Science

Your solar cells might never be the same. Quantum computers may have the source for their vast digital storage demands. And it’s all thanks to a discovery that shows how silicon can be partnered up with photons.
Researchers Discover New Way to Split and Sum Photons with Silicon – Science Blog
Excerpt:
A team of researchers at The University of Texas at Austin and the University of California, Riverside have found a way to produce a long-hypothesized phenomenon—the transfer of energy between silicon and organic, carbon-based molecules—in a breakthrough that has implications for information storage in quantum computing, solar energy conversion and medical imaging.
…..silicon has some problems when it comes to converting light into electricity…..
The new discovery provides scientists with a way to boost silicon’s efficiency by pairing it with a carbon-based material that converts blue photons into pairs of red photons that can be more efficiently used by silicon. This hybrid material can also be tweaked to operate in reverse, taking in red light and converting it into blue light, which has implications for medical treatments and quantum computing.
“The organic molecule we’ve paired silicon with is a type of carbon ash called anthracene. It’s basically soot,” said Sean Roberts, a UT Austin assistant professor of chemistry…..
“We now can finely tune this material to react to different wavelengths of light. Imagine, for quantum computing, being able to tweak and optimize a material to turn one blue photon into two red photons or two red photons into one blue. It’s perfect for information storage.”

Might science have an answer on the quest to end the disease that is HIV? This Seeker video highlights news that suggests scientists are very close to potentially unveiling a vaccine that could prevent anyone in the future (assuming you’ve received the vaccine) from ever getting HIV again.
The Search For an HIV Vaccine May Soon Be Over – Seeker
HIV is one of the deadliest viruses on the planet, newly infecting about 1.7 million people in 2018. But scientists are getting closer to developing a vaccine.

The mad scientists are working on an idea that could see a bacteria build a base on Mars by eating the Mars soil or something. This seems like a great idea and I hope they apply poor security at the labs they’re working on to assure for a new sci-fi thriller IRL, The Bug that At the Earth. I just hope it happens after I’ve finished the bacteria-powered spaceship I’m working on in my Mother-in-law’s guest bathroom bathtub.
But seriously, here’s the actual story sans the fake sci-fi horror dramas…..
Using Bacteria to Build a Base on Mars -Universe Today
Excerpt:
When it comes to plans for future missions to space, one of the most important aspects will be the use of local resources and autonomous robots. This process is known as In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU), which reduces the amount of equipment and resources that need to be sent ahead or brought along by a mission crew. Meanwhile, autonomous robots can be sent ahead of a crew and have everything prepared for them in advance.
But what about bacteria that can draw iron from extraterrestrial soil, which would then be used to 3D print metal components for a base? That is the idea that is being proposed by PhD candidate Benjamin Lehner of the Delft University of Technology. On Friday (Nov. 22nd), he defended his thesis, which calls for the deployment of an uncrewed mission to Mars that will convert regolith into useable metal using a bacteria-filled bioreactor.
This proposal was the result of four years of research by Lehrner, who has a background in both nanotechnology and biology, that was conducted with the help of the ESA and NASA. The purpose of this research was to find ways to cut the associated costs of missions by creating a system that could enable the creation of mission habitats without the need for crews or sending supplies on ahead.