Monthly Archives: May 2020

COVID-19 editorial (in response to Canadian Science Policy Centre call for submissions)

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I successfully submitted an editorial to the Canadian Science Policy Centre (CSPC). You can find it and a host of others on the CSPC Editorial Series: Response to COVID-19 Pandemic and its Impacts webpage (scroll down under Policy Development) or in the CSPC Featured Editorial Series Volume 1, Issue 2, May 2020 PDF on pp. 31-2.

What I’ve posted here is the piece followed by attribution for the artwork used to illustrate my op-ed in the PDF version of essays and by links to all of my reference materials.

It can become overwhelming as one looks at the images of coffins laid out in various venues, listens to exhausted health care professionals, and sees body bags being loaded onto vans while reading stories about the people who have been hospitalized and/or have died.

In this sea of information, it’s easy to forget that COVID-19 is one in a long history of pandemics. For the sake of brevity, here’s a mostly complete roundup of the last 100 years. The H1N1 pandemic of 1918/19 resulted in either 17 million, 50 million, or 100 million deaths depending on the source of information. The H2N2 pandemic of 1958/59 resulted in approximately 1.1. million deaths; the H3N2 pandemic of 1968/69 resulted in somewhere from 1 to 4 million deaths; and the H1N1pdm09 pandemic of 2009 resulted in roughly 150,000 -575,000 deaths. The HIV/AIDS global pandemic or, depending on the agency, epidemic is ongoing. The estimate for HIVAIDS-related deaths in 2018 alone was between 500,000 – 1.1 million.

It’s now clear that the 2019/20 pandemic will take upwards of 350,000 lives and, quite possibly, many more lives before it has run its course.

On the face of it, the numbers for COVID-19 would not seem to occasion the current massive attempt at physical isolation which ranges across the globe and within entire countries. There is no record of any such previous, more or less global effort. In the past, physical isolation seems to have been practiced on a more localized level.

We are told the current policy ‘flattening the curve’ is an attempt to constrain the numbers so as to lighten the burden on the health care system, i.e. the primary focus being to lessen the number of people needing care at any one time and also lessening the number of deaths and hospitalizations

It’s an idea that can be traced back in more recent times to the 1918/19 pandemic (and stretches back to at least the 17th century when as a student Isaac Newton was sent home from Cambridge to self-isolate from the Great Plague of London).

During the 1918/19 pandemic, Philadelphia and St. Louis, in the US had vastly different experiences. Ignoring advice from infectious disease experts, Philadelphia held a large public parade. Within two or three days, people sickened and, ultimately, 16,000 died in six months. By contrast, St. Louis adopted social and physical isolation measures suffering 2,000 deaths and flattening the curve. (That city too suffered greatly but more slowly.)

In 2019/20, many governments were slow to respond and many have been harshly criticized for their tardiness. Government leaders seem to have been following an older script, something more laissez-faire, something similar to the one we have followed with past pandemics.

We are breaking new ground by following a policy that is untested at this scale.

Viewed positively, the policy hints at a shift in how we view disease and death and hopes are that this heralds a more cohesive and integrated approach to all life on this planet. Viewed more negatively, it suggests an agenda of social control being enacted and promoted to varying degrees across the planet.

Regardless of your perspective, ‘flattening the curve’ seems to have been employed without any substantive consideration of collateral damages and unintended consequences

We are beginning to understand some of the consequences. On April 5, 2020, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed grave concern about a global surge in domestic violence. King’s College London and the Australian National University released a report on April 9, 2020 estimating that half a billion people around the world may be pushed into poverty because of these measures.

As well, access to water, which many of us take for granted, can be highly problematic. Homeless people, incarcerated people, indigenous peoples and others note that washing with water and soap, the recommended practice for killing the virus should it land on you, is not a simple matter for them.

More crises such as pandemics, climate change as seen in extreme weather events and water shortages along with rising sea levels around the world, and economic downturns either singly or connected together in ways we have difficulty fully appreciating can be anticipated.

In addition to engaging experts as we navigate our way into the future, we can look to artists, writers, citizen scientists, elders, indigenous communities, rural and urban communities, politicians, philosophers, ethicists, religious leaders, and bureaucrats of all stripes for more insight into the potential for collateral and unintended consequences.

We have the tools what remains is the will and the wit to use them. Brute force analysis has its uses but it’s also important to pay attention to the outliers. “We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.” (Albert Einstein)

PDF of essays (Response to COVID-19 Pandemic and its Impacts, volume 1, issue 2, May 20202)

Low-resolution detail of an art work by Samuel Monnier. Inspired by the w:Fibonacci word fractal. Orginal owned by Alexis Monnerot-Dumaine. CC BY-SA 3.0

This image of an art piece derived from a Fibonacci word fractal was used to illustrate my essay (pp. 31-2) as reproduced in the PDF only.

For anyone unfamiliar with Fibonacci words (from its Wikipedia entry), Note: Links have been removed,

A Fibonacci word is a specific sequence of binary digits (or symbols from any two-letter alphabet). The Fibonacci word is formed by repeated concatenation in the same way that the Fibonacci numbers are formed by repeated addition.

It is a paradigmatic example of a Sturmian word and specifically, a morphic word.

The name “Fibonacci word” has also been used to refer to the members of a formal language L consisting of strings of zeros and ones with no two repeated ones. Any prefix of the specific Fibonacci word belongs to L, but so do many other strings. L has a Fibonacci number of members of each possible length.

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References used for op-ed

That opinion piece was roughly 787 words and as such fit into the 600-800 words submission guideline. It’s been a long time since I’ve written something without links and supporting information. What follows are the supporting sources I used for my statements. (Note: i have also included a few pieces that were published after my op-ed was submitted on April 20, 2020 as they lend further support for some of my contentions.)

Statistics for previous pandemics

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_flu For 1918/19 numbers see: Mortality; Around the globe, 2nd. para

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_swine_flu_pandemic

https://www.mphonline.org/worst-pandemics-in-history/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_epidemics

https://www.who.int/gho/hiv/epidemic_status/deaths_text/en/

https://www.avert.org/global-hiv-and-aids-statistics

https://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/how-long-is-covid-19-pandemic-going-to-last-what-will-spread-look-like/ The print version of this article by Gordon Hoekstra featured a sidebar with statistics from the Imperial College of London, US Centers for Disease Control, and The Canadian Encyclopedia. Sadly, it has not been reproduced for the online version.

