Biology: Evolutionary Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: Invasive Species
Published

It would take 23 million years for evolution to replace Madagascar's endangered mammals      (via sciencedaily.com) 

90% of the plants and animals on Madagascar are found nowhere else on Earth, but this treasure trove of evolution is under serious threat due to habitat loss, over-hunting, and climate change. In this study, researchers examined how long it took Madagascar's unique modern mammal species to emerge and estimated how long it would take for a similarly complex set of new mammal species to evolve in their place if the endangered ones went extinct: 23 million years, far longer than scientists have found for any other island.

Computer Science: Quantum Computers Physics: Quantum Computing
Published

The optical fiber that keeps data safe even after being twisted or bent      (via sciencedaily.com) 

An optical fiber that uses the mathematical concept of topology to remain robust, thereby guaranteeing the high-speed transfer of information, has been created by physicists.

Biology: Evolutionary
Published

Chlamydiae expand our view on how intracellular bacteria evolve      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

All chlamydiae today live inside the cells of hosts ranging from amoeba to animals. A team of scientists found that the ancestor of chlamydiae likely already lived inside host cells, but that chlamydiae infecting amoeba evolved later in ways unexpected for intracellular bacteria. The study is an important step for understanding the emergence and evolution of endosymbiotic bacteria, including human pathogens.

Computer Science: Quantum Computers
Published

The thermodynamics of quantum computing      (via sciencedaily.com) 

In research on quantum computers, one aspect that has been mostly neglected until now is the generation of heat. Physicists now focus their attention on heat as an interference factor -- and have developed a method to experimentally measure the heat generated by a superconducting quantum system.

Biology: Evolutionary
Published

Urban lizards share genomic markers not found in forest-dwellers      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Lizards living in different cities have parallel genomic markers when compared to neighboring forest lizards, according to a new study. The genetic variations linked to urbanization underlie physical differences in the urban lizards, including longer limbs and larger toe pads that show how these lizards have evolved to adapt to city environments.

Anthropology: Early Humans Anthropology: General Archaeology: General Biology: Evolutionary Paleontology: Fossils
Published

Smallpox has plagued humans since ancient Egyptian times, new evidence confirms      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Smallpox was once one of humanity's most devastating diseases, but its origin is shrouded in mystery. For years, scientific estimates of when the smallpox virus first emerged have been at odds with historical records. Now, a new study reveals that the virus dates back 2,000 years further than scientists have previously shown, verifying historical sources and confirming for the first time that the disease has plagued human societies since ancient times.

Computer Science: Quantum Computers Physics: Quantum Computing
Published

New quantum computing architecture could be used to connect large-scale devices      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Researchers have demonstrated an architecture that can enable high fidelity and scalable communication between superconducting quantum processors. Their technique can generate and route photons, which carry quantum information, in a user-specified direction. This method could be used to develop a large-scale network of quantum processors that could efficiently communicate with one another.

Archaeology: General Biology: Evolutionary
Published

How evolution works      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

What genetic changes are responsible for the evolution of phenotypic traits? This question is not always easy to answer. A newly developed method now makes the search much easier.

Computer Science: Quantum Computers Physics: Quantum Computing
Published

Researchers show a new way to induce useful defects using invisible material properties      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Much of modern electronic and computing technology is based on one idea: add chemical impurities, or defects, to semiconductors to change their ability to conduct electricity. These altered materials are then combined in different ways to produce the devices that form the basis for digital computing, transistors, and diodes. Indeed, some quantum information technologies are based on a similar principle: adding defects and specific atoms within materials can produce qubits, the fundamental information storage units of quantum computing.

Chemistry: Thermodynamics Computer Science: Quantum Computers Physics: Quantum Computing
Published

Chaos gives the quantum world a temperature      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Two seemingly different areas of physics are related in subtle ways: Quantum theory and thermodynamics. How can the laws of thermodynamics arise from the laws of quantum physics? This question has now been pursued with computer simulations, which showed that chaos plays a crucial role: Only where chaos prevails do the well-known rules of thermodynamics follow from quantum physics.

Computer Science: Quantum Computers Physics: Quantum Computing
Published

Quantum dots at room temp, using lab-designed protein      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Quantum dots are normally made in industrial settings with high temperatures and toxic, expensive solvents -- a process that is neither economical nor environmentally friendly. But researchers have now pulled off the process at the bench using water as a solvent, making a stable end-product at room temperature. Their work opens the door to making nanomaterials in a more sustainable way by demonstrating that protein sequences not derived from nature can be used to synthesize functional materials.

Computer Science: Quantum Computers Mathematics: Modeling Space: Cosmology
Published

Curved spacetime in the lab      (via sciencedaily.com) 

In a laboratory experiment, researchers have succeeded in realizing an effective spacetime that can be manipulated. In their research on ultracold quantum gases, they were able to simulate an entire family of curved universes to investigate different cosmological scenarios and compare them with the predictions of a quantum field theoretical model.

Computer Science: Quantum Computers
Published

New quantum dots study uncovers implications for biological imaging      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Researchers report the synthesis of semiconductor 'giant' core-shell quantum dots with record-breaking emissive lifetimes. In addition, the lifetimes can be tuned by making a simple alteration to the material's internal structure.

Computer Science: Quantum Computers
Published

New instrument measures supercurrent flow, data has applications in quantum computing      (via sciencedaily.com) 

An extreme-scale nanoscope is beginning to collect data about how pulses of light at trillions of cycles per second can control supercurrents in materials. The instrument could one day help optimize superconducting quantum bits, which are at the heart of quantum computing, a new and developing technology.

Computer Science: Quantum Computers
Published

Changing the color of quantum light on an integrated chip      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Recently, researchers have developed an integrated electro-optic modulator that can efficiently change the frequency and bandwidth of single photons. The device could be used for more advanced quantum computing and quantum networks.

Computer Science: Quantum Computers Physics: Acoustics and Ultrasound
Published

An exotic interplay of electrons      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Water that simply will not freeze, no matter how cold it gets -- a research group has discovered a quantum state that could be described in this way. Experts have managed to cool a special material to near absolute zero temperature. They found that a central property of atoms -- their alignment -- did not 'freeze', as usual, but remained in a 'liquid' state. The new quantum material could serve as a model system to develop novel, highly sensitive quantum sensors.

Computer Science: Quantum Computers Space: Cosmology
Published

Physicists observe wormhole dynamics using a quantum computer      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scientists have developed a quantum experiment that allows them to study the dynamics, or behavior, of a special kind of theoretical wormhole.

Computer Science: Artificial Intelligence (AI) Computer Science: Quantum Computers Engineering: Robotics Research
Published

Pulses driven by artificial intelligence tame quantum systems      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Machine learning drives self-discovery of pulses that stabilize quantum systems in the face of environmental noise.

Computer Science: Quantum Computers Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology
Published

New quantum computing feat is a modern twist on a 150-year-old thought experiment      (via sciencedaily.com) 

New research demonstrates a 20x improvement in resetting a quantum bit to its '0' state, using a modern version of the 'Maxwell's demon'.