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Categories: Computer Science: Quantum Computers, Offbeat: Earth and Climate

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In the 1800s, some of the strongest earthquakes in recorded U.S. history struck North America's continental interior. Almost two centuries later, the central and eastern United States may still be experiencing aftershocks from those events, a new study finds.

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A new study casts doubt on claims that Homo naledi, a small-brained hominin dating to between 335-241,000 years ago, deliberately buried their dead and produced rock art in Rising Star Cave, South Africa. Recent articles suggested the recent excavations at the Rising Star Cave system provided evidence of at least three burial features, two in the Dinaledi Chamber and a third in the Hill Antechamber cavity. The group of experts have now called for a deeper dig into the science behind the findings.

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With help from an experienced underwater cave-diving team, researchers have constructed the most complete map to date of the microbial communities living in the submerged labyrinths beneath Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula. Researchers found the cave system's microbiome is distinct from the nearby sea, and microbial communities vary between cave systems forming distinct 'neighborhoods.'  

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Hummingbirds are highly maneuverable fliers, flitting forward and backward as they home in on flowers. But in the dense foliage many inhabit, they often encounter gaps that are too narrow for their wingspan. Since they can't bend their wings in flight, how do they get through? Researchers used high-speed cameras to capture their movements, discovering two unique strategies: they sidle through while fluttering, or fold their wings in a tuck and glide.

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A long-beaked echidna named after Sir David Attenborough and last seen by scientists in 1961 has been photographed for the first time in an Indonesian tropical forest. An international team of researchers worked with local communities to deploy over 80 camera traps to film the elusive animal. Besides rediscovering the echidna, the team uncovered a wealth of species completely new to science, including beetles, spiders, and a remarkable tree-dwelling shrimp.

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Some barnacles are 'morphing' to protect themselves from predatory warm-water sea snails, which are expanding into their territory due to climate change.

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When animals 'sing' sitting on the ground -- such as when crickets chirp -- their volume and reach increase dramatically, by as much as ten-fold. This result contradicts long-held beliefs in the field of animal communication, which presume the ground is a hindrance to sound transmission.

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Research on neighboring chimpanzee communities in the forests of West Africa suggests a warfare tactic not previously seen beyond humans is regularly used by our closest evolutionary relatives.

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Researchers have discovered how superfluid helium 3He would feel if you could put your hand into it. The interface between the exotic world of quantum physics and classical physics of the human experience is one of the major open problems in modern physics. Nobody has been able to answer this question during the 100-year history of quantum physics.

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Single-photon emitters quantum mechanically connect quantum bits (or qubits) between nodes in quantum networks. They are typically made by embedding rare-earth elements in optical fibers at extremely low temperatures. Now, researchers have developed an ytterbium-doped optical fiber at room temperature. By avoiding the need for expensive cooling solutions, the proposed method offers a cost-effective platform for photonic quantum applications.

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The chance discovery of a note written in a 15th century Hebrew prayer book fills an important gap in the historical Italian earthquake record, offering a brief glimpse of a previously unknown earthquake affecting the Marche region in the central Apennines.  

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The remnants of an ancient planet that collided with Earth to form the Moon lie deep within the earth, according to a new model.

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Sunflowers famously turn their faces to follow the sun as it crosses the sky. But how do sunflowers 'see' the sun to follow it? Plant biologists show that they use a different, novel mechanism from that previously thought.

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Quantum physicists show that imperfect timekeeping places a fundamental limit to quantum computers and their applications. The team claims that even tiny timing errors add up to place a significant impact on any large-scale algorithm, posing another problem that must eventually be solved if quantum computers are to fulfill the lofty aspirations that society has for them.

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Quantum physicists have shown that it's possible to control and manipulate spin waves on a chip using superconductors for the first time. These tiny waves in magnets may offer an alternative to electronics in the future, interesting for energy-efficient information technology or connecting pieces in a quantum computer, for example. The breakthrough primarily gives physicists new insight into the interaction between magnets and superconductors.

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Researchers report a significant advance in quantum computing. They have prolonged the coherence time of their single-electron qubit to an impressive 0.1 milliseconds, nearly a thousand-fold improvement.

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Experimental physicists have demonstrated a new quantum effect aptly named the 'spinaron.' In a meticulously controlled environment and using an advanced set of instruments, they managed to prove the unusual state a cobalt atom assumes on a copper surface. This revelation challenges the long-held Kondo effect -- a theoretical concept developed in the 1960s, and which has been considered the standard model for the interaction of magnetic materials with metals since the 1980s.

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Scrape, cluck, lay eggs -- that's it? Anyone involved in chicken farming knows that the animals are capable of much more. Researchers have found evidence that roosters could recognize themselves in a mirror. Whether this is successful, however, depends on the experimental conditions -- a finding that points beyond the experiment with roosters and could also be of importance for other animal species.

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Researchers have developed a system that uses atomic vacancies in silicon carbide to measure the stability and quality of acoustic resonators. What's more, these vacancies could also be used for acoustically-controlled quantum information processing, providing a new way to manipulate quantum states embedded in this commonly-used material. 

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New research suggests that increasingly severe weather driven by climate change may push oceangoing seabirds to their limits.