Statistics supporting my projections

https://www.covid-19canada.com/ This is a Canadian site relying on information from the Canadian federal government, Johns Hopkins University (US) and the World Health Organization (WHO) as well as others.

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/ The focus is international with information being supplied by WHO and by various nations.

History of physical and social isolation and ‘flattening the curve’

https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2020/03/12/during-pandemic-isaac-newton-had-work-home-too-he-used-time-wisely/

https://history.com/news/spanish-flu-pandemic-response-cities

https://www.livescience.com/coronavirus-flatten-the-curve.html What does flattening the curve mean? The writer provides an answer.

Slow response and harsh criticism (e.g., Canada)

https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/covid-19-government-documents-1.5528726

https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/coronavirus-pandemic-covid-canadian-military-intelligence-wuhan-1.5528381

https://vancouversun.com/opinion/columnists/douglas-todd-weighing-deaths-from-covid-19-against-deaths-from-despair/

Laissez-faire script

https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2020/04/sweden-coronavirus-response-death-social-distancing.html Essay by ex-pat Swede returning home. Ranges from pointed criticism to strong doubt mixed with hope (at the end) about laissez-faire.

Positive and negative views of the ‘flatten the curve’ policy

https://phys.org/news/2020-04-french-philosopher-virus-exploitation.html A French philosopher, Bernard-Henri Levy, suggests the policy reflects two views “life has become sacred” and the [information system] “helps to bring hysteria to the perception of things … . “

https://business.financialpost.com/diane-francis/diane-francis-to-beat-this-coronavirus-we-must-sacrifice-our-freedoms “To beat this coronavirus, we must sacrifice our freedoms” presents arguments for more control over what people do and don’t do. I find it unpleasantly extreme but Diane Francis supports her contentions with some valid points.

Unintended consequences (the good and the bad)

https://www.voanews.com/covid-19-pandemic/cleaner-air-covid-19-lockdowns-may-save-lives Cleaner air.

https://news.itu.int/sharing-best-practices-on-digital-cooperation-during-covid19-and-beyond/ “I think what COVID has done, is actually to put the will to get the world connected right in front of us – and we rallied around that will,” said Doreen Bogdan-Martin, Director of ITU’s Telecommunication Development Bureau. “We have come together in these very difficult circumstances and we have come up with innovative practices to actually better connect people who actually weren’t connected before.”

https://en.unesco.org/news/unesco-mobilizes-122-countries-promote-open-science-and-reinforced-cooperation-face-covid-19 Open science and more cooperation

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/04/global-surge-domestic-violence-coronavirus-lockdowns-200406065737864.html International rise in domestic violence

https://news.un.org/en/story/2020/04/1061052 International rise in domestic violence

https://www.anu.edu.au/news/all-news/covid-19-to-push-half-a-billion-people-into-poverty Increase in poverty worldwide Australian National University press release

https://www.kcl.ac.uk/news/half-a-billion-people-could-be-pushed-into-poverty-by-covid-19 Increase in poverty worldwide Kings College London press release

https://www.wider.unu.edu/publication/estimates-impact-covid-19-global-poverty Rise in poverty worldwide UN working paper

https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20200422/11395644353/unesco-suggests-covid-19-is-reason-to-create-eternal-copyright.shtml Taking advantage of the situation

https://phys.org/news/2020-04-climate-scientists-world-response-coronavirus.html COVID-19 might prove helpful with climate change

ETC.

You might not want to keep getting advice from your usual (expert) crew only

https://www.frogheart.ca/?p=638 Kevin Dunbar’s research into how problem-solving is improved when you get a more diverse set of experts than usual

https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2020/04/the-perks-of-being-a-weirdo/606778/?utm_source=pocket-newtab How loners and weirdos (often found amongst writers, artists, etc.) can promote more creative problem-solving

Brute force analysis and tools for broader consultation

I came up with the term ‘brute force analysis’ after an experience in local participatory budgeting. (For those who don’t know, there’s a movement afoot for a government body [in this case, it was the City of Vancouver] to dedicate a portion of their budget to a community [in this case, it was the West End neighbourhood] for citizens to decide on how the allocation should be sent.)

In our case, volunteers had gone out out and solicited ideas for how neighbourhood residents would like to see the money spent. The ideas were categorized and a call for volunteers to work on committees went out. I ended up on the ‘arts and culture’ committee and we were tasked with taking some 300 – 400 suggestions and establishing a list of 10 – 12 possibilities for more discussion and research after which we were to present three or four to city staff who would select a maximum of two suggestions for a community vote.

Our deadlines, many of which seemed artificially imposed, were tight and we had to be quite ruthless as we winnowed away the suggestions. It became an exercise in determining which were the most frequently made suggestions, hence, ‘brute force analysis’. (This a condensed description of the process.)

As for tools to encourage wider participation, I was thinking of something like ‘Foldit‘ (scroll down to ‘Folding …’.). Both a research project (University of Washington) and a video puzzle game for participants who want to try protein-folding, it’s a remarkable effort first described in my August 6, 2010 posting when the researchers had their work published in Nature with an astonishing 50,000 co-authors.

Albert Einstein

The quote, “We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them,” is attributed to Albert Einstein in many places but I have not been able to find any supporting references or documentation.

Sea Shambles update

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Things have changed (but not the event date) since my March 3, 2020 posting about the Sea Shambles event in London’s (UK) Royal Albert Hall. It will now be livestreamed by the Royal Albert Home (series) and The Stay at Home Festival on May 17, 2020.

[downloaded from https://cosmicshambles.com/words/news/sea-shambles-at-home-guests]

You may recognize Cobie Smulders (fourth from the left) from her stints on television (How I Met Your Mother and Stumptown) and in the movies (the Avengers films). Here’s a little more about her from her IMDb (Internet Movie Database) entry, some of which helps to explain her presence,

Cobie Smulders was born on April 3, 1982, in Vancouver, British Columbia, to a Dutch father and an English mother. As a girl, Cobie had set her sights on becoming a doctor or a marine biologist. …

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Is a certified scuba diver and former model.

