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I found this on NewsBreak: Decoding the Mysteries of Life and the Cosmos: A Journey Through the Last Decade of Science.


By: Jason St Clair.

It’s worth reflecting on the scientific breakthroughs that have shaped our understanding of the universe and ourselves from 2010 to 2019. From the creation of synthetic life to the first glimpse of a black hole, these discoveries remind us of the indomitable human spirit and our unending quest for knowledge.

In 2010, scientists at the J. Craig Venter Institute played the role of cosmic composers, creating the first living organism with a completely synthetic genome. This milestone marked the first step in producing artificial life, a symphony of genetic notes designed in a computer, assembled in a lab, and brought to life in a donor cell. It was a testament to our growing mastery over the building blocks of life itself.

I found this on NewsBreak: Crucial connection for ‘quantum internet’ made for the first time.


However, this development is being held up because quantum information can be lost when transmitted over long distances. One way to overcome this barrier is to divide the network into smaller segments and link them all up with a shared quantum state.

To do this requires a means to store the quantum information and retrieve it again: that is, a quantum memory device. This must ‘talk’ to another device that allows the creation of quantum information in the first place.

For the first time, researchers have created such a system that interfaces these two key components and uses regular optical fibers to transmit the quantum data.

I found this on NewsBreak: Most massive stellar black hole in the Milky Way discovered ‘extremely close’ to Earth.


Astronomers have found the most massive stellar-mass black hole ever discovered in our galaxy — and it’s lurking “extremely close” to Earth, according to new research.

The black hole, named Gaia BH3, is 33 times more massive than our sun. Cygnus X-1, the next-biggest stellar black hole known in our galaxy, weighs only 21 solar masses. The newfound black hole is located roughly 2,000 light-years away in the constellation Aquila, making it the second-closest known black hole to Earth.

The researchers published their findings April 16 in the journal Astronomy and Astrophysics.

In a basement under the office at the University of Copenhagen, where Niels Bohr once conducted his research, the team toiled to demonstrate an innovative approach to storing quantum data – the quantum drum.

Made of ceramic, the small membrane of the drum has holes scattered around its edges in a neat pattern. When a laser light is incident on the membrane, it begins beating. The sonic vibrations of the drum can be stored and forwarded.

Through their previous work, the researchers know that the membrane stays in a fragile quantum state and can, therefore, receive and transmit data without losing it.