In a new demonstration, a U.S. researcher showcased that a quantum computer outperforms supercomputers in approximate optimization tasks.
The University of Southern California-led (USC) study demonstrated the first quantum scaling advantage for approximate optimization problem-solving using a quantum annealer.
Quantum annealing is a specific type of quantum computing that can use quantum physics principles to find high-quality solutions to difficult optimization problems. Rather than requiring exact optimal solutions, the study focused on finding solutions within a certain percentage (≥1%) of the optimal value, according to researchers.
The common cold sore virus, which is often caught in childhood, usually stays in the body for life—quietly dormant in the nerves. Now and then, things like stress, illness or injury can trigger it, bringing on a cold sore in some people. But this same virus—called herpes simplex virus type 1—may also play an important role in something far more serious: Alzheimer’s disease.
Over 30 years ago, my colleagues and I made a surprising discovery. We found that this cold sore virus can be present in the brains of older people. It was the first clear sign that a virus could be quietly living in the brain, which was long thought to be completely germ-free—protected by the so-called “blood-brain barrier.”
Then we discovered something even more striking. People who have a certain version of a gene (called APOE-e4) that increases their risk of Alzheimer’s, and who have been infected with this virus, have a risk that is many times greater.
A groundbreaking cement developed by Chinese scientists can now generate electricity from heat—thanks to a bio-inspired design that mimics plant stems. By combining hydrogel layers with traditional cement, this innovation enhances ion flow and delivers record-high thermoelectric efficiency. This breakthrough could power smart infrastructure, allowing buildings, roads, and bridges to self-generate electricity for sensors, lighting, and more—ushering in a new era of energy-smart cities.
Spotted thanks to a fleeting light distortion in 2011, a mysterious duo — a tiny star and its hefty companion — has turned out to be much faster and stranger than first imagined. Astronomers have observed hypervelocity stars before, but NASA scientists may have just identified a truly extraordina
In 2024 a shockwave rippled through the astronomical world, shaking it to the core. The disturbance didn’t come from some astral disaster at the solar system’s doorstep, however. Rather it arrived via the careful analysis of many far-distant galaxies, which revealed new details of the universe’s evolution across eons of cosmic history. Against most experts’ expectations, the result suggested that dark energy —the mysterious force driving the universe’s accelerating expansion—was not an unwavering constant but rather a more fickle beast that was weakening over time.
The shocking claim’s source was the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI), run by an international collaboration at Kitt Peak National Observatory in Arizona. And it was so surprising because cosmologists’ best explanations for the universe’s observed large-scale structure have long assumed that dark energy is a simple, steady thing. But as Joshua Frieman, a physicist at the University of Chicago, says: “We tend to stick with the simplest theory that works—until it doesn’t.” Heady with delight and confusion, theorists began scrambling to explain DESI’s findings and resurfaced old, more complex ideas shelved decades ago.
In March 2025 even more evidence accrued in favor of dark energy’s dynamic nature in DESI’s latest data release—this time from a much larger, multimillion-galaxy sample. Dark energy’s implied fading, it seemed, was refusing to fade away.
The CL1 computer is the first in the world that combines human neurons with a silicon chip. It could be used in disease modeling and drug discovery before it expires after six months.
Organoids, miniaturized, stem cell-derived versions of human organs, are revolutionizing biomedical research by offering human-specific models for disease study and drug testing. While they have limitations, organoids increasingly challenge the dominance of animal models in preclinical science.