Here’s more about the updated Sea Shambles event (from the Cosmic Network Shambles May 17, 2020 event page),

With the live version of Sea Shambles sadly unable to go ahead for obvious reasons, it’s time to bring a rejigged version of the show direct to you on the same date and time, May 17th [2020] at 7:00pm [BT]. [For those of us on the west coast of Canada, that would be 11 am {PT}.]

Among the exciting names who will be joining hosts Robin Ince, Helen Czerski and Steve Backshall on the night are physicst Professor Brian Cox, astronaut Chris Hadfield, actor and ocean advocate Cobie Smulders, rock band British Sea Power, science broadcaster Liz Bonnin, poet Lemn Sissay, comedian Josie Long, marine biologist Helen Scales, singer-songwriter Jim Moray, performer and rapper Ben Baily Smith, actor Samuel West, climate scientist Dr Tamsin Edwards, comedian Katy Brand, writer and broadcaster Natalie Haynes, actor Rufus Hound, violinist Dunja Lavrova, laserist Seb Lee-Delisle, performer David McAlmont, singer/songwriter Grace Petrie, actor Reece Shearsmith and musician Steve Pretty. And, of course, we’ve got a bunch of surprises up our sleeves too…

So join us on a celebratory online voyage of discovery of our own blue planet and how we are best placed to protect it. We might not be on stage but we’re still bringing everything you’ve come to expect from one of the Cosmic Shambles Network’s signature variety shows. Including running over. This is set to be a 3 hour + extravaganza.

Lucy Noble, Artistic Director of the Royal Albert Hall, said: “We’re so excited to present this special version of Sea Shambles as part of the Royal Albert Home series. We would have loved to welcome audiences to the building to experience this spectacular show, but at the moment of course that’s not possible. This ‘at home’ version is the next best thing, with a truly staggering line-up of guests from the worlds of science, comedy and music.”

The show will be free to watch but as with all the shows during the Stay at Home Festival there will be a tip jar where people can leave a tip to help artists and venues hit hard by the ongoing COVID-19 crisis as well the Royal Albert Hall charity itself. With all our profits from the original live show set to go to marine charities we’ll also be highlighting and encouraging donations during the show to our three chosen charities, Bite Back, Surfers Against Sewage and Oceana.

Here’s a link that will get you to the livestreamed event on May 17, 2020 at 11 am (PT): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bBQmdbVeoKw#action=share

One last thing, Tara Lohan has written a May 7, 2020 article for The Revelator about a groundbreaking international treaty for protecting the high seas (Note: A link has been removed),

Most of us have never been to the world’s immense last wilderness and never will. It’s beyond the horizon and often past the limits of our imaginations. It contains towering underwater mountain ranges, ancient corals, mysterious, unknown forms of life and the largest seagrass meadow in the world.

Yet it begins just 200 nautical miles off our shores. Technically referred to as “areas beyond national jurisdiction,” these remote expanses are known to most people simply as “the high seas.”

Their vast, dark waters encompass roughly two-thirds of the ocean and half the planet and are the last great global commons. Yet just 1% are protected, leaving these vital but relatively lawless expanses open to overfishing, pollution, piracy and other threats.

That could change soon.

In 2018, after more than a decade of groundwork at the United Nations, negotiations officially began for a new treaty focused on conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity in the waters beyond national jurisdiction.

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Canadian Science Policy Conference 2020: changes

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It can’t be any surprise that Canadian Science Policy Conference 2020 (CSPC 2020) is going to be virtual this year. Not unexpectedly, at least one deadline is being extended.

Here’s more from the CSPC 2020 Goes Virtual webpage,

[Conference theme] New Decade, New Realities: Hindsight, Insight, Foresight

New Deadline for Panel Submission: June 12th, 2020

Due to the unprecedented circumstances generated by the COVID-19 pandemic, the 12th

Canadian Science Policy Conference, CSPC 2020, will be held completely online! The conference will be held virtually through the week of November 16th – 20th, 2020.

In the time of social distancing and with abundance of caution, we are excited to bring this year’s conference right to your offices and homes! CSPC has a rich history of hosting exciting in-person conferences. Expect no less from the virtual conference experience!

What to expect from a virtual conference:

CSPC 2020 will feature a week-long variety of engaging and informative online sessions including panel discussions, workshops, live interviews, online networking opportunities, and even virtual exhibitions. Registered participants will have the opportunity to watch sessions live and on-demand. Live sessions will be held throughout the day, such that participants across time zones will be able to attend them. Lower registration fees will permit much bigger and geographically diverse participation, including many from around the globe. We look forward to bringing the Canadian and global science and innovation policy communities together in these pivotal times and continue the crucial and insightful conversation on the world post-pandemic.

In order to accommodate this new conference format and acknowledging that individuals and organizations have been adapting to new realities, the panel proposal submission deadline,as well as the individual short-talks submission deadline has been extended further by 1 month, to Friday, June 12th, 2020. Please review the revised criteria for panel proposal submissions and access the submission forms by clicking on the link below.

CSPC 2020 Call for Panel Proposals

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Good luck with your submissions and good luck to the organizers! I imagine there are going to be logistical and technical challenges.

OCSiAl becomes largest European supplier of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs)

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It’s time I posted news about OCSiAl as it’s been about five years since they were last mentioned here. An April 24, 2020 news item on AzoNano proclaims a new status for the company,

As from [sic] April 2020, OCSiAl is able to commercialize up to 100 tonnes annually of its TUBALL™ single wall carbon nanotubes [single-walled carbon nanotubes or SWCNTs] in Europe thanks to the company’s upgraded dossier under the EU’s [European Union’s] “Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals” (REACH) legislation, being additionally compliant with the new Annexes on nanoforms. OCSiAl will continue to expand markets for nanotubes and widen industrial applications by scaling-up its permitted volume in Australia and Canada in 2020, pending approval by the authorities.

