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A New Quantum Blueprint Could Make States Easier To Tell Apart

MIT and University of Ferrara researchers created a mathematical blueprint for designing distinguishable non-Gaussian quantum states.

Researchers worldwide are working to develop quantum systems for sensing, communications, computing, and control that could outperform today’s technologies. A major challenge is creating quantum states that are stable, measurable, and easy to distinguish, since these states are the foundation of any practical quantum device.

Quantum states have unique characteristics that make them attractive for advanced information processing. However, achieving both stability and distinguishability remains difficult. Recovering information from a quantum system depends on how well its quantum states can be distinguished, a property tied to orthogonality. Because no two Gaussian states (a widely studied class of quantum states) are orthogonal, some level of error is unavoidable when trying to tell them apart.

New Technique Could Slash AI’s Memory Energy Use by Thousands of Times

The microscopic magnetic flips behind digital memory could soon use thousands of times less energy, offering a new way to shrink AI’s rapidly growing power footprint.

Artificial intelligence is creating and processing data on an enormous scale. Searches, recommendations, generated images, scientific simulations, and large language models all depend on information that must be repeatedly stored, transferred, retrieved, and rewritten. Each operation consumes energy, and those costs multiply across the billions of devices and sprawling data centers that support the digital world.

Researchers at the University of Edinburgh have now developed a mathematical framework designed to slash the energy required to write information in future magnetic memory. Rather than creating a new memory material, the approach changes how the magnetic state representing a digital bit is flipped.

Scientists Discover a 3.7-Billion-Year-Old Secret of Early Life

Ancient microbes appear to have used molybdenum as far back as 3.7 billion years ago, despite the metal being scarce in Earth’s early oceans.

Scientists funded by NASA have found that organisms living on Earth more than 3 billion years ago were already using molybdenum, even though the metal was extremely rare in the environment at that time. The research, in Nature Communications, is the first study to show that ancient life depended on molybdenum this early in Earth’s history.

Today, molybdenum plays a key role inside cells by helping important biochemical reactions happen faster. It forms part of essential enzymes that drive several major biological processes in living organisms. These reactions matter not only for individual forms of life, but also for planet-scale biogeochemical cycles, including the nitrogen cycle. Without molybdenum, the same reactions could still occur naturally, but far too slowly to support life.

Microsoft blames Windows gaming issues on RGB lighting devices

Microsoft says ongoing issues causing games to crash or fail to launch after installing the August 2026 Windows updates may be caused by peripherals with RGB lighting.

As Microsoft explained when it confirmed it’s investigating on Wednesday, this known issue affects games like ARC Raiders, MARVEL Tōkon: Fighting Souls, and The Finals on systems running Windows 11 24H2 and 25H2.

“Following the release of Windows updates on August 11, 2026 (KB5121003) and later, Microsoft received reports of issues involving inability to run games as expected,” Microsoft said on the Windows release health dashboard.

New SynkLoader malware pushed in Microsoft Teams phishing campaign

A previously unknown malware family dubbed SynkLoader is being distributed in Microsoft Teams phishing campaigns to steal credentials via a fake lock screen.

The attacker impersonates the target company’s IT help desk, a tactic Microsoft highlighted earlier this year as increasingly common in multi-stage attacks.

Expel’s security researcher Marcus Hutchins explains that the attacks direct the victim to install a fake “PowerShell Cleaner” executable (.MSI) hosted in Microsoft Azure, making the download appear trustworthy.

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