Sharp has started mass production of its high-definition IGZO screens for smartphones, which could lead to crisper and sharper displays on the phone in your pocket.
IGZO, named after the indium gallium zinc oxide semiconductor on which it is based, is a Sharp-developed technology that features smaller pixels than current LCD (liquid crystal display) screens. The smaller pixels mean more can be crammed into the same space so screens become higher definition.
The first screens are already being produced and will be included in two phones Sharp plans to put on sale in Japan in the coming months.
The Aquos Phone Zeta SH-01F has a 5-inch IGZO screen with full HD (1920 by 1080 pixel) resolution. A second phone, the Aquos Phone EX SH-02F, packs the same number of pixels into a 4.7-inch screen. That will go on sale in early 2014, and the resolution works out to 487 pixels per inch.
By comparison, the 4-inch Retina display in Apple's iPhone 5S has a 1136 by 640 pixel resolution screen, for 326ppi.
With mass production beginning, Sharp will be hoping that the market for such high-definition screens continues to grow with the surging popularity of smartphones.
IGZO faces competition from a number of other technologies, such as OLED (organic light-emitting diode) and new developments on LCD technology that allow the screens to be gently curved.
Martyn Williams covers mobile telecoms, Silicon Valley and general technology breaking news for The IDG News Service. Follow Martyn on Twitter at @martyn_williams. Martyn's e-mail address is martyn_williams@idg.com
Martyn Williams, IDG News Service , IDG News Service
Martyn Williams covers mobile telecoms, Silicon Valley and general technology breaking news for The IDG News Service. More by Martyn Williams, IDG News Service
LONDON – Avant-garde U.K. director Ben Charles Edwards' short film Dotty could signal the beginning of a fresh British acting dynasty. The film stars nine-year-old Rudy Law, son of Jude Law and ex-wife Sadie Frost.
Frost and Law junior star alongside each other in Edwards' take on a classic American children's fantasy. Co-written with Dominic Wells, Dotty details the story of a lonely child who stumbles across an old caravan while wandering across the Nevada desert and meets the eccentric old woman of the story's title.
The short is due to premiere ahead of Dom Hemmingway, the British crime thriller starring Jude Law, at a screening in London on Oct. 20. It will then stream via Ben Charles Edwards site from November 2013.
Shot on location in Nevada, the film is a true family affair, produced by Frost's own banner, Blonde to Black Pictures. She produced the film with Emma Comley and Edwards, with Andrew Green as executive producer.
Edwards said Frost "was teaching Rudy a lot whilst we were on set," describing the filmmaking process as "just charming."
"It was beautiful moments to witness, watching a mum and a son work like that," he added.
Edwards also told THR that Jude Law gave input on the film.
"So it really was a family effort, because the suggestions that Jude made to the edit hugely strengthened the project by helping with the structure -- adding shots, taking them away. Jude really got the balance right."
Frost described the title character as fun. "I love playing characters that are very different from me, where I can completely transform myself. So Dotty is a kooky, eccentric old lady -- I love the way she dances."
Dotty marks Edwards' eighth outing behind the camera. He has also collaborated with artists and talent such as Russian conceptual artist Andrey Bartenev (for a photography exhibit at the Russian Museum of Modern Art), Zandra Rhodes, artist Piers Atkinson, musician and DJ Boy George and the fashion world¹s Giles Deacon at Vogue Italia.
New York Yankees' Alex Rodriguez arrives at the offices of Major League Baseball, Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2013 in New York. The grievance to overturn Rodriguez's 211-game suspension began Monday before arbitrator Fredric Horowitz. (AP Photo/David Karp)
New York Yankees' Alex Rodriguez arrives at the offices of Major League Baseball, Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2013 in New York. The grievance to overturn Rodriguez's 211-game suspension began Monday before arbitrator Fredric Horowitz. (AP Photo/David Karp)
NEW YORK (AP) — Hearings on the grievance to overturn Alex Rodriguez's 211-game suspension recessed Friday for a month after Major League Baseball completed its direct case.
The session was the eighth before arbitrator Fredric Horowitz, who unless the case is settled will decide whether to uphold the penalty issued Aug. 5, overturn it or change the length.
Rob Manfred, MLB's chief operating officer, completed his testimony Friday. Rodriguez's legal team will call witnesses when the hearing resumes, likely the week of Nov. 18.
MLB disciplined Rodriguez following its investigation of the Biogenesis of America anti-aging clinic, alleging the New York Yankees third baseman violated the sport's drug agreement and labor contract.
The group Hispanics Across America, which has been demonstrating outside MLB's office in support of Rodriguez during the hearings, took out a full-page advertisement in The New York Times on Friday. The ad included a photograph of Commissioner Bud Selig at the top adjacent to a headline: "Who is Public Enemy No. 1 in Baseball?"
"Bud Selig is a disgrace to the game, to the players and to our children," read the ad, signed by HAA President and founder Fernando Mateo. "He turned a blind eye on issues involving HGH and steroids until Hispanics Across America delivered three caskets to his door steps with a name and date of birth in 2004. Willful blindness should be punishable and Bud Selig and his executives have not been punished. Why? That's why we are fighting for justice for Alex Rodriguez."
The Times reported on its website that while it doesn't reveal an advertisement's cost, a full-page, black-and-white advocacy ad in that category costs more than $100,000.
"Every person who's ever given a dime to Hispanics Across America ought to be asking why that organization spent $100,000 on an ad attacking the executive who has done more to rid professional sports of performance-enhancing drugs than any other and supporting an admitted drug user," Manfred said in a telephone interview.
In other A-Rod news, lawyers for Rodriguez and MLB agreed to push back a federal court conference on the player's lawsuit against the league and Selig from Oct. 24 to Nov. 7.
Burberry CEO Angela Ahrendts is moving to Apple, where she will head the company's retail division.
Mark Lennihan/AP
Burberry CEO Angela Ahrendts is moving to Apple, where she will head the company's retail division.
Mark Lennihan/AP
It's time for your Friday week in review, a look at the big headlines and conversation in the tech and culture space.