An April 23, 2020 OCSiAl press release, which originated the news item, provides more details about the company and its customers in ‘marketingese’ (marketing language),

OCSiAl is now the only company in Europe able to commercialize up to 100 tonnes of single wall carbon nanotubes, also known as graphene nanotubes. This step allows the company to boost its presence in the region and to meet the growing market demand for industrial volumes of graphene nanotubes. The company’s current portfolio includes over 1,600 customers worldwide, with China and Europe as the two most rapidly expanding markets for nanotube applications in transportation, electronics, construction, infrastructure, renewable energy, power sources, sports equipment, 3D-printing, textiles, sensors and many more.

OCSiAl plays a leading role in improving the accessibility of information on the nature of graphene nanotubes and in forming the principles of their safe handling – the company has so far initiated 16 studies in these fields, including those required by the revised REACH annex. TUBALL nanotubes demonstrate no skin irritation, corrosion or sensitization, no mutagenic effect, and no adverse effect on reproductive toxicity. In addition, ecotoxicity studies have shown no toxic effect on Daphnia or algae. The typical exposure values of respirable fraction of TUBALL in the workplace is much less than 5% of the Recommended Exposure Limits (REL) as per NIOSH in the USA, which is of practical importance for manufacturers working with nanotubes. And end users can also be reassured that these studies have shown that no TUBALL nanotubes are released during utilization of products made with nanoaugmented materials. All these findings reflect the unique nature and morphology of TUBALL graphene nanotubes.

OCSiAl continues to accelerate the acceptance of this unique material in various markets by supplying high-quality nanotubes at an economically feasible price and in industrial volumes. TUBALL is regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the US, where it is also allowed to be commercialized in industrial volumes. The company’s near-term plans include scaling-up the permitted volume of industrial commercialization of graphene nanotubes in Australia and Canada.

The company appears to be trying to rebrand carbon nanotubes as graphene nanotubes. It can be done (e.g., facial tissue instead of Kleenex or photocopy instead of Xerox) but it can take a long time and, after a brief search (May 13, 2020), I was not able to find any other reference to ‘graphene nanotubes’ online.

Between the two of them, OCSiAl’s Wikipedia entry and the company’s Team webpage (scroll down past the smiling faces), you can find some company history.

Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative needs an intern (paid position) for summer 2020

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Yellowstone to Yukon (Y2Y) Conservation Initiative has a paid internship position for a Videographer and Digital Storyteller. The submission deadline is May 18, 2020.

Before getting to the internship, here’s a description of the organization from its Wikipedia entry (Note: Links have been removed),

The Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative or Y2Y is a joint Canada–United States not-for-profit organization and the only organization dedicated to securing the long-term ecological health of the region from Yellowstone National Park to Canada’s Yukon.

Y2Y’s work is a collaborative effort. Whether it is other conservation groups, local landowners, businesses, government agencies, Native Americans and First Nations, scientists, or others, partners are the force behind the Yellowstone to Yukon vision.

Here’s more about the job, from the Videography and Digital Storytelling Intern job posting (Note: I have changed the order in which the information is presented),

ELIGIBILITY AND QUALIFICATIONS:

This position is partly funded through the Canada Summer Jobs program. Applicants must be between the ages of 15 to 30 years, a Canadian citizen, permanent resident or with refugee protection, and have a valid Social Insurance Number. Y2Y is an equal opportunity employer and it is our policy to assure equal opportunities for employees and applicants regardless of race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status, family status, genetic characteristics, disability or conviction of an offence for which a pardon has been granted or in respect of which a record suspension has been ordered. This policy applies to hiring, terms and conditions of employment, salary, benefits, promotion, salary adjustment, evaluation, termination and grievances.

The successful candidate must have their own equipment including editing software and an office space to work from.

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LOCATION: Ideally, but not absolutely required, the candidate will be based in the southeastern British Columbia’s Columbia Headwaters region. Y2Y’s B.C. staff are located in Nelson and New Denver and the intern’s main supervisor is located in Canmore, Alberta.

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HOURS OF WORK AND SALARY

The start and end date is flexible with the video project(s) to be completed in summer/fall 2020. This position is subject to Canada Summer Jobs funding and restrictions but is predicted to be eight weeks at 30 hours/week. Hours and days of work are somewhat flexible and will vary depending on filming needs. The salary is $18 per hour. Y2Y will reimburse approved out-of -pocket expenses.

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THE POSITION:

As a strong candidate for this position, you are a story-teller – and you know the power of digital storytelling, especially when it comes to a well-crafted video. You find yourself seeking new ways to inspire people to explore the great outdoors and take action on environmental issues in their own backyard. As such, you want to combine your passion for nature with your skills in video production and digital storytelling. If this sounds like you, we want to get to know you more! Yellowstone to Yukon

Conservation Initiative (Y2Y) is seeking a videography and digital storytelling intern to support its public outreach and strengthen its connections with supporters, funders and donors. This exciting position is suited to someone interested in combining their videography, interpersonal and digital communications skills with their passion for wildlife, outdoor recreation and ecosystems conservation.The successful candidate will help with telling the story of our project work, partners and successesthrough interviewing stakeholders and editing videos that will make the case for conservation.

This role will also support our public-facing events and help convey the importance of Y2Y’s work in large landscape conservation, and more specifically in the Columbia Headwaters region of British Columbia.The position offers significant hands-on experience with the processes and practices of a non-profit conservation organization, and non-profit culture and administration. It aims to mentor a young professional interested in combining skills in video production, digital communications or another related field with a love of the environment, wildlife recreation and/or science.

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TO APPLY: Send cover letter and resume detailing why you are interested in this position and your qualifications by 5 p.m.MST on Monday, May 18, 2020 to catherine@y2y.net. Include at least two references and a portfolio or at least one sample/link to your recent work in videography and digital storytelling.Successful candidates will receive a phone interview followed by videoconference interviews.

You can find the Yellowstone to Yukon (Y2Y) Conservation Initiative website here. For anyone who’s interested but not eligible for the internship or wants a permanent job, there are other positions listed on Y2Y’s Career Opportunities webpage,

We are pleased to share career opportunities at Y2Y as well as environmental, conservation and biology jobs at partners and organizations in (and sometimes beyond) the Yellowstone to Yukon region.  

