/2015/06/rats-dream-happy-future

The suppliers of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) started the initial production of new iPhones with Force Touch feature, according to Bloomberg based on information familiar with the situation.

Force Touch senses the level of force exerted by users on a touch pad or a similar display surface, and responds accordingly. The feature uses tiny electrodes around the display to distinguish between a light tap and a deep press and triggers instant access to contextually specific controls.

Apple first integrated the Force Touch feature in the Apple Watch and the latest MacBook model. The tech giant is bringing the feature to its new iPhones two years after it began working with suppliers, to perfect the pressure-sensitive displays.

Force Touch could help Apple stay ahead in the smartphone market

Integrating the Force Touch feature is the latest strategy of Apple to remain ahead of the competition in the smartphone market particularly from Samsung Electronics Co Ltd (KRX:005930). The South Korean electronics manufacturer recently released the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge with a dual-edge display.

According to the sources, the new iPhone models will sport a 4.7-inch and a 5.5-inch display, similar to the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. The new devices will also have a similar exterior design. Apple suppliers are expected to boost their volume manufacturing as early as next month.

KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo suggested that the new iPhone models would be thicker by 0.2mm because of the integration of the Force Touch. It is uncertain whether his speculation is accurate.

Sources told Bloomberg that the final assembly of the new iPhone models is expected to run smoothly because of its design similarity with the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. However, they suggested the possibility that the timing and production volume of the iPhones with Force Touch feature would be impacted by the supply and yield of displays for the devices.

Apple is expected to release the Force Touch enabled iPhones in September

Technology observers are expecting Apple to release the Force Touch enabled iPhones in September. There were speculations that the tech giant’s next-generation iPhones will sport a better camera, improved Touch ID, more RAM and it will come in a rose gold color. The new devices will likely be called iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus.

During the second quarter ended March 28, 2015, Apple sold 61.2 million units of iPhones, higher than the 58.1 million estimated by Wall Street analysts. The iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus helped Apple grab Samsung’s position as the king of the global smartphone market.

http://www.opptrends.com/2015/06/apple-inc-aapl-starts-production-of-iphones-with-force-touch-feature/

D-Wave Systems has broken the quantum computing 1000 qubit barrier, developing a processor about double the size of D-Wave’s previous generation, and far exceeding the number of qubits ever developed by D-Wave or any other quantum effort, the announcement said.

It will allow “significantly more complex computational problems to be solved than was possible on any previous quantum computer.”

At 1000 qubits, the new processor considers 21000 possibilities simultaneously, a search space which dwarfs the 2512 possibilities available to the 512-qubit D-Wave Two. ‪”In fact, the new search space contains far more possibilities than there are ‪particles in the observable universe.”

The new processors, comprising over 128,000 Josephson tunnel junctions, are believed to be the most complex superconductor integrated circuits ever successfully yielded. Other innovations include:

Lower Operating Temperature: While the previous generation processor ran at a temperature close to absolute zero, the new processor runs 40% colder. The lower operating temperature enhances the importance of quantum effects, which increases the ability to discriminate the best result from a collection of good candidates.
Reduced Noise: Through a combination of improved design, architectural enhancements and materials changes, noise levels have been reduced by 50% in comparison to the previous generation. The lower noise environment enhances problem-solving performance while boosting reliability and stability.
Increased Control Circuitry Precision: In the testing to date, the increased precision coupled with the noise reduction has demonstrated improved precision by up to 40%. To accomplish both while also improving manufacturing yield is a significant achievement.
Advanced Fabrication: The new processors comprise over 128,000 Josephson junctions (tunnel junctions with superconducting electrodes) in a 6-metal layer planar process with 0.25μm features, believed to be the most complex superconductor integrated circuits ever built.
New Modes of Use: The new technology expands the boundaries of ways to exploit quantum resources. In addition to performing discrete optimization like its predecessor, firmware and software upgrades will make it easier to use the system for sampling applications.

related:
D-Wave Systems Breaks the 1000 Qubit Quantum Computing Barrier

http://www.kurzweilai.net/d-wave-systems-breaks-the-1000-qubit-quantum-computing-barrier

For this week’s giveaway, we’ve teamed up with OneAdaptr to offer 12 MacRumors readers a chance to win a Twist Plus+ World Charging Station. Priced at $45, the Twist Plus is a very handy charging solution that lets you charge your Mac and multiple iOS devices at the same time.