ICYMI
On the air, we continued to follow the ongoing failures of websites designed to sign people up for the new health insurance exchanges. I chatted with All Things Considered about how an old technology — pen and paper — is what a lot of folks are turning to in light of repeated issues with trying to sign up online. (The folks at Reason magazine say we have no idea when the problems will be fixed.) Steve Henn looked at how Silicon Valley may have been able to do the job much better than the tech contractors who built the healthcare.gov behemoth.
Tech companies are business titans, and this week Apple's hire of Burberry CEO Angela Ahrendts as the tech giant's new retail chief signaled the company's interest in fast growth in Asia. As Twitter readies for its IPO, it continues to roll out changes to user capabilities and its platform. This week, it announced a change to who can send you direct messages (it's no longer only people you follow). And more revelations about the scope of NSA surveillance — The Washington Postreported that the NSA is collecting hundreds of millions of email and instant messaging contact lists. The New Yorkerexplained why these stories are troubling.
Good ol' pen and paper seems to be a theme, eh? At the Supreme Court, justices avoid firing off angry emails with their innovative system: only handwritten memos.
Finally, your blogger is on the road today, in Atlanta with 1,200 other journalists, technologists and educators for the Online News Association annual confab. The conversations here focus heavily on the tech-powered reporting and distribution methods that are changing the game for traditional journalism — data, mobile and networks. "2014 is about anticipatory computing revolution for the masses," predicts digital strategist Amy Webb, who spoke Friday morning about how predictive elements like Google Now and smart virtual personal assistants are taking over. Nieman Journalism Lab at Harvard will be covering other big themes to emerge from here. Stay tuned.
The holidays are still a ways off, but the wait is (soon to be) over. The seven-inch version of Amazon's Kindle Fire HDX just started shipping. With a starting price of $229, the slate brings a new version of Fire OS (the update formerly known as "Mojito"), a lovely 323 ppi display and, of course, ...
Apple is warning customers that solid-state drives in some MacBook Airs are failing and is offering free replacements.
The company said that 64GB and 128GB SSDs were failing in MacBook Air laptops sold between June 2012 and June 2013. The drives will be replaced free, the company said in webpage about the SSD recall.
The laptops involved are the previous generation of MacBook Airs, which ran on Intel Ivy Bridge processors. The failure affects users in all countries where MacBook Airs were sold. Users can visit an Apple Store, an authorized reseller or contact the company to replace the SSDs.
Users can determine if their drives are affected through firmware available at the Mac App Store. Users can click on Updates at the Mac App Store and choose "MacBook Air Flash Storage Firmware Update 1.1," which will check the drive.
Apple is recommending users back up their data and that they not install any new OSes or applications.
SSD failures have been decreasing over the years as the drives have become more reliable. Intel has recalled SSDs multiple times in the past years after finding bugs in the drives.
Agam Shah covers PCs, tablets, servers, chips and semiconductors for IDG News Service. Follow Agam on Twitter at @agamsh. Agam's e-mail address is agam_shah@idg.com
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — A long-awaited deal to create the world's largest marine sanctuary in Antarctica appears to have survived a last-second obstacle — the U.S. government shutdown — and could be approved next week.
The U.S., New Zealand and other countries have sought a sanctuary in the pristine waters of the Ross Sea for the past decade, and there are hopes that previous objectors Russia and Ukraine will agree to a new, smaller proposal when the nations that regulate Antarctic fishing meet next week in Hobart, Australia.
On Wednesday, Secretary of State John Kerry joined his counterparts from other nations in calling for the sanctuary to proceed.
At the time, the U.S. apparently had suspended travel plans for its delegation, according to Gerry Leape, a senior international policy expert at Pew Charitable Trusts.
David Edginton, a spokesman with the U.S. Embassy in Wellington, said Wednesday he was unable to comment on whether the U.S. delegation will be traveling to Australia.
But on Wednesday night, Congress passed legislation to avert a U.S. debt default and end a government shutdown, closing an epic political drama that threatened to rattle the world economy.
Leape said earlier that the suspension could be lifted on short notice, either if the shutdown ends or if the delegation gets special permission to travel. Under normal circumstances, he said, the delegation would already be in Australia and working its diplomatic channels in pre-meetings.
Jointly proposed by the U.S. and New Zealand, the 1.34 million-square-kilometer (517,000-square-mile) sanctuary would be twice the size of Texas and the world's largest stretch of protected ocean.
Progress on the sanctuary has already been painfully slow. The nations that make decisions about Antarctic fishing — 24 countries plus the European Union — do so only by unanimous agreement. A proposal for a larger sanctuary failed in July when Russia and Ukraine, which have fishing interests in the region, raised objections.
The U.S. and New Zealand revised their plans, reducing the sanctuary's proposed size by 40 percent. Environmental groups including Pew criticized the changes initially but have come to embrace the current proposal.
Next week the Antarctic nations also plan to consider a separate proposal to create a series of smaller marine reserves in East Antarctica. Those areas would come with less stringent protections than those in the Ross Sea proposal.
People involved in the negotiations say Russia remains the key to completing the Ross Sea agreement, with Ukraine likely to follow Moscow's lead.
New Zealand Foreign Minister Murray McCully said Wednesday that Russia was ready to talk.
"I'm aware that there are some plans for dialogue with the Russian delegation, which is an encouraging sign," he said. "We are certainly moving in a better direction than we have been previously."
Members of the Russian delegation didn't respond to emails from The Associated Press.
The head of the U.S. delegation, Evan Bloom, said in an interview last month that the size of the proposed sanctuary was reduced based on the findings of a committee which gives scientific advice to the nations, and that it remained faithful to the original objectives.
"One has to make tactical decisions in negotiations," said Bloom, the director of the U.S. State Department's Office of Ocean and Polar Affairs. "I still think the proposal is very strong, very robust, very pro-conservation, and viable."
Today is Friday, Oct. 18, the 291st day of 2013. There are 74 days left in the year.