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Good luck to all!

New design directions to increase variety, efficiency, selectivity and reliability for memristive devices

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A May 11, 2020 news item on ScienceDaily provides a description of the current ‘memristor scene’ along with an announcement about a piece of recent research,

Scientists around the world are intensively working on memristive devices, which are capable in extremely low power operation and behave similarly to neurons in the brain. Researchers from the Jülich Aachen Research Alliance (JARA) and the German technology group Heraeus have now discovered how to systematically control the functional behaviour of these elements. The smallest differences in material composition are found crucial: differences so small that until now experts had failed to notice them. The researchers’ design directions could help to increase variety, efficiency, selectivity and reliability for memristive technology-based applications, for example for energy-efficient, non-volatile storage devices or neuro-inspired computers.

Memristors are considered a highly promising alternative to conventional nanoelectronic elements in computer Chips [sic]. Because of the advantageous functionalities, their development is being eagerly pursued by many companies and research institutions around the world. The Japanese corporation NEC installed already the first prototypes in space satellites back in 2017. Many other leading companies such as Hewlett Packard, Intel, IBM, and Samsung are working to bring innovative types of computer and storage devices based on memristive elements to market.

Fundamentally, memristors are simply “resistors with memory,” in which high resistance can be switched to low resistance and back again. This means in principle that the devices are adaptive, similar to a synapse in a biological nervous system. “Memristive elements are considered ideal candidates for neuro-inspired computers modelled on the brain, which are attracting a great deal of interest in connection with deep learning and artificial intelligence,” says Dr. Ilia Valov of the Peter Grünberg Institute (PGI-7) at Forschungszentrum Jülich.

In the latest issue of the open access journal Science Advances, he and his team describe how the switching and neuromorphic behaviour of memristive elements can be selectively controlled. According to their findings, the crucial factor is the purity of the switching oxide layer. “Depending on whether you use a material that is 99.999999 % pure, and whether you introduce one foreign atom into ten million atoms of pure material or into one hundred atoms, the properties of the memristive elements vary substantially” says Valov.

A May 11, 2020 Forschungszentrum Juelich press release (also on EurekAlert), which originated the news item, delves into the theme of increasing control over memristive systems,

This effect had so far been overlooked by experts. It can be used very specifically for designing memristive systems, in a similar way to doping semiconductors in information technology. “The introduction of foreign atoms allows us to control the solubility and transport properties of the thin oxide layers,” explains Dr. Christian Neumann of the technology group Heraeus. He has been contributing his materials expertise to the project ever since the initial idea was conceived in 2015.

“In recent years there has been remarkable progress in the development and use of memristive devices, however that progress has often been achieved on a purely empirical basis,” according to Valov. Using the insights that his team has gained, manufacturers could now methodically develop memristive elements selecting the functions they need. The higher the doping concentration, the slower the resistance of the elements changes as the number of incoming voltage pulses increases and decreases, and the more stable the resistance remains. “This means that we have found a way for designing types of artificial synapses with differing excitability,” explains Valov.

Design specification for artificial synapses

The brain’s ability to learn and retain information can largely be attributed to the fact that the connections between neurons are strengthened when they are frequently used. Memristive devices, of which there are different types such as electrochemical metallization cells (ECMs) or valence change memory cells (VCMs), behave similarly. When these components are used, the conductivity increases as the number of incoming voltage pulses increases. The changes can also be reversed by applying voltage pulses of the opposite polarity.

The JARA researchers conducted their systematic experiments on ECMs, which consist of a copper electrode, a platinum electrode, and a layer of silicon dioxide between them. Thanks to the cooperation with Heraeus researchers, the JARA scientists had access to different types of silicon dioxide: one with a purity of 99.999999 % – also called 8N silicon dioxide – and others containing 100 to 10,000 ppm (parts per million) of foreign atoms. The precisely doped glass used in their experiments was specially developed and manufactured by quartz glass specialist Heraeus Conamic, which also holds the patent for the procedure. Copper and protons acted as mobile doping agents, while aluminium and gallium were used as non-volatile doping.

Synapses, the connections between neurons, have the ability to transmit signals with varying degrees of strength when they are excited by a quick succession of electrical impulses. One effect of this repeated activity is to increase the concentration of calcium ions, with the result that more neurotransmitters are emitted. Depending on the activity, other effects cause long-term structural changes, which impact the strength of the transmission for several hours, or potentially even for the rest of the person’s life. Memristive elements allow the strength of the electrical transmission to be changed in a similar way to synaptic connections, by applying a voltage. In electrochemical metallization cells (ECMs), a metallic filament develops between the two metal electrodes, thus increasing conductivity. Applying voltage pulses with reversed polarity causes the filament to shrink again until the cell reaches its initial high resistance state. Copyright: Forschungszentrum Jülich / Tobias Schlößer

Record switching time confirms theory

Based on their series of experiments, the researchers were able to show that the ECMs’ switching times change as the amount of doping atoms changes. If the switching layer is made of 8N silicon dioxide, the memristive component switches in only 1.4 nanoseconds. To date, the fastest value ever measured for ECMs had been around 10 nanoseconds. By doping the oxide layer of the components with up to 10,000 ppm of foreign atoms, the switching time was prolonged into the range of milliseconds. “We can also theoretically explain our results. This is helping us to understand the physico-chemical processes on the nanoscale and apply this knowledge in the practice” says Valov. Based on generally applicable theoretical considerations, supported by experimental results, some also documented in the literature, he is convinced that the doping/impurity effect occurs and can be employed in all types memristive elements.

