Important progress for spintronics: Spin amplifier works at room temperature

ScienceDaily (Nov. 16, 2012) ? A fundamental cornerstone for spintronics that has been missing up until now has been constructed by a team of physicists at Link?ping University in Sweden. It's thought to be the world's first spin amplifier that can be used at room temperature.

Great hopes have been placed on spintronics as the next big paradigm shift in the field of electronics. Spintronics combines microelectronics, which is built on the charge of electrons, with the magnetism that originates in the electrons' spin. This lays the foundation for entirely new applications that fire the imagination. The word "spin" aims at describing how electrons spin around, much like how Earth spins on its own axis.

But turning theory into practice requires amplifying these very weak signals. Instead of transistors, rectifiers, and so on, the building blocks of spintronics will be formed by things like spin filters, spin amplifiers, and spin detectors. Through regulating and controlling electron spin, it will be possible to store data more densely and process it many times faster -- and with greater energy efficiency -- than today's technology.

In 2009, an LiU group from the Department of Functional Electronic Material, led by Professor Weimin Chen, presented a new type of spin filter that works at room temperature. The filter lets through electrons that have the desired spin direction, screening out the others. This function is crucial for constructing new types of components such as spin diodes and spin lasers.

Now the same group, in collaboration with colleagues from Germany and the United States, has published an article in the highly-ranked journal Advanced Materials, where they present an effective spin amplifier based on a non-magnetic semiconductor. The amplification occurs through deliberate defects in the form of extra gallium atoms introduced into an alloy of gallium, indium, nitrogen and arsenic.

A component of this kind can be set anywhere along a path of spin transport to amplify signals that have weakened along the way. By combining this with a spin detector, it may be possible to read even extremely weak spin signals.

"It's an advance that blazes a trail for a solution to the problem of controlling and detecting electron spin at room temperature, which is a prerequisite for the breakthrough of spintronics," says Weimin Chen.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Link?ping University, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

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Journal Reference:

1. Y. Puttisong, I.A. Buyanova, A.J. Ptak, C.W. Tu, L. Geelhaar, H. Richert and W.M. Chen. Room-temperature electron spin amplifier based on Ga(In)NAs alloys. Advanced Materials, 26 October 2012 DOI: 10.1002/adma.20120597

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_technology/~3/b29XcI6MHic/121116124642.htm

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Malaysia policemen charged with raping Indonesian

West Australian - Friday 16th November, 2012

AFP ? <p>Malaysia Police logo on a motorbike taken in March. A Malaysian court has charged three policemen with raping a 25-year-old Indonesian woman at a police station in a case that ...

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Malaysia s GDP grew 5.2 pct yy in Q3 beats forecast

General Sources - Friday 16th November, 2012

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 16 (Reuters) - Malaysia's economy grew at an annual pace of 5.2 percent in the third quarter, the central bank said on Friday, as strong domestic demand compensated for a ...

Malaysia s Participation In ASC Proves Its World-Class Vocational Skills

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General Sources - Friday 16th November, 2012

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Three Malaysian cops face maid gang rape rap

The Standard - Friday 16th November, 2012

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Hunt on in Sabah for brains behind pyramid scam in Mindanao

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UKMMC wants an upgrade of its neonatal intensive care unit

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KUALA LUMPUR: Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Centre Friday urged the Government to upgrade its Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) here, in order to accommodate the rising number of ...

Source: http://www.kualalumpurnews.net/index.php/sid/210794674/scat/48cba686fe041718

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Clues to cause of kids' brain tumors

ScienceDaily (Nov. 15, 2012) ? Insights from a genetic condition that causes brain cancer are helping scientists better understand the most common type of brain tumor in children.

In new research, scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have identified a cell growth pathway that is unusually active in pediatric brain tumors known as gliomas. They previously identified the same growth pathway as a critical contributor to brain tumor formation and growth in neurofibromatosis-1 (NF1), an inherited cancer predisposition syndrome.

"This suggests that the tools we've been developing to diagnose and treat NF1 may also be helpful for sporadic brain tumors," says senior author David H. Gutmann, MD, PhD, the Donald O. Schnuck Family Professor of Neurology.

The findings appear Dec. 1 in Genes and Development.

NF1 is among the most common tumor predisposition syndromes, but it accounts for only about 15 percent of pediatric low-grade gliomas known as pilocytic astrocytomas. The majority of these brain tumors occur sporadically in people without NF1.

Earlier research showed that most sporadic pilocytic astrocytomas possess an abnormal form of a signaling protein known as BRAF. In tumor cells, a piece of another protein is erroneously fused to the business end of BRAF.

Scientists suspected that the odd protein fusion spurred cells to grow and divide more often, leading to tumors. However, when they gave mice the same aberrant form of BRAF, they observed a variety of results. Sometimes gliomas formed, but in other cases, there was no discernible effect or a brief period of increased growth and cell division. In other studies, the cells grew old and died prematurely.