Today's Highlight in History:
On Oct. 18, 1962, James D. Watson, Francis Crick and Maurice Wilkins were honored with the Nobel Prize for Medicine and Physiology for determining the double-helix molecular structure of DNA.
On this date:
In 1685, King Louis XIV signed the Edict of Fontainebleau, revoking the Edict of Nantes that had established legal toleration of France's Protestant population, the Huguenots.
In 1812, during the War of 1812, the British ship HMS Frolic was captured off the Virginia coast by the crew of the USS Wasp, which was in turn captured by the HMS Poictiers.
In 1867, the United States took formal possession of Alaska from Russia.
In 1892, the first long-distance telephone line between New York and Chicago was officially opened (it could only handle one call at a time).
In 1912, black boxer Jack Johnson was arrested in Chicago, accused of violating the Mann Act because of his relationship with his white girlfriend, Lucille Cameron. (The case collapsed when Cameron refused to cooperate, but Johnson was later re-arrested and convicted on the testimony of a former mistress, Belle Schreiber.)
In 1922, the British Broadcasting Co., Ltd. (later the British Broadcasting Corp.) was founded.
In 1931, inventor Thomas Alva Edison died in West Orange, N.J., at age 84.
In 1944, Soviet troops invaded Czechoslovakia during World War II.
In 1961, the movie musical "West Side Story," starring Natalie Wood and Richard Beymer, premiered in New York, the film's setting.
In 1969, the federal government banned artificial sweeteners known as cyclamates (SY'-kluh-maytz) because of evidence they caused cancer in laboratory rats.
In 1971, the Knapp Commission began public hearings into allegations of corruption in the New York City police department (the witnesses included Frank Serpico).
In 1972, Congress passed the Clean Water Act, overriding President Richard M. Nixon's veto.
In 1977, West German commandos stormed a hijacked Lufthansa jetliner on the ground in Mogadishu, Somalia, freeing all 86 hostages and killing three of the four hijackers.
In 1982, former first lady Bess Truman died at her home in Independence, Mo., at age 97.
In 2001, CBS News announced that an employee in anchorman Dan Rather's office had tested positive for skin anthrax. Four disciples of Osama bin Laden were sentenced in New York to life without parole for their roles in the deadly 1998 bombings of two U.S. embassies in Africa.
Ten years ago: Pope John Paul II celebrated a Mass at the Vatican marking the 20th anniversary of his election to the papacy. The New York Yankees defeated the San Diego Padres, 9-3, to take a 2-games-to-none lead in the World Series.
Five years ago: President George W. Bush, speaking at Camp David, said he would host an international summit in response to the global financial crisis, but did not set a date or place for the meeting. Anti-American Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr urged Iraq's parliament to reject a pact that would extend U.S. presence in Iraq for three years. Soul singer Dee Dee Warwick died in Essex County, N.J. at age 63.
One year ago: In a case that would go to the Supreme Court, the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals in New York ruled that a federal law defining marriage as a union between a man and a woman is unconstitutional and said the gay population has "suffered a history of discrimination." Just 48 hours after a confrontational debate, President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney appeared at the annual Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner in New York. Obama joked that he did better in the second presidential debate because he got a good long nap in the first one, while Romney quipped that the white-tie gala gave him and his wife Ann the chance to dress as they do around the house. The Detroit Tigers completed a four-game sweep of the New York Yankees, winning the finale of the American League Championship Series 8-1. The St. Louis Cardinals beat the San Francisco Giants 8-3 to take a 3-1 lead in the National League Championship Series.
Today's Birthdays: Rock-and-roll performer Chuck Berry is 87. Sportscaster Keith Jackson is 85. Actress Dawn Wells is 75. College and Pro Football Hall-of-Famer Mike Ditka is 74. Singer-musician Russ Giguere is 70. Actor Joe Morton is 66. Actress Pam Dawber is 63. Author Terry McMillan is 62. Writer-producer Chuck Lorre is 61. Gospel singer Vickie Winans is 60. Director-screenwriter David Twohy (TOO'-ee) is 58. International Tennis Hall of Famer Martina Navratilova is 57. Boxer Thomas Hearns is 55. Actor Jean-Claude Van Damme is 53. Actress Erin Moran is 53. Jazz musician Wynton Marsalis is 52. Actor Vincent Spano is 51. Rock musician Tim Cross is 47. Tennis player Michael Stich (shteek) is 45. Singer Nonchalant is 40. Actress Joy Bryant is 39. Rock musician Peter Svenson (The Cardigans) is 39. Actor Wesley Jonathan is 35. Rhythm-and-blues singer-actor Ne-Yo is 34. Country singer Josh Gracin is 33. Country musician Jesse Littleton (Marshall Dyllon) is 32. Jazz singer-musician Esperanza Spalding is 29. Actress-model Freida Pinto is 29. Actor Zac Efron is 26. Actress Joy Lauren is 24. Actor Tyler Posey is 22.
Thought for Today: "Slow down and enjoy life. It's not only the scenery you miss by going too fast — you also miss the sense of where you are going and why." — Eddie Cantor, American comedian-singer (1892-1964).
(Above Advance for Use Friday, Oct. 18)
Copyright 2013, The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
Hulu said Thursday that, effective immediately, MikeHopkins is officially its new chief executive and that acting CEO AndyForssell will be leaving the company.
A Hulu board member since 2011, Hopkins was most recently president of distribution for Fox Networks Group, a division of 21st Century Fox, which owns Hulu along with Disney and Comcast.
Hopkins beat out not only Forssell for the permanent CEO job but also former NBCUniversal executive Lauren Zalaznick, Intel executive Erik Huggers and ABC executive Albert Cheng, all of whom were reportedly on Hulu's shortlist.
Word leaked last week, though, that Hopkins had been offered the role.
Forssell had been acting CEO since March, when Jason Kilar exited the company with a $40 million payout.
"After an extensive search, Mike was simply the best candidate for the job," said Anne Sweeney, co-chairman of Disney Media Networks and president of Disney/ABC Television Group. "He has a strong understanding of programming, digital distribution and consumer behavior and a great vision for Hulu's next chapter."