Top: In memristive elements (ECMs) with an undoped, high-purity switching layer of silicon oxide (SiO2), copper ions can move very fast. A filament of copper atoms forms correspondingly fast on the platinum electrode. This increases the total device conductivity respectively the capacity. Due to the high mobility of the ions, however, this filament is unstable at low forming voltages. Center: Gallium ions (Ga3+), which are introduced into the cell (non-volatile doping), bind copper ions (Cu2+) in the switching layer. The movement of the ions slows down, leading to lower switching times, but the filament, once formed remains longer stable. Bottom: Doping with aluminium ions (Al3+) slows down the process even more, since aluminium ions bind copper ions even stronger than gallium ions. Filament growth is even slower, while at the same time the stability of the filament is further increased. Depending on the chemical properties of the introduced doping elements, memristive cells – the artificial synapses – can be created with tailor-made switching and neuromorphic properties. Copyright: Forschungszentrum Jülich / Tobias Schloesser

Here’s a link to and a citation for the paper,

Design of defect-chemical properties and device performance in memristive systems by M. Lübben, F. Cüppers, J. Mohr, M. von Witzleben, U. Breuer, R. Waser, C. Neumann, and I. Valov. Science Advances 08 May 2020: Vol. 6, no. 19, eaaz9079 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.aaz9079

This paper is open access.

For anyone curious about the German technology group, Heraeus, there’s a fascinating history in its Wikipedia entry. The technology company was formally founded in 1851 but it can be traced back to the 17th century and the founding family’s apothecary.

Gas nanomedicine

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This study comes from China and it offers an overview of the state-of-the-art of gas nanomedicine and a roadmap for future research. A May 6, 2020 news item on Nanowerk announces the study,

Cancer is deadly, but available cancer treatment methods are quite limited. The use of therapeutic gas molecules such as H2 [hydrogen gas], NO [nitrogen oxide], CO [carbon monoxide] and H2S [hydrogn sulfide] for cancer treatment is promising owing to their unique properties for selectively killing cancer cells and protecting normal cells from damage from other traditional therapies.

However, these gases and most of their prodrugs lack the abilities of active intratumoral accumulation and controlled gas release, causing limited therapeutic efficacy and potential side effects. The development of precision and intelligent gas delivery nanomedicines can maximize the profits of gas therapy by enhancing the bio-availability and bio-safety of therapeutic gases.

More and more gas-releasing nanomedicines are being developed by virtue of multifunctional nanoplatforms, making it ever-increasingly expectable to make breakthrough in cancer treatment. Even so, there are still many gaps between gas therapy and nanomedicines, needing to be filled.

In a new overview published in the Beijing-based National Science Review, scientists at Shenzhen University, China propose a series of engineering strategies of advanced gas-releasing nanomedicines for augmented cancer therapy from four aspects, 1) stimuli-responsive strategies for controlled gas release, 2) catalytic strategies for controlled gas release, 3) tumor-targeted gas delivery strategies, 4) multi-model combination strategies based on gas therapy.

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A May 6, 2020 China Science Press news release on EurekAlert, which originated the news item, provides a little more detail about the overview and about a future application as an assistive therapy in diseases such as coronovirus pneumonia,

“This review systematically dissects the roles of carrier and gas prodrug within nanomedicine for stimuli-responsive gas release, catalytic gas generation routes, tumor-targeted gas delivery approaches and gas therapy-based combination methods, and also provides an insight into their engineering principles and working mechanisms, and correspondingly proposed a series of superior engineering strategies of nanomedicines for gas therapy of cancer to guide the future research.” Dr. Yingshuai Wang said “We believe this review could provide inspiration for constructing advanced gas-releasing nanomedicines.”

Moreover, they have also pointed out current issues and gaps in knowledge, and have envisaged current trends and future prospects of advanced nanomedicines for gas therapy of cancer in this review.

“There are many gaps intriguing me, such as high tissue penetration stimuli-responsive gas release, the local, endless and prodrug-free generation of gases by catalysis, and the super ability of assisting other almost all therapies.” Prof. Qianjun He adds “It is noticeable, in the recent fight of novel coronavirus pneumonia, hydrogen therapy is playing an vitally important role in assisting large numbers of patients to improve oxygen inhalation, relieve hypoxia, and scavenge inflammation. I hope our hydrogen-producing medicines would make bigger contribution to human being in the near future.”

This illustration accompanies the news release,

Caption: Illustration of strategies for engineering advanced nanomedicines for augmented gas therapy of cancer. Credit: ©Science China Press

Here’s a link to and a citation for the paper,

Strategies for engineering advanced nanomedicines for gas therapy of cancer by Yingshuai Wang, Tian Yang, Qianjun He. National Science Review, nwaa034, https://doi.org/10.1093/nsr/nwaa034 Published: 27 February 2020

This appears to be an open access paper in PDF only.

For anyone new to the term, a prodrug is (Note: Links have been removed),

A prodrug is a medication or compound that, after administration, is metabolized (i.e., converted within the body) into a pharmacologically active drug.[1][2] Inactive prodrugs are pharmacologically inactive medications that are metabolized into an active form within the body. Instead of administering a drug directly, a corresponding prodrug might be used instead to improve how a medicine is absorbed, distributed, metabolized, and excreted (ADME).[3][4]

You can find out more in the Prodrug Wikipedia entry.

You need a quantum mechanic for an atom-sized machine

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This news comes from the National University of Singapore’s Centre for Quantum Technologies according to a May 4, 2020 news item on Nanowerk (Note: A link has been removed),

Here’s a new chapter in the story of the miniaturisation of machines: researchers in a laboratory in Singapore have shown that a single atom can function as either an engine or a fridge. Such a device could be engineered into future computers and fuel cells to control energy flows.

“Think about how your computer or laptop has a lot of things inside it that heat up. Today you cool that with a fan that blows air. In nanomachines or quantum computers, small devices that do cooling could be something useful,” says Dario Poletti from the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD).

This work gives new insight into the mechanics of such devices. The work is a collaboration involving researchers at the Centre for Quantum Technologies (CQT) and Department of Physics at the National University of Singapore (NUS), SUTD and at the University of Augsburg in Germany. The results were published in the peer-reviewed journal npj Quantum Information (“Single-atom energy-conversion device with a quantum load”).

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The researchers have included an exceptionally pretty illustration with the press release,

Caption: Experiments with a single-atom device help researchers understand what quantum effects come into play when machinery shrinks to the atomic scale. Credit: Aki Honda / Centre for Quantum Technologies, National University of Singapore

A May 4, 2020 National University of Singapore press release (also on EurekAlert), which originated the news item, delves further into the work,

Engines and refrigerators are both machines described by thermodynamics, a branch of science that tells us how energy moves within a system and how we can extract useful work. A classical engine turns energy into useful work. A refrigerator does work to transfer heat, reducing the local temperature. They are, in some sense, opposites.

