COMPUTING

Alphabet Has a Second Secretive Quantum Computing TeamTom Simonite | Wired[Alphabets moonshot incubator Xs]small group of quantum researchers is not building its own quantum computing hardware. The groups leader is more interested in creating new algorithms and applications to run on quantum computers, and building software libraries that allow conventional coders to use the exotic machines.

Japan Is Building a Giant Gundam Robot That Can WalkEvan Ackerman | IEEE SpectrumGundam Factory Yokohama, which is a Gundam Factory in Yokohama, is constructing an 18-meter-tall, 25-ton Gundam robot. The plan is for the robot to be fully actuated using a combination of electric and hydraulic actuators, achieving Gundam-like movement with its 24 degrees of freedom.

How to Turn Garbage Into GrapheneCourtney Linder | Popular MechanicsThe new process, which is called flash graphene production, yields bulk quantities of graphene flakes. Not only does this technique produce far more graphene than traditional methods, but its also way cheaper and greener, upcycling food waste, plastic, and even coal into a valuable carbon allotrope used in various branches of material science.

Mammoth Biosciences Aims to Be Illumina for the Gene Editing GenerationJonathan Schieber | TechCrunchYou will need a full toolbox of CRISPR proteins, says [Trevor Martin, Mammoth Biosciences co-founder and chief executive]. That will allow you to interact with biology in the same way that we interact with software and computers. From first principles, companies will programmatically modify biology to cure a disease or decrease risk for a disease.'

Will You Still Need a College Education in 2040?Anisa Purbasari Horton | Fast Company[Six experts] shared the consensus that change is the only certainty. Workers, employers, and education providers alike need to be agile, flexible, and prepared to adapt as technology continues to disrupt industries and change what jobs will and will not be available. Heres what else they had to say.

This Is the Highest-Resolution Photo of the Sun Ever TakenNeel V. Patel | MIT Technology ReviewThe new image demonstrates the telescopes potential power. It shows off a surface thats divided up into discrete, Texas-size cells, like cracked sections in the desert soil. You can see plasma oozing off the surface, rising high into the solar atmosphere before sinking back into darker lanes. [Note: The referenced photo appears in this articles banner image.]

A History ofStar Treks Uneasy Relationship With AndroidsJames Whitbrook | io9Sci-fi has been fascinated with sentient synthetic life sinceits earliest days, butStar Trek, in particular, has had quite the tumultuous history with its own consideration of androids and their place in its far future. From classic interpretations of sinister bots to one of the franchises most beloved characters, heres everything you need to know aboutStar Treksandroids.

Technology Is AnthropologyJon Evans | TechCrunchIts hard enough getting an accurate answer of how a person would use a new technology when thats the only variable. When they live in a constantly shifting and evolving world of other new technologies, when the ones which take root and spread have a positive-feedback-loop effect on the culture and mindset toward new technologies, and when every one of your first 20 interactions with new tech changes your feelings about itits basically impossible.

Image Credit: NSO/AURA/NSF

Read the rest here:
This Week's Awesome Tech Stories From Around the Web (Through February 1) - Singularity Hub