Hopkins takes over Hulu at an interesting time in its six-year history, having recently ended unsuccessful negotiations with a slew of potential acquirers and also having twice scrapped plans for an initial public offering.
Once derided as ClownCo by skeptics who thought the company's business model of streaming shows for free over the Internet was a nonstarter, the company has proved resilient. In 2012 it posted $695 million in revenue, up 65 percent from a year earlier, with revenue coming from advertising and its Hulu Plus subscription service.
When Kilar announced in January he was leaving Hulu, he had a history of disagreements with the bosses at Disney and Fox whereby he argued for a larger budget to acquire more content while others wanted to rein in costs and pursue steady profits. A month after leaving Hulu, Kilar joined the board of directors at DreamWorks Animation.
At Fox, Hopkins oversaw distribution, sales and marketing for 45 U.S. channels, and he oversaw a team that developed digital products like BTN2Go, a digital-video college sports offering, and Fox Now, which supplies TV shows on demand over the Internet.
"The team at Hulu has created a beloved user experience that feeds the undeniable need for quality, convenience and ease of use," Hopkins said Thursday. "I am honored to have the opportunity to work with this dynamic, innovative team."
PINEVILLE, La., Oct. 17, 2013 - Cleco Corporation (CNL) announced today that it will release its 2013 third-quarter financial results on Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2013, after the market closes. Executive officers of the company will conduct a webcast and conference call with analysts to discuss the company`s financial results on Thursday, Oct. 31, 2013, at 8:30 a.m. Eastern time (7:30 a.m. Central time).
Investors and other interested parties can access the live Internet audio webcast and a copy of the third-quarter presentation at www.cleco.com/investors or by dialing (800) 749-9925 if in the United States or (630) 691-2752 if outside the United States. The conference ID is 34069809.
For those unable to listen to the live webcast, a replay will be available on Cleco`s website for 12 months. A telephone replay will be available through Nov. 29, 2013. The dial-in number for the telephone replay is (888) 843-7419 or (630) 652-3042 and the conference ID is 34069809.
Cleco Corporation is a regional energy company headquartered in Pineville, La. It owns a regulated electric utility company, Cleco Power LLC, which owns and operates nine generating units with a total nameplate generating capacity of 2,565 megawatts. Cleco Power serves approximately 283,000 customers in Louisiana through its retail business. In addition, it serves 10 communities across Louisiana and Mississippi through wholesale power contracts. Cleco Corporation also owns a wholesale energy business, Cleco Midstream Resources LLC, which has two natural gas-fired generating units with a total nameplate capacity of 775 megawatts. For more information about Cleco, visit www.cleco.com.
Analyst & Investor Contact: Tom Miller (318) 484-7642
Media Contact: Robbyn Cooper (318) 484-7136
###
This announcement is distributed by Thomson Reuters on behalf of Thomson Reuters clients.
The owner of this announcement warrants that: (i) the releases contained herein are protected by copyright and other applicable laws; and (ii) they are solely responsible for the content, accuracy and originality of the information contained therein.
Source: Cleco Corp. via Thomson Reuters ONE HUG#1736558
Contact: Alina Hirschmann alina.hirschmann@icfo.es 34-935-542-246 ICFO-The Institute of Photonic Sciences
ICFO scientists have shown that a nano-size diamond at room temperature can act as an efficient optical switch controllable with light
A recent study led by researchers of the ICFO (Institute of Photonic Sciences) demonstrates that a single nano-diamond can be operated as an ultrafast single-emitter optical switch operating at room temperature. The scientific results of this study have been published in Nature Physics.
Electronic transistors have become a key component to modern electronics, drastically improving the speed of information processing of current technologies. An electronic transistor is a semiconductor device used to amplify and switch electronic signals. The much sought after optical transistor (the photonic counterpart of the electronic transistor) is poised to become a central ingredient in the development of optical signal processing. The motivation for using photons rather than electrons not only comes from their faster dynamics but also from their weaker interaction with the environment, which enable a high degree of integration and the realization of quantum operations.
Prior studies have demonstrated that single dye molecules can be operated as optical transistors with the disadvantage that they worked exclusively at extremely low temperatures. Such restrictions on the temperature made these optical transistors cumbersome for application to quantum computing.
However in this recent ICFO study, scientists have shown that a nano-size diamond at room temperature can act as an efficient optical switch controllable with light. A Nano-diamond containing a nitrogen impurity behaves like an artificial atom although much more stable at room temperature than a real atom due to its encapsulation. The ICFO scientists discovered a novel physical mechanism that enables the control of the way the nano-diamond interacts with light. While excited to its ON state by a green laser, a suitable near infrared illumination was found to act as an efficient and fast way to switch it OFF. Based on this simple concept, they were able to modulate the optical nano-diamond ON and OFF at extremely high speeds, demonstrating its robustness and viability for very fast information processing and quantum computer operations.
Quidant remarks that "what is really attractive about our discovery is that our nano-switch combines very small dimensions (compatible with integrating a large number of them in a small area) with very fast response time (meaning lots of operations in a short time) and operation at room temperature".
This new technique will contribute to the development of future integrated optical circuits as well as quantum information processing for quantum computing.
###
This work is a collaborative effort between the research groups at ICFO led by ICREA Professors at ICFO Javier Garca de Abajo and Romain Quidant.
Ref: Michael Geiselmann, Renaud Marty, F. Javier Garca de Abajo & Romain Quidant, Fast optical modulation of the fluorescence from a single nitrogenvacancy centre, Nature Physics (2013), doi:10.1038/nphys2770
About ICFO:
ICFO-The Institute of Photonic Sciences was created in 2002 by the government of Catalonia and the Technical University of Catalonia as a center of research excellence devoted to the science and technologies of light with a triple mission: to conduct frontier research, train the next generation of scientists and technologists, and provide knowledge and technology transfer. In recognition of research excellence, ICFO was granted the Severo Ochoa accreditation by the Ministry of Science and Innovation.
