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so-called qubits, to perform computations much faster than any classical computer ever could.

While multiple frontrunner startups have explored various technology platforms, from superconducting qubits and ion trap systems to diamond-based quantum accelerators, scaling the number of qubits from a few dozen to hundreds, thousands, and eventually millions of qubits has remained notoriously difficult. But this might change with photonic quantum computing.

The startup ORCA Computing builds photonic quantum computers that use photons, the fundamental particles of light, as qubits. Using quantum memories and established telecommunications technology, it can scale its devices more easily and integrate with existing computing infrastructure e.g. in data centers. Based on the core memory technology developed by Kris Kaczmarek, ORCA was officially co-founded by Ian Walmsley, Richard Murray, Josh Nunn, and Cristina Escoda in Oxford in the fall of 2019. This summer 2022, it has raised a $15M Series A led by Octopus Ventures and joined by Oxford Science Enterprises, Quantonation, and Verve Ventures, with additional, project-based funding provided by Innovate UK. Previous investors also include Atmos Ventures and Creative Destruction Lab.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=fU99W-ZrIHQ

Artificial intelligence has the potential to change human existence as we know it, but can it make a decent movie?

At opposition, and on surrounding nights, Neptune rises in the east around sunset and will be visible all night long, traveling along the ecliptic (the apparent path of the Sun and planets in Earth’s sky). Neptune can be seen in the constellation of Aquarius, below the “circlet” asterism of Pisces, and to the west of Jupiter.

The planet is in apparent retrograde motion (appearing to travel backwards in its orbit relative to Earth) from June 28 to December 3. Neptune will be at its closest to Earth the day before opposition, September 15, at only 2.7 billion miles (4.3 billion km) distance. At opposition, the Sun’s light will fully illuminate the planet’s surface, casting light directly onto Neptune from Earth’s point of view.

Since it is not visible to the naked eye, Neptune was unknown to astronomers until the 1800s, when it was the first planet to be discovered by mathematical prediction, rather than direct observation, owing to gravitational perturbation on the orbit of Uranus.

Diamonds are forever, but they might not be that rare.

Diamonds are forever, the saying goes. The precious stones may also be surprisingly abundant throughout the universe, a press statement reveals. Scientists have used common plastic to recreate the process that leads to diamond rain on Uranus and Neptune in the lab. They found that it is likely diamonds actually form in these planets’ atmospheres.

Previously, the consensus was that high pressure and temperature conditions deep below the surface of these ice giants turn hydrogen and carbon into solid diamonds.

Continue reading “The stunning space phenomenon ‘diamond rain’ may be more common than once thought” »

The experiment seeks to answer fundamental questions about experimental physics.

Ten years ago, scientists announced the discovery of the Higgs boson, which helped explain why the smallest building blocks of nature have mass. For particle physicists around the world, it was a very important and long-awaited result that marked a new era of experimental physics. Physicists at the Large Hadron Collider — the world’s largest and most powerful particle accelerator — located at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) in Geneva discovered the Higgs boson largely due to results from the ATLAS experiment.

The largest general-purpose particle detector experiment at the Large Hadron Collider, ATLAS was one of the two LHC experiments involved in the discovery of the Higgs boson in July 2012.

It is still a fraction of the resources it can dedicate to the fight.

Wikimedia Commons.

On February 24 when Russian troops began crossing over the border of Ukraine, little did anybody think that the conflict would go on for months. With a massive advantage of the sheer number of troops, military equipment, and technology, the Russian ‘special operation’ should not have even lasted weeks.

This project is carried out by Yamaha and explores the importance of air pressure in our everyday lives. Air is used to run a propellor and sing a song.

Summary: Transcranial random noise stimulation (tRNS) may be a useful tool in enhancing learning rates in those with limited learning capabilities.

Source: Edith Cowan University.

Though many of us may seek a quiet place in which to study, ‘noise’ may play a key role in helping some people improve their learning potential.

In a new study published in Science, researchers have used single-nucleus sequencing (sNuc-Seq) to characterize the cell populations of the axolotl forebrain, an aquatic salamander that can regenerate brain tissue post-injury.

Axolotls – a translational model

The brain is a complex organ, comprising billions of cells and neuronal connections that form intricate networks. Understanding which cells are actively engaged in neurological processes – and which genes underpin this activity – can help us to decipher this complexity. It is only recently that advances in single-cell sequencing have made such research possible, providing insights on the molecular signatures of thousands of individual cells.