Gutmann, director of the Washington University Neurofibromatosis Center, previously showed that mouse NF1-associated gliomas arise from certain brain cells.

According to Gutmann, the impact of abnormal NF1 gene function on particular cell types helps explain why gliomas are most often found in the optic nerves and brainstem of children with NF1 -- these areas are where the susceptible cell types reside.

With that in mind, Gutmann and his colleagues tested the effects of the unusual fusion BRAF protein in neural stem cells from the cerebellum, where sporadic pilocytic astrocytomas often form, and in cells from the cortex, where the tumors almost never develop.

"Abnormal BRAF only results in increased growth when it is placed in neural stem cells from the cerebellum, but not the cortex," Gutmann says. "We also found that putting fusion BRAF into mature glial cells from the cerebellum had no effect."

When fusion BRAF causes increased cell proliferation, postdoctoral fellows Aparna Kaul, PhD and Yi-Hsien Chen, PhD, showed that it activates the same cellular growth pathway, called mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR), that is normally also controlled by the NF1 protein. An extensive body of research into the mTOR pathway already exists, including potential treatments to suppress its function in other forms of cancer.

"We may be able to leverage these insights and our previous work in NF1 to improve the treatment of these common pediatric brain tumors, and that's very exciting," Gutmann says.

Gutmann and his colleagues are now working to identify more of the factors that make particular brain cells vulnerable to the tumor-promoting effects of the NF1 gene mutation and fusion BRAF. They are also developing animal models of sporadic pilocytic astrocytoma for drug discovery and testing.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Washington University School of Medicine. The original article was written by Michael C. Purdy.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

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Journal Reference:

1. Kaul A, Chen Y-H, Emnett RJ, Dahiya S, Gutmann DH. Pediatric glioma-associated KIAA1549:BRAF expression regulates neuroglial cell growth in a cell type-specific and mTOR-dependent manner.. Genes & Development, Dec. 1, 2012

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_health/~3/_MxkYXNKnyI/121116091226.htm

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Meet The 6 New Startups Launched Out Of JOLT, The Toronto Tech Incubator

A group of us TechCrunchers bundled up and headed to the Great White North last week to kick off our three-city Northern Meetup tour with a stop in Toronto. While we were in town, we visited the MaRS Discovery District, a non-profit entity focused on tech innovation and entrepreneurship headquartered in a massive building right across the street from the University of Toronto.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/L_kUXOLYLMY/

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20. Sony tumbles on convertible bonds issue

TOKYO: Shares of Sony Corp tumbled over 10%, a day after the consumer electronics maker said it will raise 150 billion yen (US$1.9bil) through a sale of convertible bonds to help finance a series of investments.

Sony, beset with falling demand in its core TV business and the growth of rivals like Apple Inc and Samsung Electronics Co, has invested in an assortment of businesses from medical equipment to cloud gaming after CEO Kazuo Hirai took the helm in April.

On Wednesday, the maker of Vaio laptops and PlayStation game consoles said it would issue the five-year bonds convertible into shares to finance an investment in Olympus Corp, the acquisition of US firm Gaikai Inc, ramping up in CMOS (complementary metal oxide silicon) image sensors used in devices like digital cameras and to repay debt.

Sony shares plunged 10.7% to 777 yen. If the stock price were to finish the day with such losses, the shares would hit their lowest close since 1980, according to Thomson Reuters Datastream.

?Worries of dilution are pushing shares down today,? said Katsuhide Takahashi, a credit sector specialist at Citigroup in Tokyo.

If all the convertible bonds were exchanged for Sony shares, it would lead to a dilution of existing share holdings by as much as 15.6%.

?In a way, the fact that Sony can issue corporate bonds and access the market is positive, in comparison to its peers that can't even do that like Sharp. From an equity perspective, there are worries of dilution but on a credit front this is positive,? Takahashi said.

Rival Sharp Corp, has effectively been shunned by the debt capital markets because of its massive losses and falling market share, forcing it to turn to its banks for a bailout in September and consider capital tieups.

A Hong Kong-based credit analyst said some investors were likely selling Sony shares in favour of the convertible bonds, which protect their investment if the share prices fell but still offered upside in the event a rally.

Despite a zero coupon, which reflects Japan's near-zero rate environment, the bonds would be attractive given a low conversion premium, set at 10% above Wednesday's close at 870 yen.

?It would be a safer bet for stockholders to buy the convertible bond as its downside is better protected relative to the equity,? he said.

Convertible bond arbitrage traders and hedge funds could also use the bonds to hedge short selling Sony shares.

?The cost of shorting Sony stock would be low and it will be easy to short, so this trade will be attractive,? he said. - Reuters

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Gulf of Mexico oil spill: BP workers charged with manslaughter are 'scapegoats'

Vidrine's attorney said that the government had "exercised exceedingly poor judgment" in charging his client.

"It is almost inconceivable that any fair-minded person would blame this hardworking and diligent man for one of the most catastrophic events in the history of the oil business," said the attorney, Bob Habans.