Research at ICFO targets the forefront of science and technology based on light with programs directed at applications in Health, Renewable Energies, Information Technologies, Security and Industrial processes, among others. The center currently hosts 300 professionals including researchers and PhD students, working in 60 laboratories. All research groups and facilities are located in a dedicated 14.000 m2 building situated in the Mediterranean Technology Park in the metropolitan area of Barcelona.
Researchers at ICFO publish in the most prestigious journals and collaborate with a wide range of companies around the world. The Client Liaison Program at ICFO, which includes members of a large number of local and international companies, aims to create synergies between ICFO and the industrial sector. The institute actively promotes the creation of spin-off companies by ICFO researchers. The institute participates in a large number of projects and international networks of excellence. Foundation Cellex finances the NEST program at ICFO which makes possible many ambitious frontier research projects.
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An optical switch based on a single nano-diamond
Public release date: 15-Oct-2013 [
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Contact: Alina Hirschmann alina.hirschmann@icfo.es 34-935-542-246 ICFO-The Institute of Photonic Sciences
ICFO scientists have shown that a nano-size diamond at room temperature can act as an efficient optical switch controllable with light
A recent study led by researchers of the ICFO (Institute of Photonic Sciences) demonstrates that a single nano-diamond can be operated as an ultrafast single-emitter optical switch operating at room temperature. The scientific results of this study have been published in Nature Physics.
Electronic transistors have become a key component to modern electronics, drastically improving the speed of information processing of current technologies. An electronic transistor is a semiconductor device used to amplify and switch electronic signals. The much sought after optical transistor (the photonic counterpart of the electronic transistor) is poised to become a central ingredient in the development of optical signal processing. The motivation for using photons rather than electrons not only comes from their faster dynamics but also from their weaker interaction with the environment, which enable a high degree of integration and the realization of quantum operations.
Prior studies have demonstrated that single dye molecules can be operated as optical transistors with the disadvantage that they worked exclusively at extremely low temperatures. Such restrictions on the temperature made these optical transistors cumbersome for application to quantum computing.
However in this recent ICFO study, scientists have shown that a nano-size diamond at room temperature can act as an efficient optical switch controllable with light. A Nano-diamond containing a nitrogen impurity behaves like an artificial atom although much more stable at room temperature than a real atom due to its encapsulation. The ICFO scientists discovered a novel physical mechanism that enables the control of the way the nano-diamond interacts with light. While excited to its ON state by a green laser, a suitable near infrared illumination was found to act as an efficient and fast way to switch it OFF. Based on this simple concept, they were able to modulate the optical nano-diamond ON and OFF at extremely high speeds, demonstrating its robustness and viability for very fast information processing and quantum computer operations.
Quidant remarks that "what is really attractive about our discovery is that our nano-switch combines very small dimensions (compatible with integrating a large number of them in a small area) with very fast response time (meaning lots of operations in a short time) and operation at room temperature".
This new technique will contribute to the development of future integrated optical circuits as well as quantum information processing for quantum computing.
###
This work is a collaborative effort between the research groups at ICFO led by ICREA Professors at ICFO Javier Garca de Abajo and Romain Quidant.
Ref: Michael Geiselmann, Renaud Marty, F. Javier Garca de Abajo & Romain Quidant, Fast optical modulation of the fluorescence from a single nitrogenvacancy centre, Nature Physics (2013), doi:10.1038/nphys2770
About ICFO:
ICFO-The Institute of Photonic Sciences was created in 2002 by the government of Catalonia and the Technical University of Catalonia as a center of research excellence devoted to the science and technologies of light with a triple mission: to conduct frontier research, train the next generation of scientists and technologists, and provide knowledge and technology transfer. In recognition of research excellence, ICFO was granted the Severo Ochoa accreditation by the Ministry of Science and Innovation.
Research at ICFO targets the forefront of science and technology based on light with programs directed at applications in Health, Renewable Energies, Information Technologies, Security and Industrial processes, among others. The center currently hosts 300 professionals including researchers and PhD students, working in 60 laboratories. All research groups and facilities are located in a dedicated 14.000 m2 building situated in the Mediterranean Technology Park in the metropolitan area of Barcelona.
Researchers at ICFO publish in the most prestigious journals and collaborate with a wide range of companies around the world. The Client Liaison Program at ICFO, which includes members of a large number of local and international companies, aims to create synergies between ICFO and the industrial sector. The institute actively promotes the creation of spin-off companies by ICFO researchers. The institute participates in a large number of projects and international networks of excellence. Foundation Cellex finances the NEST program at ICFO which makes possible many ambitious frontier research projects.
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| Share
]
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas' meeting with Pope Francis at the Vatican led the website of Italy's Corriere della Sera newspaper.
At the end of their 25-minute meeting, the pope gave Abbas a pen, which the Palestinian Authority president said he hoped to use "to sign the peace agreement with Israel."
The pope replied: "Hurry, hurry," according to the newspaper.
—
Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan recently called for a national dialogue in his ethnically and religiously divided country.
He announced the formation of a committee that would hold discussions on resolving differences in Nigeria. But, as the Vanguardnewspaper reports, Nigerian lawmakers say that the committee's final outcome must first pass through them to become law.
Here's how Reuters describes Nigeria's religious makeup:
"Nigeria's nearly 170 million people and 250 ethnic groups, split roughly evenly between Islam, which dominates in the north, and Christianity, prevalent in the south, mostly live side by side in peace. But the country suffers bouts of bloodshed over land where the two religions meet in the middle.
"The oil producing Niger Delta is a haven for criminal gangs who steal oil and kidnap, while the Boko Haram insurgency has killed thousands and destablised swathes of the north."
—
La Tercera reports on Chile's efforts to win a temporary seat on the United Nations Security Council.
The General Assembly elects five new countries to the council on Thursday. Chad, Chile, Lithuania, Nigeria and Saudi Arabia are looking for spots. All are virtually guaranteed a place on the 15-member council because none of the races are contested.