People have made small heat engines before using a single atom, a single molecule and defects in diamond. A key difference about this device is that it shows quantumness in its action. “We want to understand how we can build thermodynamic devices with just a few atoms. The physics is not well understood so our work is important to know what is possible,” says Manas Mukherjee, a Principal Investigator at CQT, NUS, who led the experimental work.

The researchers studied the thermodynamics of a single barium atom. They devised a scheme in which lasers move one of the atom’s electrons between two energy levels as part of a cycle, causing some energy to be pushed into the atom’s vibrations. Like a car engine consumes petrol to both move pistons and charge up its battery, the atom uses energy from lasers as fuel to increase its vibrating motion. The atom’s vibrations act like a battery, storing energy that can be extracted later. Rearrange the cycle and the atom acts like a fridge, removing energy from the vibrations.

In either mode of operation, quantum effects show up in correlations between the atom’s electronic states and vibrations. “At this scale, the energy transfer between the engine and the load is a bit fuzzy. It is no longer possible to simply do work on the load, you are bound to transfer some heat,” says Poletti. He worked out the theory with collaborators Jiangbin Gong at NUS Physics and Peter Hänggi in Augsburg. The fuzziness makes the process less efficient, but the experimentalists could still make it work.

Mukherjee and colleagues Noah Van Horne, Dahyun Yum and Tarun Dutta used a barium atom from which an electron (a negative charge) is removed. This makes the atom positively charged, so it can be more easily held still inside a metal chamber by electrical fields. All other air is removed from around it. The atom is then zapped with lasers to move it through a four-stage cycle.

The researchers measured the atom’s vibration after applying 2 to 15 cycles. They repeated a given number of cycles up to 150 times, measuring on average how much vibrational energy was present at the end. They could see the vibrational energy increasing when the atom was zapped with an engine cycle, and decreasing when the zaps followed the fridge cycle.

Understanding the atom-sized machine involved both complicated calculations and observations. The team needed to track two thermodynamic quantities known as ergotropy, which is the energy that can be converted to useful work, and entropy, which is related to disorder in the system. Both ergotropy and entropy increase as the atom-machine runs. There’s still a simple way of looking at it, says first author and PhD student Van Horne, “Loosely speaking, we’ve designed a little machine that creates entropy as it is filled up with free energy, much like kids when they are given too much sugar.”

Here’s a link to and a citation for the paper,

Single-atom energy-conversion device with a quantum load by Noah Van Horne, Dahyun Yum, Tarun Dutta, Peter Hänggi, Jiangbin Gong, Dario Poletti & Manas Mukherjee. npj Quantum Information volume 6, Article number: 37 (2020) Published: 01 May 2020

This paper is open access.

An artificial tongue, gold, and maple syrup

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I have always imagined the love of maple syrup to be a universal love. A friend who moved to Canada from somewhere else in the world disillusioned me on that subject. She claims to be unable to grasp why anyone would love maple syrup. Should you recognize yourself in those words you may not find this post all that interesting.

However, maple syrup lovers may find this May 5, 2020 news item on Nanowerk a bit disconcerting,

It’s said that maple syrup is Quebec’s liquid gold. Now scientists at Université de Montréal have found a way to use real gold — in the form of nanoparticles — to quickly find out how the syrup tastes.

The new method — a kind of artificial tongue — is validated in a study published in Analytical Methods (“High-throughput plasmonic tongue using an aggregation assay and nonspecific interactions: classification of taste profiles in maple syrup”), the journal of the Royal Society of Chemistry, in the United Kingdom.

The “tongue” is a colorimetric test that detects changes in colour to show how a sample of maple syrup tastes. The result is visible to the naked eye in a matter of seconds and is useful to producers.

“The artificial tongue is simpler than a human tongue: it can’t distinguish the complex flavour profiles that we can detect,” said UdeM chemistry professor Jean-François Masson, who led the study. “Our device works specifically to detect flavour differences in maple syrup as it’s being produced.”

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A chemistry professor at Université de Montréal has developed a new test using gold nanoparticles to establish the flavour profile of maple syrup and help producers evaluate its quality. Courtesy: Université de Montréal

There is more information but the central question as to why anyone would want an artificial tongue for tasting maple syrup is never answered (presumably they want to speed up production and ensure more consistent classification) nor is there much in the way of technical detail in a May 5, 2019 Université de Montréal news release (also on EurekAlert),

1,818 samples tested

The artificial tongue was validated by analyzing 1,818 samples of maple syrup from different regions of Quebec. The syrups that were analyzed represented the various known aromatic profiles and colours of syrup, from golden to dark brown.

“We designed the ‘tongue’ at the request of the Québec Maple Syrup Producers to detect the presence of different flavour profiles,” explained Simon Forest, the study’s first author. “The tool takes into account the product’s olfactory and taste properties.”

Maple syrup has a molecular complexity similar to that of wine. Its taste is delicate, without bitterness, and it has a subtle aroma. During the production process, specialized human tasters are employed to judge which profile each batch fits into.

“The development of the artificial tongue is intended to support the colossal work that is being done in the field to do the first sorting of syrups quickly and classify them according to their qualities,” said Masson.

Red for the best, blue for the rest

The researchers compare the artificial tongue to a pH test for a swimming pool. You simply pour a few drops of syrup into the gold nanoparticle reagent and wait about 10 seconds.

If the result stays in the red spectrum, it has the characteristics of a premium quality syrup, the kind best loved by consumers and sold in grocery stores or exported.

If, on the other hand, the test turns blue, the syrup may have a flavour “defect”, which may be treated as an industrial syrup for use in processing.

“It doesn’t mean the syrup is not good for consumption or that it has a different sugar level,” Masson said of the “blue” type syrup, which the food industry uses as a natural sweetener in other products. “It just may not have the usual desired characteristics, and so can’t be sold directly in bottles to consumers.”

