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Categories: Biology: Evolutionary, Physics: Quantum Computing

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Scientists have discovered where butterflies originated and which plants the first butterflies relied on for food. To reach these conclusions, researchers created the world's largest butterfly tree of life, which they used as a guide to trace trace the evolution of butterflies through time in a four-dimensional puzzle that led back to North and Central America.

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Scientists have precisely identified base pairs of the human genome that remained consistent over millions of years of mammalian evolution, and which play a crucial role in human disease. The team analyzed the genomes of 240 mammals, including humans and identified base pairs that were 'constrained' -- meaning they remained generally consistent -- across mammal species over the course of evolution. The most constrained base pairs in mammals were over seven times more likely to be causal for human disease and complex trait, and over 11 times more likely when researchers looked at the most constrained base pairs in primates alone.

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Bacteria can rapidly evolve resistance to antibiotics by adapting special pumps to flush them out of their cells, according to new research. Antimicrobial resistance is a growing problem of global significance. The rise of resistant 'superbugs' threatens our ability to use antimicrobials like antibiotics to treat and prevent the spread of infections caused by microorganisms. It is hoped that the findings will improve how antibiotics are used to help prevent further spread of antimicrobial resistance.

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In the study, a team of researchers describe what they believe to be the first measurement showing direct interaction between electrons spinning in a 2D material and photons coming from microwave radiation.

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Researchers have identified novel van der Waals (vdW) magnets using cutting-edge tools in artificial intelligence (AI). In particular, the team identified transition metal halide vdW materials with large magnetic moments that are predicted to be chemically stable using semi-supervised learning. These two-dimensional (2D) vdW magnets have potential applications in data storage, spintronics, and even quantum computing.

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Throughout the ocean, billions upon billions of plant-like microbes make up an invisible floating forest. As they drift, the tiny organisms use sunlight to suck up carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Collectively, these photosynthesizing plankton, or phytoplankton, absorb almost as much CO2 as the world’s terrestrial forests. A measurable fraction of their carbon-capturing muscle comes from Prochlorococcus — an emerald-tinged free-floater that is the most abundant phytoplankton in the oceans today. New research suggests the microbe's ancient coastal ancestors colonized the ocean by rafting out on chitin particles.

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A new study finds that early human species adapted to mosaic landscapes and diverse food resources, which would have increased our ancestor's resilience to past shifts in climate.

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Physicists have discovered stacked pancakes of 'liquid' magnetism that may account for the strange electronic behavior of some layered helical magnets.

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Over 3,000 generations of laboratory evolution, researchers watched as their model organism, 'snowflake yeast,' began to adapt as multicellular individuals. In new research, the team shows how snowflake yeast evolved to be physically stronger and more than 20,000 times larger than their ancestor. Their study is the first major report on the ongoing Multicellularity Long-Term Evolution Experiment (MuLTEE), which the team hopes to run for decades.

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Comparing individual cells across corn, sorghum, and millet reveals evolutionary differences among these important cereal crops, according to a new study. The findings bring researchers closer to pinpointing which genes control important agricultural traits such as drought tolerance, which will help scientists faced with a changing climate adapt crops to drier environments.

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Rhinoceros belong to a mammalian order called odd-toed ungulates that also include horses and tapirs. They are found in Africa and Asia. Until recently, evidence suggested that throughout their evolutionary history, gamma-retroviruses such as Murine leukemia virus had not colonized their genomes, unlike most other mammalian orders. The colonization process is called retroviral endogenization and has resulted in most mammalian genomes being comprised of up to ten percent retroviral like sequences.

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Researchers have developed a DNA enzyme -- or DNAzyme -- that can distinguish between two RNA strands inside a cell and cut the disease-associated strand while leaving the healthy strand intact. This breakthrough 'gene silencing' technology could revolutionize the development of DNAzymes for treating cancer, infectious diseases and neurological disorders.

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Birds across the Americas are getting smaller and longer-winged as the world warms, and the smallest-bodied species are changing the fastest.

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Researchers have developed a new class of integrated photonic devices -- 'leaky-wave metasurfaces' -- that convert light initially confined in an optical waveguide to an arbitrary optical pattern in free space. These are the first to demonstrate simultaneous control of all four optical degrees of freedom. Because they're so thin, transparent, and compatible with photonic integrated circuits, they can be used to improve optical displays, LIDAR, optical communications, and quantum optics.

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Quantum dots in semiconductors such as silicon or gallium arsenide have long been considered hot candidates for hosting quantum bits in future quantum processors. Scientists have now shown that bilayer graphene has even more to offer here than other materials. The double quantum dots they have created are characterized by a nearly perfect electron-hole-symmetry that allows a robust read-out mechanism -- one of the necessary criteria for quantum computing.

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Researchers have proposed a new model for the evolution of higher brain functions and behaviors in the Hymenoptera order of insects. The team compared the Kenyon cells, a type of neuronal cell, in the mushroom bodies (a part of the insect brain involved in learning, memory and sensory integration) of 'primitive' sawflies and sophisticated honey bees. They found that three diverse, specialized Kenyon cell subtypes in honey bee brains appear to have evolved from a single, multifunctional Kenyon cell-subtype ancestor. In the future, this research could help us better understand the evolution of some of our own higher brain functions and behaviors.

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Researchers have demonstrated a prototype lidar system that uses quantum detection technology to acquire 3D images while submerged underwater. The high sensitivity of this system could allow it to capture detailed information even in extremely low-light conditions found underwater.

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An international team of researchers has developed a comprehensive manual for engineering spin dynamics in nanomagnets -- an important step toward advancing spintronic and quantum-information technologies.

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Most chromosomes have been around for millions of years. Now, researchers have revealed the dynamics of a new, very young chromosome in fruit flies that is similar to chromosomes that arise in humans and is associated with treatment-resistant cancer and infertility. The findings may one day lead to developing more targeted therapies for treating these conditions.

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Large numbers can only be factorized with a great deal of computational effort. Physicists are now providing a blueprint for a new type of quantum computer to solve the factorization problem, which is a cornerstone of modern cryptography.