This would be Chile's fifth time on the council. The previous occasion was in 2003 and 2004. That was when Chile refused to support the U.S. invasion of Iraq. Chile's term would last from January 2014 to December 2015.
—
From the Philippines, a story of hope amid the earthquake that killed more than 100 people. The Inquirerreports:
"Two statues of the Blessed Virgin Mary stand — without any blemish — amid the ruins of two churches in Maribojoc and Loon towns following Tuesday's devastating earthquake. It was enough for residents to raise their hopes that life will get better."
TAIPEI/BEIJING (Reuters) - Apple Inc is cutting production orders for its plastic-backed iPhone 5C a month after launch, a source familiar with its supply chain said on Wednesday, fueling speculation the cheaper model of its main gadget may have been priced too high.
Apple has asked one of its largest suppliers to increase production of the top-tier 5S, which went on sale at the same time, the Wall Street Journal reported. said. Analyst said this allayed concerns that the cheaper 5C will eat into premium sales and erode margins.
Apple has told manufacturers it will reduce orders for the 5c smartphone in the final three months of the year, the source told Reuters. The company added the 5C to the lineup in September along with the flagship iPhone 5S.
Pegatron Corp, which assembles many of Apple's iPhone 5Cs, had seen orders reduced by less than 20 percent, said the source, who asked not to be identified because the information is sensitive.
Hon Hai Precision Industry Co another major assembly contractor for the 5C, had its orders for the same period reduced by a third, the Wall Street Journal reported.
But at the same time, Apple raised orders for the 5S in the fourth quarter, the newspaper said, quoting two Hon Hai executives.
Analysts said the decision by consumers to spend more on the pricier 5S benefits Apple. The company's shares rose on Wednesday, touching a one-month high above $502. Canaccord Genuity analyst Michael Walkley estimated that the iPhone 5S is outselling 5C by 2.5 times to 1.
Canaccord Genuity's "survey work indicates a significantly higher sell-through mix of iPhone 5s versus 5c that should benefit near-term Average Selling Prices and margins," Walkley said.
In the United States, the 5C is $100 cheaper than the premium 5S, which starts at $649 for the 16 GB model.
Spokespersons at Pegatron, Hon Hai and Apple declined to comment.
Analysts and Apple executives have cautioned against reading too much into supply chain adjustments, which are common in the fast-moving electronics industry.
Investors will get some idea of the demand for the two phones when Apple reports its fiscal fourth quarter results later this month. But the iPhones numbers from July-September will include sales of only a month of the new models.
HOLIDAY QUARTER BOOST
Apple is expected to sell 33 million to 36 million iPhones in its fiscal fourth quarter, rising to over 50 million in the typically strong holiday quarter, which will mark the first full quarter of sales of the new iPhones.
The holiday quarter may also feature a new lineup of iPads.
Next week, Apple is expected to introduce a updated version of the tablets that compete with Amazon.com Inc's Kindle Fire and tablets made by Samsung Electronics.
Apple has come under pressure over the past year to bolster sales of its iPhones and iPads and defend its market share against rivals that are rapidly raising capabilities and lowering prices.
The reception for the 5c has been lukewarm in China, which Chief Executive Tim Cook has identified as one of Apple's most important markets. Some local bloggers say the price difference between the 5C and 5S is too narrow.
The price difference could widen next year as Apple is known for cutting prices of older models to drive volume.
"We're not especially concerned with 5C order cuts at this point because they appear to be offset by strong demand and increased production for the 5S, said Brian Colello, analyst with Morningstar said. "As far as emerging markets, the 5C is simply not cheap enough to gain traction with customers that can buy $150 Android devices."
Previously, Apple had said sales for the 5S and 5C in the first three days of their launch in September totalled 9 million, and that demand for the 5S exceeded initial supplies. It did not give separate figures for the 5C and 5S.
Prudential, which does not own Apple shares, forecasts assemblers will ship around 23 million 5C units in the final three months of this year and 10 million in the first three months of next year.
Apple shares rose as high as $502.53 at the open on the Nasdaq on Wednesday and was up 0.6 percent at $501.63 in afternoon trading.
(Additional reporting by Poornima Gupta and Soham Chatterjee; Editing by Ryan Woo, Rodney Joyce and David Gregorio)
It's October and the NFL is once again covered head-to-toe in pink accessories and equipment as part of the league's Breast Cancer Awareness initiative.
While fans can also purchase pink clothing and accessories to support the cause, a shockingly small amount of the fans' money is actually going towards cancer research.
According to data obtained from the NFL by Darren Rovell of ESPN, the NFL "takes a 25% royalty from the wholesale price (1/2 retail), donates 90% of royalty to American Cancer Society."
In other words, for every $100 in pink merchandise sold, $12.50 goes to the NFL. Of that, $11.25 goes to the American Cancer Society (ACS) and the NFL keeps the rest. The remaining money is then divided up by the company that makes the merchandise (37.5%) and the company that sells the merchandise (50.0%), which is often the NFL and the individual teams.
Then consider that only 71.2% of money the ACS receives goes towards research and cancer programs.
BusinessInsider.com
In the end, after everybody has taken their cut, only 8.01% of money spent on pink NFL merchandise is actually going towards cancer research (see right).
According to the NFL, any money they take in, that is not donated to ACS, is used to cover the costs of their breast cancer awareness program, "A Crucial Catch." The NFL also told Business Insider they donated approximately $1 million per year to the ACS in the first three years of the program.
Still, there are unanswered questions about where the money is going and who is profiting.
The most popular place to purchase pink merchandise is at the NFL's online shop, official team stores, and at the stadiums. In these cases, the NFL and the individual teams are acting as the retailer.
It is unclear how much of the 50% markup for items being sold directly by the NFL and the teams is going to the ACS, if any at all.
Of course, in addition to money, the NFL is also raising awareness for breast cancer and it is hard to put a value on that.
If fans want to show support for their team and for breast cancer awareness, that is great. But if the point is to actually help fight cancer, fans would have a much bigger impact if they skipped the NFL and donated directly to the ACS or other organizations working to fight cancer.
