Using a supercomputer, scientists have found that the matter of neutron stars with high isospin densities is superconducting.
The once shiny, exciting use cases for quantum technology may turn out to be pretty mundane if a small, but courageous band of researchers proves their theories correct. After all, using quantum computers to find new drug treatments, navigate the world without global positioning systems, and optimize complex portfolios may seem downright boring compared to using them to explore the myriad of questions that surround the hard problems of consciousness. Questions like: what the heck even is consciousness — and, does it have a connection to quantum mechanics? And, can quantum computing help make robots conscious — and should we make them conscious?
Tough questions, for sure, but here we’ll introduce a few researchers and entrepreneurs who are heading in that direction right now and leaning into what might turn out to be the ultimate quantum computing use case of all time: consciousness.
Hartmut Neven, a physicist and computational neuroscientist leading Google’s Quantum Artificial Intelligence Lab, believes quantum computing could help explore consciousness. Speaking to New Scientist, Neven outlined experiments and theories suggesting consciousness might emerge from quantum phenomena, such as entanglement and superposition, within the human brain. He proposes leveraging quantum computers to test these ideas, potentially expanding our understanding of how the mind interacts with the physical world.
Imagine a future where your phone, computer or even a tiny wearable device can think and learn like the human brain—processing information faster, smarter and using less energy.
A new approach developed at Flinders University and UNSW Sydney brings this vision closer to reality by electrically “twisting” a single nanoscale ferroelectric domain wall.
The domain walls are almost invisible, extremely tiny (1–10 nm) boundaries that naturally arise or can even be injected or erased inside special insulating crystals called ferroelectrics. The domain walls inside these crystals separate regions with different bound charge orientations.
Stress disrupts memory precision, causing generalized fear responses by enlarging memory-encoding neuron networks. This effect, mediated by the brain’s endocannabinoid system, suggests potential therapeutic targets for conditions like PTSD and anxiety disorders.
Quantum computers may soon dramatically enhance our ability to solve problems modeled by nonreversible Markov chains, according to a study published on the pre-print server arXiv.
The researchers from Qubit Pharmaceuticals and Sorbonne University, demonstrated that quantum algorithms could achieve exponential speedups in sampling from such chains, with the potential to surpass the capabilities of classical methods. These advances — if fully realized — have a range of implications for fields like drug discovery, machine learning and financial modeling.
Markov chains are mathematical frameworks used to model systems that transition between various states, such as stock prices or molecules in motion. Each transition is governed by a set of probabilities, which defines how likely the system is to move from one state to another. Reversible Markov chains — where the probability of moving from, let’s call them, state A to state B equals the probability of moving from B to A — have traditionally been the focus of computational techniques. However, many real-world systems are nonreversible, meaning their transitions are biased in one direction, as seen in certain biological and chemical processes.
Some 275 million light-years from the Milky Way lies a true cosmic mystery.
There, in the heart of a galaxy named 1ES 1927+654, squats a supermassive black hole whose monkeyshines and hijinks have baffled astronomers for years.
Continue reading “Strange Flashes Could Be Signs of Closest Object Seen Near a Black Hole” »
What lies beyond the beginning of time? Physicists are exploring groundbreaking ideas that could reveal a hidden universe behind the Big Bang.
This mind-bending theory challenges everything we know about existence and the mysteries of our cosmic origins.
The Perfect Cosmic Fireball
Astronomers have unveiled the extraordinary details of a nearly perfect spherical explosion—a kilonova—caused by the collision of two neutron stars. This dramatic event unfolded in 2017 in the galaxy NGC 4,993, located 140–150 million light years from Earth in the Hydra constellation. With a combined mass of 2.7 times that of the sun, the neutron stars had orbited each other for billions of years before their explosive merger.
Lead researcher Albert Sneppen of the Cosmic Dawn Center described the event as “a perfect explosion” due to its symmetry and scientific implications. The kilonova’s luminous fireball emitted a light equivalent to a billion suns for several days, dwarfing any earthly nuclear explosion in intensity.
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Marburg Virus Outbreak Sparks Global Concern: Travel Warnings Issued Amid Deadly ‘Bleeding Eye’ Symptoms and Spread Risks.
For more than 5,000 years, humans have adorned themselves with tattoos.
In a new study, researchers used lasers to uncover highly intricate designs of ancient tattoos on mummies from Peru.
The preserved skin of the mummies and the black tattoo ink used show a stark contrast—revealing fine details in tattoos dating to around 1,250 A.D. that aren’t visible to the naked eye, said study co-author Michael Pittman, an archaeologist at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.
