MIT physicists have performed an idealized version of one of the most famous experiments in quantum physics. Their findings demonstrate, with atomic-level precision, the dual yet evasive nature of light. They also happen to confirm that Albert Einstein was wrong about this particular quantum scenario.
The experiment in question is the double-slit experiment, which was first performed in 1801 by the British scholar Thomas Young to show how light behaves as a wave. Today, with the formulation of quantum mechanics, the double-slit experiment is now known for its surprisingly simple demonstration of a head-scratching reality: that light exists as both a particle and a wave. Stranger still, this duality cannot be simultaneously observed. Seeing light in the form of particles instantly obscures its wave-like nature, and vice versa.
The original experiment involved shining a beam of light through two parallel slits in a screen and observing the pattern that formed on a second, faraway screen. One might expect to see two overlapping spots of light, which would imply that light exists as particles, a.k.a. photons, like paintballs that follow a direct path. But instead, the light produces alternating bright and dark stripes on the screen, in an interference pattern similar to what happens when two ripples in a pond meet. This suggests light behaves as a wave. Even weirder, when one tries to measure which slit the light is traveling through, the light suddenly behaves as particles and the interference pattern disappears.
Scientists have been studying a fascinating material called uranium ditelluride (UTe₂), which becomes a superconductor at low temperatures.
Superconductors can carry electricity without any resistance, and UTe₂ is special because it might belong to a rare type called spin-triplet superconductors. These materials are not only resistant to magnetic fields but could also host exotic quantum states useful for future technologies.
However, one big mystery remained: what is the symmetry of UTe₂’s superconducting state? This symmetry determines how electrons pair up and move through the material. To solve this puzzle, researchers used a highly sensitive tool called a scanning tunneling microscope (STM) with a superconducting tip. They found unique signals—zero-energy surface states—that helped them compare different theoretical possibilities.
Their results suggest that UTe₂ is a nonchiral superconductor, meaning its electron pairs don’t have a preferred handedness (like left-or right-handedness). Instead, the data points to one of three possible symmetries (B₁ᵤ, B₂ᵤ, or B₃ᵤ), with B₃ᵤ being the most likely if electrons scatter in a particular way along one axis.
This discovery brings scientists closer to understanding UTe₂’s unusual superconducting behavior, which could one day help in designing more robust quantum materials.
UTe₂ currently operates at very low temperatures (~1.6 K), so raising its critical temperature is a major goal.
Scaling up production and integrating it into devices will require further material engineering.
UK-based mobility company Bo has racing in its blood, and its latest creation is designed to bring that heritage to the forefront in the form of a high-performance electric scooter subtly named the Turbo.
It might look a lot like the consumer-grade M model that Bo revealed in 2023, but after 18 months in the garage, it’s mutated into an absolute fire-breather that’s built to exceed 100 mph (160 km/h) and – according to Bo’s initial testing – accelerate quicker than a Tesla Model 3.
How do you push a 15 mph (25 km/h) scooter all the way up past the 100-mph mark? The same powertrain simply wouldn’t cut it, so the Turbo got twin electric motors, each rated for over 300A peak current, along with a new 88-V 1,800-Wh battery to deliver plenty more power on demand.
The passage of time may be linear, but the course of human aging is not. Rather than a gradual transition, your life staggers and lurches through the rapid growth of childhood, the plateau of early adulthood, to an acceleration in aging as the decades progress.
Now, a new study has identified a turning point at which that acceleration typically takes place: at around age 50.
After this time, the trajectory at which your tissues and organs age is steeper than the decades preceding, according to a study of proteins in human bodies across a wide range of adult ages – and your veins are among the fastest to decline.
Unlike traditional islet transplants — which are expensive, donor-limited, and prone to rejection — these 3D-printed islets are designed for better integration into the body. Implanted under the skin, the new islets respond to glucose fluctuations and begin producing insulin in real time, offering a more natural and automated regulation process.
Early tests revealed that the printed islets remained viable and fully functional for at least three weeks, a major improvement over past transplantation methods that often fail due to tissue damage and immune response.
The hunt for potentially habitable rocky planets in our galaxy has been the holy grail of exoplanet studies for decades. While the discovery of more than 5,900 exoplanets in more than 4,400 planetary systems has been a remarkable achievement, only a small fraction (217) have been confirmed as terrestrial—aka rocky or “Earth-like.” Furthermore, obtaining accurate information on a rocky exoplanet’s atmosphere is very difficult, since potentially habitable rocky planets are much smaller and tend to orbit closer to their stars.
Thanks to next-generation instruments like the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), exoplanet studies are transitioning from discovery to characterization. However, no atmospheres have been clearly identified around rocky planets yet, and the atmospheric data Webb has collected so far is subject to some uncertainty.
A summary of Webb’s findings was featured in a recent study by researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy (MPIA) and the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (JHUAPL). Based on their summary, they recommend a “five-scale height challenge” to assist astronomers in atmospheric characterization.
Researchers at MIT and other institutions have identified compounds that can fight off viral infection by activating a defense pathway inside host cells. These compounds, they believe, could be used as antiviral drugs that work against not just one but any kind of virus.
The researchers identified these compounds, which activate a host cell defense system known as the integrated stress response pathway, in a screen of nearly 400,000 molecules. In tests in human cells, the researchers showed that the compounds help cells fend off infection from RSV, herpes virus, and Zika virus. They also proved effective in combating herpes infection in a mouse model.
The research team now plans to test the compounds against additional viruses, in hopes of developing them for eventual clinical trials.