Our solar system is almost 5 billion years old (4.6, really) and we haven't yet had any indication that there are other forms of life in the cosmos, especially intelligent ones.
That's the perspective of a new book by science journalist Lee Billings titled Five Billion Years of Solitude, a nod to the Gabriel García Márquez masterpiece One Hundred Years of Solitude. Billings constructs a moving tale of our collective yearning to find companionship in the vastness of space, using interviews with a few of the key players in the search for intelligent life (such as SETI's Frank Drake) and exoplanet hunting (such as MIT's Sara Seager, who just received a MacArthur award) as a means to humanize the story.
If we are alone, or if life is rare, we must be the protectors of life and take charge to preserve it at all costs, possibly spreading it to other planetary platforms. If nothing else, we know our sun will end its existence in under 5 billion years and that it will take Earth and life here with it. Assuming we, or our distant descendants, will still be here then, perhaps more machine than flesh, the only way to preserve our legacy is to go elsewhere. There is thus a firm deadline for leaving, even if it sits on the far horizon.
As I wrote in A Tear at the Edge of Creation, the study of life on Earth implies that we are unique. There are no other humans out there, even if there may be life. The history of life on a planet mirrors the history of the planet. This means that the particulars, the specific cataclysmic events that happened over the eons, the shuffling of the atmospheric composition, the shifting of the magnetic field, the nature of the planet's moons (or moon), all these are key factors on how life would evolve. Life here had to jump over many hoops to get to where it is today, hoops that are far from being trivial either biochemically or biologically.
This means that in spite of our efforts to find life elsewhere (and we will find it only if we look), life here becomes something of a rare gem that must be worshipped and preserved at all costs. Whatever lies out there, we must focus our efforts in preserving what we have here. We live on a magic planet. Even if there may be other magic planets in the vastness of space, for us everything starts with this one. Let us not forget this simple lesson as we look up in search of companionship.
You can keep up with more of what Marcelo is thinking on Facebook and Twitter: @mgleiser
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif. More talks "in a few weeks," he says.
Jason DeCrow/AP
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif. More talks "in a few weeks," he says.
Jason DeCrow/AP
Iran is planning a fresh round of talks on its nuclear program "in a few weeks" after a generally positive first round of multiparty meetings in Geneva aimed at defusing tensions with the West.
Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, commenting on his Facebook page, says the next meeting with the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council plus Germany would also be held in Geneva.
Reuters, quoting a western diplomat, says the talks are set to resume in Geneva for two days beginning Nov. 7.
On Tuesday, Tehran presented a plan to the United States, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany to end the confrontation over its nuclear program, which it has always insisted is for peaceful purposes.
"[Comments] from Western officials meeting with Iranian negotiators indicated interest in the proposal, described by Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi as designed to allow Iran to leave the 'dark' path of international isolation.
Previous rounds have often been fitful and sporadic, reflecting the deadlock between the two sides. Zarif's Facebook comments that negotiations will resume 'in a few weeks' strengthened expectations that some progress was being made. He said the follow-up will also be held in Geneva, the venue for the ongoing talks."
The election of moderate President Hassan Rouhani four months ago has opened the door to negotiations over Iran's nuclear program, which many Western analysts believe is aimed at acquiring a bomb.
Health Affairs looks at economic trends & quality trade-offs
Public release date: 16-Oct-2013 [
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Contact: Sue Ducat sducat@projecthope.org 301-841-9962 Health Affairs
Bethesda, MD Articles in Health Affairs' October issue examine the pursuit of improved physical and mental health. Featured articles include:
Providing More Home-Delivered Meals Is One Way To Keep Older Adults With Low Care Needs Out Of Nursing Homes. Expanding programs that deliver meals to Medicaid-receiving seniors would save 26 of 48 states money, in addition to allowing more seniors to stay in their own homes, according to a new study in the October issue of Health Affairs. The study by Kali Thomas and Vincent Mor of Brown University projects that if every U.S. state in the lower 48 expanded the number of seniors receiving meals by just 1 percent, 1,722 more Medicaid recipients avoid living in a nursing home and most states would experience a net annual savings from implementing the expansion. Every state would enable more seniors, who could live independently except for meals, to remain in their homes regardless of whether they are on Medicaid.
Biosimilars May Save Billions of Dollars. In Europe, biosimilars (the "second generation" of medicines derived from a biological source) have been available since 2006 within the European Union and are expected to save $15-$44 billion by 2020. The situation in the United States is different: although the Biologics Price Competition and Innovation Act is a key provision of the Affordable Care Act, the Food and Drug Administration has yet to finalize the necessary regulatory processes for their approval. A new study in the October issue of Health Affairs by Francis Megerlin of Universit Paris Descartes and co-authors examines the European experience and explains how the U.S. market can learn from itand eventually realize dramatic discounts to help "bend the cost curve."
The Health and Economic Benefits of "Delayed Aging." Although most medical research focuses on managing or eradicating individual diseases, Dana Goldman of the University of Southern California and co-authors demonstrate the value of an alternative approach to address the underlying biological mechanisms of disease. Using the Future Elderly Modela simulation of future health and spending of older Americansthe authors compared such an approach with optimistic "disease specific" scenarios, evaluating impact on longevity, disability, and major entitlement program costs. The authors estimate that delayed aging could increase life expectancy by an additional 2.2 years and generate more than $5 trillion in social value. When aging is delayed, say the authors, all fatal and disabling disease risks are also lowered. Although delayed aging would also greatly increase entitlement outlays, the authors demonstrate that these costs can be managed through modest policy changes, such as indexing the eligibility ages for Social Security and Medicare.
On a related topic, an article by Ankur Pandya of Weill Cornell Medical College and co-authors looked at the impact of some of the future risk factors for cardiovascular disease. Using nine National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey waves from 1973 to 2010, the authors forecast disease risk and prevalence from 2015 to 2030. They found that despite continued improvements in the disease's treatment and declining smoking rates, increasing obesity rates, the aging population, and declining mortality from the disease should cause a rise in health care costs, disability, and reductions in the quality of life associated with increased disease prevalence. "Prevention efforts should be intensified," the authors urge, to curb the imminent spike in cardiovascular disease forecasted by their model.
