Biology: Evolutionary Biology: General Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: Extinction Ecology: Nature Offbeat: General Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Offbeat: Plants and Animals Paleontology: Fossils Paleontology: General
Published

How did sabre-toothed tigers acquire their long upper canine teeth?      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

In a groundbreaking study an international team of scientists has investigated the evolutionary patterns behind the development of sabre teeth, with some unexpected results along the way.

Computer Science: Quantum Computers Mathematics: Modeling Offbeat: Computers and Math Offbeat: General
Published

Wavefunction matching for solving quantum many-body problems      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Strongly interacting systems play an important role in quantum physics and quantum chemistry. Stochastic methods such as Monte Carlo simulations are a proven method for investigating such systems. However, these methods reach their limits when so-called sign oscillations occur. This problem has now been solved using the new method of wavefunction matching.

Computer Science: General Computer Science: Quantum Computers Offbeat: Computers and Math Offbeat: General Physics: General Physics: Optics Physics: Quantum Computing Physics: Quantum Physics
Published

A simple quantum internet with significant possibilities      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

It's one thing to dream up a quantum internet that could send hacker-proof information around the world via photons superimposed in different quantum states. It's quite another to physically show it's possible. That's exactly what physicists have done, using existing Boston-area telecommunication fiber, in a demonstration of the world's longest fiber distance between two quantum memory nodes to date.

Anthropology: General Biology: Botany Biology: Evolutionary Biology: General Ecology: Animals Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: General Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Offbeat: Plants and Animals
Published

Iconic baobabs: The origin and long-distance travels of upside down trees      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The research cracks the code on the iconic baobab tree's origin story, revealing their surprising origins in Madagascar and incredible long-distance dispersals to Africa and Australia. The study unveils how baobabs developed unique pollination mechanisms -- some attracting hawkmoths, others lemurs, and even bats -- showcasing remarkable evolutionary adaptations. The research sheds light on how climate change has shaped the baobab's distribution and diversification over millions of years, offering valuable insights for understanding plant responses to future environmental shifts.

Biology: Biochemistry Ecology: Extinction Ecology: Nature Offbeat: General Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Offbeat: Plants and Animals Paleontology: Dinosaurs Paleontology: Early Mammals and Birds Paleontology: General
Published

First 'warm-blooded' dinosaurs may have emerged 180 million years ago      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The ability to regulate body temperature, a trait all mammals and birds have today, may have evolved among some dinosaurs early in the Jurassic period about 180 million years ago. The new study looked at the spread of dinosaurs across different climates on Earth throughout the Mesozoic Era (the dinosaur era lasting from 230 to 66 million years ago), drawing on 1,000 fossils, climate models and the geography of the period, and dinosaurs' evolutionary trees.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Computer Science: Quantum Computers Physics: General Physics: Optics Physics: Quantum Computing Physics: Quantum Physics
Published

Scientists create an 'optical conveyor belt' for quasiparticles      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Using interference between two lasers, a research group has created an 'optical conveyor belt' that can move polaritons -- a type of light-matter hybrid particle -- in semiconductor-based microcavities. This work could lead to the development of new devices with applications in areas such as quantum metrology and quantum information.

Computer Science: Quantum Computers Physics: General Physics: Optics Physics: Quantum Computing Physics: Quantum Physics
Published

Speedy, secure, sustainable -- that's the future of telecom      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new device that can process information using a small amount of light could enable energy-efficient and secure communications.

Computer Science: General Computer Science: Quantum Computers
Published

New super-pure silicon chip opens path to powerful quantum computers      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have invented a breakthrough technique for manufacturing highly purified silicon that brings powerful quantum computers a big step closer.

Computer Science: General Computer Science: Quantum Computers Physics: General Physics: Quantum Computing Physics: Quantum Physics
Published

Experiment opens door for millions of qubits on one chip      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have achieved the first controllable interaction between two hole spin qubits in a conventional silicon transistor. The breakthrough opens up the possibility of integrating millions of these qubits on a single chip using mature manufacturing processes.