Because it attaches to any MacBook Power Adapter by replacing the attached plug, it works with many different Mac models. Its included four USB ports can charge iOS devices at the same time, and it even works with Apple’s newest devices, the Retina MacBook and the Apple Watch.

In addition to charging multiple Apple products at once, the Twist Plus comes with a selection of adapters for use around the world, making it a useful product for those who travel often. The adapters are all built-in so there’s no need to carry extra accessories, and changing the adapter is done with a twist of the base. The Twist Plus’ selection of adapters work in more than 150 countries.

Twist Plus World Charging Station not only allows for worldwide charging of MacBook, but also provides 4 ports, 4.0 Amp USB charging station for iPad/iPhone/Smartphone/Tablet. Once attached, simply twist to select the local plug, to power up to 5 devices simultaneously from a single outlet.
To enter to win one of the 12 Twist Plus+ World Charging Stations, use the Rafflecopter widget below to enter your email address. Your email address will not be given to any third party and is used solely for contact purposes. You can earn additional entries by subscribing to our weekly newsletter, subscribing to our YouTube channel, following us on Twitter, or visiting the MacRumors Facebook page. Due to the complexities of international laws regarding giveaways, only U.S. residents who are 18 years of age or older are eligible to enter.

This contest will run from today (June 26) at 12:00 p.m. Pacific Time through 12:00 p.m. Pacific Time on July 3. The winner will be chosen randomly on July 3 and will be contacted by email. The winner has 48 hours to respond and provide a shipping address or a new winner will be chosen.

http://www.macrumors.com/2015/06/26/macrumors-giveaway-twist-plus-world-charging-station/

Could our phone one day soon recognize our face?
In the next decade alone, for both authentication and surveillance purposes, we’re probably going to start seeing a number of devices that are, in fact, quite keen to our mug.
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“Adoption of facial recognition will be particularly strong during the next several years in mobile device authentication, but areas of growth will also include government applications such as national ID cards and biometrics passports, as well as finance/banking and retail applications,” the market intelligence firm Tractica said in a statement.
According to a new report from Tractica, annual facial recognition devices and licenses will increase from 28.5 million in 2015 to more than 122.8 million worldwide by 2024. Furthermore, the firm notes that this form of technology will become more widespread in even more devices used by consumers at work, in the office and even officials in the government, with ideas on national ID cards and biometric passports, as well as finance/banking and retail applications that might pick up on your face instead of your password or fingerprint .

http://www.scienceworldreport.com/articles/27158/20150626/facial-recognition-soon-your-phone-will-recognize-your-face.htm

Apple said at its Worldwide Developers Conference earlier this month that the upcoming iOS 9 would increase the iPhone’s battery life by one hour and with its Low Power mode enabled, users could get up to an addition three hours of power. However, the latter would have a significant effect on the phone’s CPU speed.

Apple news site Macrumours ran CPU benchmark tests on both the iPhone 6 Plus and iPhone 5s running the developers version of iOS9. According to the app GeekBench 3, when Low Power mode was enabled, the iPhone Plus’ multi-core processor ran 39.4% slower during the test. The iPhone 5s scored slightly worse, with its multi-core CPU’s performance roughly 44% lower in Low Power mode.

But Low Power mode is optional. A pop-up to turn it on appears when the phone’s battery life is reduced 10-20%. The feature also turns off motion effects, animated wallpapers, Background App Refresh and Mail Fetch.

http://www.torontosun.com/2015/06/26/ios-9s-low-power-mode-may-make-your-iphone-around-40-slower

Could this material be used as an interface for your future cell phone?
June 26, 2015

A “nano-accordion” material using stretchable, transparent conductors, shown here rolled up to highlight its flexibility (credit: Abhijeet Bagal)

Researchers from North Carolina State University (NC State) have created stretchable, transparent conductors based on a “nano-accordion” design inspired by springs.

Why is this important?

Imagine a material that is a flexible, stretchable, and transparent. So it could be attached to human or robot skin (or woven into clothing) for use as a wearable, stretchable, touch-sensitive smartphone display, for example, or used as a wearable temperature or other sensor. This is the first such material.

“There are no conductive, transparent and stretchable materials in nature, so we had to create one,” says Abhijeet Bagal, a Ph.D. student in mechanical and aerospace engineering at NC State and lead author of a paper in Materials Horizons describing the work.