###
ABOUT HEALTH AFFAIRS
Health Affairs is the leading journal at the intersection of health, health care, and policy. Published by Project HOPE, the peer-reviewed journal appears each month in print, with additional Web First papers published periodically at www.healthaffairs.org. The full text of each Health Affairs Web First paper is available free of charge to all website visitors for a one-week period following posting, after which it switches to pay-per-view for nonsubscribers. Web First papers are supported in part by a grant from The Commonwealth Fund. You can also find the journal on Facebook and Twitter. Read daily perspectives on Health Affairs Blog. Download our podcasts, including monthly Narrative Matters essays, on iTunes. Tap into Health Affairs content with the new iPad app.
FREE ALERTS FROM HEALTH AFFAIRS
Receive new Health Affairs article alerts in your choice of format:
E-mail alerts of new articles and tables of contents from Health Affairs.
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Sunday UpDate: a weekly e-mail summary of what's new in Health Affairs.
Follow Health Affairs updates on Twitter.
Find Health Affairs on Facebook.
SUBSCRIBE
Subscribe today for full online access to the publication the Washington Post calls -- "the indispensable journal Health Affairs."
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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Health Affairs looks at economic trends & quality trade-offs
Public release date: 16-Oct-2013 [
| E-mail
| Share
]
Contact: Sue Ducat sducat@projecthope.org 301-841-9962 Health Affairs
Bethesda, MD Articles in Health Affairs' October issue examine the pursuit of improved physical and mental health. Featured articles include:
Providing More Home-Delivered Meals Is One Way To Keep Older Adults With Low Care Needs Out Of Nursing Homes. Expanding programs that deliver meals to Medicaid-receiving seniors would save 26 of 48 states money, in addition to allowing more seniors to stay in their own homes, according to a new study in the October issue of Health Affairs. The study by Kali Thomas and Vincent Mor of Brown University projects that if every U.S. state in the lower 48 expanded the number of seniors receiving meals by just 1 percent, 1,722 more Medicaid recipients avoid living in a nursing home and most states would experience a net annual savings from implementing the expansion. Every state would enable more seniors, who could live independently except for meals, to remain in their homes regardless of whether they are on Medicaid.
Biosimilars May Save Billions of Dollars. In Europe, biosimilars (the "second generation" of medicines derived from a biological source) have been available since 2006 within the European Union and are expected to save $15-$44 billion by 2020. The situation in the United States is different: although the Biologics Price Competition and Innovation Act is a key provision of the Affordable Care Act, the Food and Drug Administration has yet to finalize the necessary regulatory processes for their approval. A new study in the October issue of Health Affairs by Francis Megerlin of Universit Paris Descartes and co-authors examines the European experience and explains how the U.S. market can learn from itand eventually realize dramatic discounts to help "bend the cost curve."
The Health and Economic Benefits of "Delayed Aging." Although most medical research focuses on managing or eradicating individual diseases, Dana Goldman of the University of Southern California and co-authors demonstrate the value of an alternative approach to address the underlying biological mechanisms of disease. Using the Future Elderly Modela simulation of future health and spending of older Americansthe authors compared such an approach with optimistic "disease specific" scenarios, evaluating impact on longevity, disability, and major entitlement program costs. The authors estimate that delayed aging could increase life expectancy by an additional 2.2 years and generate more than $5 trillion in social value. When aging is delayed, say the authors, all fatal and disabling disease risks are also lowered. Although delayed aging would also greatly increase entitlement outlays, the authors demonstrate that these costs can be managed through modest policy changes, such as indexing the eligibility ages for Social Security and Medicare.
On a related topic, an article by Ankur Pandya of Weill Cornell Medical College and co-authors looked at the impact of some of the future risk factors for cardiovascular disease. Using nine National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey waves from 1973 to 2010, the authors forecast disease risk and prevalence from 2015 to 2030. They found that despite continued improvements in the disease's treatment and declining smoking rates, increasing obesity rates, the aging population, and declining mortality from the disease should cause a rise in health care costs, disability, and reductions in the quality of life associated with increased disease prevalence. "Prevention efforts should be intensified," the authors urge, to curb the imminent spike in cardiovascular disease forecasted by their model.
###
ABOUT HEALTH AFFAIRS
Health Affairs is the leading journal at the intersection of health, health care, and policy. Published by Project HOPE, the peer-reviewed journal appears each month in print, with additional Web First papers published periodically at www.healthaffairs.org. The full text of each Health Affairs Web First paper is available free of charge to all website visitors for a one-week period following posting, after which it switches to pay-per-view for nonsubscribers. Web First papers are supported in part by a grant from The Commonwealth Fund. You can also find the journal on Facebook and Twitter. Read daily perspectives on Health Affairs Blog. Download our podcasts, including monthly Narrative Matters essays, on iTunes. Tap into Health Affairs content with the new iPad app.
FREE ALERTS FROM HEALTH AFFAIRS
Receive new Health Affairs article alerts in your choice of format:
E-mail alerts of new articles and tables of contents from Health Affairs.
RSS feed for new article headlines delivered to your Web site or reader.
Sunday UpDate: a weekly e-mail summary of what's new in Health Affairs.
Follow Health Affairs updates on Twitter.
Find Health Affairs on Facebook.
SUBSCRIBE
Subscribe today for full online access to the publication the Washington Post calls -- "the indispensable journal Health Affairs."
[
| E-mail
| Share
]
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
The holidays are still a ways off, but the wait is (soon to be) over. The seven-inch version of Amazon's Kindle Fire HDX just started shipping. With a starting price of $229, the slate brings a new version of Fire OS (the update formerly known as "Mojito"), a lovely 323 ppi display and, of course, ...![[ Back to EurekAlert! ]](http://www.eurekalert.org/images/back2e.gif){kind=small}
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