Computer Science: Quantum Computers Physics: General Physics: Optics Physics: Quantum Computing Physics: Quantum Physics
Published

New quantum sensing scheme could lead to enhanced high-precision nanoscopic techniques      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have unveiled a quantum sensing scheme that achieves the pinnacle of quantum sensitivity in measuring the transverse displacement between two interfering photons.

Biology: Zoology Environmental: Water Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Geology Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: General Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Offbeat: Plants and Animals Paleontology: General
Published

Did a magnetic field collapse trigger the emergence of animals?      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers uncovered compelling evidence that Earth's magnetic field was in a highly unusual state when the macroscopic animals of the Ediacaran Period -- 635 to 541 million years ago -- diversified and thrived. Their study raises the question of whether these fluctuations in Earth's ancient magnetic field led to shifts in oxygen levels that may have been crucial to the proliferation of life forms millions of years ago.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Computer Science: Quantum Computers Physics: General Physics: Optics Physics: Quantum Computing Physics: Quantum Physics
Published

Physicists arrange atoms in extremely close proximity      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Physicists developed a technique to arrange atoms in much closer proximity than previously possible, down to 50 nanometers. The group plans to use the method to manipulate atoms into configurations that could generate the first purely magnetic quantum gate -- a key building block for a new type of quantum computer.

Computer Science: Quantum Computers Physics: General Physics: Quantum Computing Physics: Quantum Physics
Published

Scientists test for quantum nature of gravity      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new study reports on a deep new probe into the interface between the theories of gravity and quantum mechanics, using ultra-high energy neutrino particles detected by a particle detector set deep into the Antarctic glacier at the south pole.

Anthropology: Early Humans Anthropology: General Archaeology: General Offbeat: General Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology
Published

75,000-year-old female Neanderthal from cave where species buried their dead      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new documentary has recreated the face of a 75,000-year-old female Neanderthal whose flattened skull was discovered and rebuilt from hundreds of bone fragments by a team of archaeologists and conservators.

Computer Science: General Computer Science: Quantum Computers
Published

Physicists build new device that is foundation for quantum computing      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scientists have adapted a device called a microwave circulator for use in quantum computers, allowing them for the first time to precisely tune the exact degree of nonreciprocity between a qubit, the fundamental unit of quantum computing, and a microwave-resonant cavity. The ability to precisely tune the degree of nonreciprocity is an important tool to have in quantum information processing. In doing so, the team derived a general and widely applicable theory that simplifies and expands upon older understandings of nonreciprocity so that future work on similar topics can take advantage of the team's model, even when using different components and platforms.

Computer Science: General Computer Science: Quantum Computers Physics: General Physics: Quantum Computing Physics: Quantum Physics
Published

Researchers unlock potential of 2D magnetic devices for future computing      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A research team has created an innovative method to control tiny magnetic states within ultrathin, two-dimensional van der Waals magnets -- a process akin to how flipping a light switch controls a bulb.

Computer Science: Quantum Computers
Published

Scientists show that there is indeed an 'entropy' of quantum entanglement      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scientists have shown, through probabilistic calculations, that there is indeed, as had been hypothesized, a rule of 'entropy' for the phenomenon of quantum entanglement. This finding could help drive a better understanding of quantum entanglement, which is a key resource that underlies much of the power of future quantum computers.

Biology: Biochemistry Offbeat: General Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Offbeat: Plants and Animals Paleontology: General
Published

The double-fanged adolescence of saber-toothed cats      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

How did North America's saber-toothed cats hunt without breaking their unwieldy saber-like canines, which are vulnerable to sideways bending stresses? A paleontologist provides mechanical evidence that during adolescence, when young cats were learning to hunt, their baby teeth remained in place for up to 30 months to laterally buttress the emerging permanent sabers. By the time the baby teeth fell out, presumably the adult cat knew how to protect its sabers during attacks.