The fabrication process for nano-accordion structures: (a) A photoresist template is patterned with interference lithography. (b) A zinc oxide thin film is then deposited on the photoresist template and (c) the structure is transferred by lift-off onto a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) substrate. (credit: Abhijeet Bagal et al./Materials Horizons)

The researchers begin by creating a 3-D polymer template on a silicon substrate. The template is shaped like a series of identical, evenly spaced rectangles. The template is coated with a layer of aluminum-doped zinc oxide (the conducting material) and an elastic polymer is applied on top. The researchers then flip the whole thing over and remove the silicon and the template.

Zinc oxide ridges on an elastic substrate. The dimensions of each ridge in the transparent conductor directly affect the structure’s stretchability. The taller each ridge is, the more stretchable the structure. This is because the structure stretches by having the two sides of a ridge bend away from each other at the base — like a person doing a split. (credit: Abhijeet Bagal)

What’s left behind is a series of symmetrical zinc-oxide ridges on an elastic substrate. Both zinc oxide and the polymer are clear, so the structure is transparent. And it’s stretchable because the ridges of zinc oxide allow the structure to expand and contract, like the bellows of an accordion, and can be stretched repeatedly without breaking.

“We can also control the thickness of the zinc oxide layer, and have done extensive testing with layers ranging from 30 to 70 nanometers thick,” says Erinn Dandley, a Ph.D. student in chemical and biomolecular engineering at NC State and co-author of the paper. “This is important because the thickness of the zinc oxide affects the structure’s optical, electrical and mechanical properties.” (The researchers are also experimenting with other conductive materials.)

“This approach combines engineering with a touch of surface chemistry to precisely control the nano-accordion’s geometry, composition and, ultimately, its overall material properties,” says Chih-Hao Chang, an assistant professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at NC State and corresponding author of the paper. “We’re now working on ways to improve the conductivity of the nano-accordion structures. And at some point we want to find a way to scale up the process.”

NCSU | Transparent, Stretchable Conductors Using Nano-Accordion Structure

Abstract of Multifunctional nano-accordion structures for stretchable transparent conductors

Multifunctional nano-accordion structures exhibiting a unique combination of conductivity, stretchability, and transparency are fabricated through a combination of nanolithography and atomic layer deposition. The nanostructured material demonstrated two orders-of-magnitude improvement in stretchability, repeatable electrical performance for cyclic stretching and bending, and broadband optical transmission up to 70%. The proposed experimental techniques and analytical models enable the deterministic design of nano-accordion geometry to control material stretchability. The proposed nanostructures are promising for applications in transparent flexible electronics, stretchable displays, and wearable sensors.

references:
Abhijeet Bagal, Erinn C. Dandley, Junjie Zhao, Xu A. Zhang, Christopher J. Oldham, Gregory N. Parsons and Chih-Hao Chang. Multifunctional nano-accordion structures for stretchable transparent conductors. Materials Horizons 2015 DOI: 10.1039/C5MH00070J
related:
Researchers Create Transparent, Stretchable Conductors Using Nano-Accordion Structure

http://www.kurzweilai.net/transparent-stretchable-conductors-using-nano-accordion-structure

Stretched Molybdenum disulfide crystal could absorb more solar energy than conventional solar-cell materials
June 26, 2015

This colorized image shows an ultra-thin layer of semiconductor material stretched over the peaks and valleys of part of a device the size of a pinkie nail. Just three atoms thick, this semiconductor layer is stretched in ways to enhance its electronic ability to absorb solar energy. The image is enlarged 100,000 times. (credit: Hong Li, Stanford Engineering)

Stanford University researchers have stretched an atomically thin Molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) semiconductor crystal to achieve a variable bandgap (defined as the amount of energy it takes to move an electron in a material).

That could lead to solar cells that absorb more energy from the sun by being sensitive to a broader spectrum of light, and could also find applications in next-generation optoelectronics.

Crystalline semiconductors like silicon can also catch photons and convert their energy into electron flows in solar cells, but they have a single band gap, which limits their absorption to a narrow region of the spectrum.

Schematic of strained MoS2 crystal (yellow) caused by indentations from SiO2 nanocones (gray). The stretched regions (on the tips of nanocones) have the highest tensile strain and the lowest band (energy) gap, while the areas between nanocones are less strained, so they have the highest band gap. This broad range of band gaps results in absorption of light over a broader spectrum. (credit: Hong Li/Nature Communications)

Stanford researchers reveal the details of this study in an open-access paper published in Nature Communications. MIT, Rice University, and Texas A&M University researchers also contributed to the paper.