60 categories of taste

Caramelized, woody, green, smoked, salty, burnt — the taste of maple syrup has as many as 60 categories to fit into. Maple syrup is essentially a concentrated sugar solution of 66 per cent sucrose and 33 per cent water; the remaining one per cent of other compounds determines the taste.

Like wine, the taste of maple syrup changes according to a variety of factors, including the harvest period, the region, production and storage methods and, of course, the weather. Too much variation in temperature over a weekend, for instance, can greatly affect the taste profile of the product.

The artificial tongue developed at UdeM could someday be adapted for tasting wine or fruit juice, Masson said, as well as be useful in a number of other agrifood contexts.

Here’s a link to and a citation for the paper,

A high-throughput plasmonic tongue using an aggregation assay and nonspecific interactions: classification of taste profiles in maple syrup by Simon Forest, Trevor Théorêt, Julien Coutu, and Jean-Francois Masson. Anal. Methods, 2020, Advance Article DOI: https://doi.org/10.1039/C9AY01942A First published 05 May 2020

This paper is behind a paywall.

A mathematical sculptor, a live webcast (May 6, 2020) with theoretical cosmologist and author Katie Mack, & uniting quantum theory with Einstein’s Theory of General Relativity in a drawing

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I’ve bookended information about the talk with physicist Katie Mack at Canada’s Perimeter Institute on May 6, 2020 with two items on visual art and mathematics and the sciences.

Mathematical sculpting

Robert Fathauer’s Three-Fold Hyperbolic Form exhibits negative curvature, a concept in geometry and topology that describes a surface curving in two directions at every point. Hemp crochet by Marla Peterson. Image courtesy of Robert Fathauer. [downloaded from https://www.pnas.org/content/114/26/6643.full]

You’ll find this image and a few more in a fascinating 2017 paper (see link and citation below) about mathematical sculpture,

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Ferguson [Helaman Ferguson], who holds a doctorate in mathematics, never chose between art and science: now nearly 77 years old, he’s a mathematical sculptor. Working in stone and bronze, Ferguson creates sculptures, often placed on college campuses, that turn deep mathematical ideas into solid objects that anyone—seasoned professors, curious children, wayward mathophobes—can experience for themselves.

Mathematics has an intrinsic aesthetic—proofs are often described as “beautiful” or “elegant”—that can be difficult for mathematicians to communicate to outsiders, says Ferguson. “It isn’t something you can tell somebody about on the street,” he says. “But if I hand them a sculpture, they’re immediately relating to it.” Sculpture, he says, can tell a story about math in an accessible language.

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Here’s a link to and a citation for the paper,

Science and Culture: Armed with a knack for patterns and symmetry, mathematical sculptors create compelling forms by Stephen Ornes. PNAS [Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences] June 27, 2017 114 (26) 6643-6645; https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1706987114

This paper appears to be open access.

Live webcast: theoretical cosmologist & science communicator Katie Mack

The live webcast will take place at 4 pm PT (1600 hours) on Wednesday, May 6, 2020. Here’s more about Katie Mack and the webcast from the event webpage (click through to the event page to get to the webcast) on the Perimeter Institute of Theoretical Physics (PI) website,

In a special live webcast on May 6 [2020] at 7 pm ET [4 pm PT], theoretical cosmologist and science communicator Katie Mack — known to her many Twitter followers as @astrokatie — will answer questions about her favourite subject: the end of the universe.

Mack, who holds a Simons Emmy Noether Visiting Fellowship at Perimeter, will give viewers a sneak peek at her upcoming book, The End of Everything (Astrophysically Speaking). She will then participate in a live “ask me anything” session, answering questions submitted via social media using the hashtag #piLIVE.

Mack is an Assistant Professor at North Carolina State University whose research investigates dark matter, vacuum decay, and the epoch of reionization. Mack is a popular science communicator on social media, and has contributed to Scientific American, Slate, Sky & Telescope, Time, and Cosmos.

PI is located in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada.

Uniting quantum theory with Einstein’s Theory of General Relativity with a drawing about light

The article by Stephon Alexander was originally published March 16, 2017 for Nautilus. My excerpts are from a getpocket.com selection,

LIGHT IN THE GARDEN: This drawing by the Oakes brothers, Irwin Gardens at the Getty in Winter, inspired the author to think anew about quantum mechanics and general relativity. The meticulous drawing, done on curved paper, allows viewers to reflect on the act of perception. Credit: Ryan and Trevor Oakes [downloaded from http://nautil.us/issue/46/balance/what-this-drawing-taught-me-about-four_dimensional-spacetime]

My aim as a theoretical physicist is to unite quantum theory with Einstein’s Theory of General Relativity. While there are a few proposals for this unification, such as string theory and loop quantum gravity, many roadblocks to a complete unification remain.

Einstein’s theory tells us the gravitational force is a direct manifestation of space and time bending. The sun bends the fabric of space, much like a sleeping person bends a mattress. Planetary orbits, including Earth’s, are motion along the contours of the bent space created by the sun. This theory provides some critical insights into the nature of light.

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… one summer, I had the most unexpected breakthrough. Beth Jacobs, a member of the New York Academy of Sciences’ Board of Governors, invited me and some friends to her New York City apartment to meet the Oakes twins, artists who have gained attention in recent years for their drawings as well as the innovative technique and inventions they deploy to create them. An Oakes work, Irwin Gardens at the Getty in Winter (2011), an intricate drawing of the famous gardens designed by Robert Irwin at The Getty Museum in Los Angeles, was displayed on the balcony of Jacobs’ apartment overlooking Central Park, with the backdrop of the New York City skyline lit with a warm orange sky moments before sunset.

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As I gazed at the drawing, I could feel the artists challenging me to reconsider the nature of light. I began to realize I should consider not only the physics of light, but also how light information is perceived by observers, when theorizing and conceiving new principles to unify quantum mechanics and general relativity. …

Ryan and Trevor Oakes, 35, have been exploring the impact and intersection of visual perception and the physics of light since they were kids. After attending The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art in New York City, and years of experimentation and inventing new techniques, the twins exploited the notion that light information is better described when originating from a spherical surface.

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Fascinating stuff. BTW, you can find the original article here on Nautilus.