Both Vidrine and Kaluza are veterans of the oil business, according to their lawyers. Vidrine has more than 39 years experience while Kaluza, who joined BP in 1997, has 44.

The two each face 11 counts of involuntary manslaughter, 11 counts of seaman's manslaughter and one count of Clean Water Act violations.

Involuntary manslaughter is a broad statute covering individuals whose reckless conduct leads directly to the loss of life. Seaman's manslaughter is reserved for those employed on ships whose misconduct results in death.

Generally to prove manslaughter at a trial, prosecutors have to show that the defendant's conduct was more than mere negligence, legal experts said.

"It becomes a very difficult case for both defense lawyers and prosecutors," said Ed Little, a defense attorney who is not involved in the BP case. "It becomes a rhetorical battle."

In addition to the legal standard of manslaughter, another key aspect to the case could be what other factors could be to blame for the disaster.

In his statement, Vidrine's lawyer said that numerous investigative bodies had blamed many other individuals and factors. "Among many causes identified by these investigations were the failure of negligently designed cement at the bottom of the well, the failure of the blowout preventer, and the failure of others to monitor and control the well," he said.

BP on Thursday agreed to pay the U.S. government $4.5bn and to plead guilty to felony misconduct in the disaster.

A third individual, a former senior BP executive, was charged with misleading the US Congress as it investigated the spill.

Source: http://telegraph.feedsportal.com/c/32726/f/568796/s/25a37ed0/l/0L0Stelegraph0O0Cfinance0Cnewsbysector0Cenergy0Coilandgas0C96821820CGulf0Eof0EMexico0Eoil0Espill0EBP0Eworkers0Echarged0Ewith0Emanslaughter0Eare0Escapegoats0Bhtml/story01.htm

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Lousiana Gov.: Republicans ?have to make serious changes?

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

LAS VEGAS?At the end of a long day at this week's annual meeting of the Republican Governors Association,? the group's new leader, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, anxiously paced a conference room at the Encore Resort. Moments earlier, he had publicly rebuked comments made by the former leader of his party, Mitt Romney. And he's not sorry for it.

"It is corrosive," Jindal said. "We cannot become the party that divides people into special interest groups. By class, race, gender. But to the extent that we're talking about the 53 and the 47 percent? That to me doesn't sound like a party that's fighting for every vote. That doesn't sound to me like a party that really understands that 100 percent of the American people benefit from our principles."

The Republican Party is looking desperately for new leaders after losing the presidential election last week, and Jindal is vying to be the one who stands atop the rubble and provides solutions. He has made little effort to hide his disgust with the way members of his party?including Romney?conceded voters to the opposition. He's particularly frustrated with Romney for saying to campaign donors in private meetings that Republicans can't hope to win support from "47 percent" of the country and that Obama defeated him in part because he promised "gifts" to ethnic minorities and women in return for their support.

In the aftermath of an election in which Democrats not only kept control of the White House but also bolstered their numbers in Congress, Jindal is on a mission to, in his word, "modernize" the Republican Party. He wants fellow Republicans to be more aggressive about campaigning for the votes of the middle class, minorities and women, and to stop reinforcing stereotypes that the only voters Republicans care about are upper-class white men.

Jindal could hardly believe a pre-election poll that showed more Americans believed that Democrats were more likely than Republicans to lower taxes on the middle class. "To me that shows how far off the rails we've gone," he said. "It's a substantive as well as a messaging problem."

On a range of issues, Jindal says he wants to change the way Republicans talk about their positions without straying from their principles. When arguing for lower tax rates, he said, Republicans should emphasize that they support a progressive tax structure by removing loopholes and write-offs. On education, he wants to hear his colleagues talk about how school choice programs can benefit students in poor districts. On energy, Republicans should stop the obsession with oil and pursue "an all-of-the-above" approach that doesn't promote one industry over another. And on immigration?perhaps one of the most important issues in the coming year?Republicans should emphasize the value of opening more opportunities to enter the United States legally instead of sounding like an anti-immigrant party.

All of that starts by shifting the tone Republicans take when defending their positions, including on social issues, Jindal said.

Senate candidates such as Indiana's Richard Mourdock and Missouri's Todd Akin, who both lost to easily beatable Democrats after making what Jindal called "offensive and inexcusable" comments about rape, complicate the effort.

"I'm pro-life. I try to follow the teachings of my faith and church, but I don't think we have any business trying to demonize those we disagree with," Jindal said. "I think we can be respectful."

It would be premature to say Jindal is setting the stage for a 2016 presidential campaign, but he talks like someone who is considering the idea. This is not the same man who in 2009 tenderly delivered a widely mocked Republican response to President Barack Obama's first address to Congress. Now, that awkward, soft-spoken "Kenneth the Page" Jindal from four years ago has given way to a new, more aggressive politician.

"The future of this party is very bright," Jindal said. "But we have to make serious changes."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/lousiana-gov-bobby-jindal-republicans-serious-changes-221145283--election.html

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