Abstract of Optoelectronic crystal of artificial atoms in strain-textured molybdenum disulphide

The isolation of the two-dimensional semiconductor molybdenum disulphide introduced a new optically active material possessing a band gap that can be facilely tuned via elastic strain. As an atomically thin membrane with exceptional strength, monolayer molybdenum disulphide subjected to biaxial strain can embed wide band gap variations overlapping the visible light spectrum, with calculations showing the modified electronic potential emanating from point-induced tensile strain perturbations mimics the Coulomb potential in a mesoscopic atom. Here we realize and confirm this ‘artificial atom’ concept via capillary-pressure-induced nanoindentation of monolayer molybdenum disulphide from a tailored nanopattern, and demonstrate that a synthetic superlattice of these building blocks forms an optoelectronic crystal capable of broadband light absorption and efficient funnelling of photogenerated excitons to points of maximum strain at the artificial-atom nuclei. Such two-dimensional semiconductors with spatially textured band gaps represent a new class of materials, which may find applications in next-generation optoelectronics or photovoltaics.

references:
Hong Li, Alex W. Contryman, Xiaofeng Qian, Sina Moeini Ardakani, Yongji Gong, Xingli Wang, Jeffery M. Weisse, Chi Hwan Lee, Jiheng Zhao, Pulickel M. Ajayan, Ju Li, Hari C. Manoharan, Xiaolin Zheng. Optoelectronic crystal of artificial atoms in strain-textured molybdenum disulphide. Nature Communications, 2015; 6: 7381 DOI: 10.1038/ncomms8381 (open access)
related:
Stanford researchers stretch a thin crystal to get better solar cells

http://www.kurzweilai.net/could-stretching-a-thin-crystal-create-a-better-solar-cell

Lucky you: you’ve got a brand new Apple Watch. It’s so much more than a timekeeping accessory – here are some cool apps to boost its usefulness. Click through the slide show to see what we mean.

1. Nike+ Running
Free
Leave your phone in your fanny pack – with the Nike+ Running app, you can just glance at your wrist for updates on distance, pace and duration, plus cheers from friends. See where you rank on the global Nike+ leaderboard and enjoy wireless tunes with Bluetooth-enabled earphones.

2. Instagram
Free
Yes, the Apple Watch screen is small, but you can enjoy quick peeks at your Instagram feed all day long. View recent posts, see likes and comments on your photos, and read profiles. You can also get “rich notifications” for your favourite Instagram users and reply with a like or an emoji.

3. Evernote
Free
If you’re not already using Evernote to collect and share info across your devices, the Apple Watch app might convince you to start. You can find info with voice search, set up reminders, check off tasks, scan your shopping list, look up contacts and dictate your bright ideas.

4. Elevate Dash
Free
Build your brainpower, one mini-game at a time! The Apple Watch version of Elevate, Apple’s “Best iPhone App of 2014,” helps you improve your vocabulary, math skills and more in 20-second bursts.

5. TripAdvisor
Free
At home or abroad, TripAdvisor helps you find the best restaurants, attractions and more with help from travellers’ reviews, ratings and photos. You can save locations for later, and the Apple Watch’s “Glances” feature works with TripAdvisor and GPS to highlight nearby points of interest (say, a good resto at lunchtime).

http://www.connectedrogers.ca/apps/top-5-apps-for-apple-watch/

Start-up Saffron has turned to internal circadian rhythm, or humans’ physical, mental and behavioral changes over 24 hours in response to light and darkness, for inspiration. The bulb allegedly improves performance and sleep patterns by syncing users’ internal clock to the sun’s shifting color spectrum.

DNews: What Is Light Made Of?

The bulb provides the “right kind of light for each time of day,” Gizmag explains.

Two banks of LEDs inside the bulb — one that contains cool colors and another containing warm colors — mix to strike the right balance.

To set up the Silk bulb, users can plug in a bridge circuit and set up Wi-Fi details to allow the system to sync with local sun movement. The Silk Light app, available on iOS and Android, gives users the ability to create zone-based schedules and switch lighting based on specific situations, such as a dinner party.

Light At Night Could Boost Weight Gain

The light bulb also provides potential benefits to those affected by seasonal affective disorder (SAD).

The Silk light is currently available through a Kickstarter campaign. A pack of three Silk bulbs, with one Silk bridge, costs $99, with a delivery date slated for January 2016.

http://news.discovery.com/tech/alternative-power-sources/led-bulb-emulates-the-shifting-spectrum-of-sunlight-150625.htm