Named after an Italian theoretical physicist, Majoranas are complex quasiparticles that could be the key to building next-generation quantum computing systems.
Summary: Researchers use AI to reveal distinct cellular-level differences in the brains of men and women, focusing on white matter. These findings show AI can accurately identify sex-based brain patterns invisible to human eyes.
The study suggests that understanding these differences can enhance diagnostic tools and treatments for brain disorders. This research emphasizes the need for diversity in brain studies to ensure comprehensive insights into neurological diseases.
“Both zinc and lignin are super cheap, and the battery is easily recyclable,” said Khan in the press release. “If you calculate the cost per usage cycle, it becomes an extremely cheap battery compared to lithium-ion batteries.”
Unlike other zinc-based batteries that discharge in just a few hours, the newly made battery can retain its charge for a week. Additionally, the battery is stable and maintains 80 percent of its performance even over the course of 8,000 cycles.
The company has decided to refocus its HPC efforts on Falcon Shores, its successor, and its existing Gaudi accelerators.
Life is shaped by choices. The fundamental debate is whether to live life for learning or for pleasure. This weekend, my existential tension boiled down to a simple question: why am I writing my next book and my next scientific paper rather than having fun in the sun?
After some contemplation, I came up with the realization that learning is pleasure. But there is another benefit to writing. Most people will live in the future and I wish to communicate my thoughts to those who will be born long after I am gone. I weigh my priorities in life based on the number of people who might benefit from my actions.
There are currently 8.1 billion people on Earth, about 7% of the total number of humans who have ever lived since the Big Bang, 117 billion. Based on the star count from the Gaia sky survey, the number of stars in the Milky-Way galaxy is comparable to this total value within a factor of a few. This implies that for the foreseeable future, Milky-Way stars could be named after each person who ever lived on Earth.
A major breakthrough in quantum computing has been achieved with the development of ultra-pure silicon, setting the stage for the creation of powerful, scalable quantum computers.
More than 100 years ago, scientists at The University of Manchester changed the world when they discovered the nucleus in atoms, marking the birth of nuclear physics.
Fast forward to today, and history repeats itself, this time in quantum computing.
The first anomaly concerns the speed at which the Universe is expanding. Astronomers determine this in two ways and herein lies the problem: the two methods yield different values.
The obvious method is to observe galaxies (the basic building blocks of the Universe) in the nearby Universe and measure how fast they’re moving away from us. They’re scattering like pieces of cosmic shrapnel in the aftermath of the Big Bang, the titanic explosion in which the Universe was born 13.82 billion years ago.
A simple and robust strategy developed by KAUST scientists could help to improve the safety and accuracy of CRISPR gene editing, a tool that is already approved for clinical use for the treatment of inherited blood disorders.
Strongly interacting systems play an important role in quantum physics and quantum chemistry. Stochastic methods such as Monte Carlo simulations are a proven method for investigating such systems. However, these methods reach their limits when so-called sign oscillations occur. This problem has now been solved by an international team of researchers from Germany, Turkey, the USA, China, South Korea and France using the new method of wavefunction matching. As an example, the masses and radii of all nuclei up to mass number 50 were calculated using this method. The results agree with the measurements, the researchers now report in the journal “Nature.”
All matter on Earth consists of tiny particles known as atoms. Each atom contains even smaller particles: protons, neutrons and electrons. Each of these particles follows the rules of quantum mechanics. Quantum mechanics forms the basis of quantum many-body theory, which describes systems with many particles, such as atomic nuclei.
One class of methods used by nuclear physicists to study atomic nuclei is the ab initio approach. It describes complex systems by starting from a description of their elementary components and their interactions. In the case of nuclear physics, the elementary components are protons and neutrons. Some key questions that ab initio calculations can help answer are the binding energies and properties of atomic nuclei and the link between nuclear structure and the underlying interactions between protons and neutrons.
Micius is considered quantum’s “Sputnik” moment, prompting American policymakers to funnel hundreds of millions of dollars into quantum information science via the National Quantum Initiative. Bills such as the Innovation and Competition Act of 2021 have provided $1.5 billion for communications research, including quantum technology. The Biden Administration’s proposed 2024 budget includes $25 billion for “emerging technologies” including AI and quantum. Ultimately, quantum’s awesome computing power will soon render all existing cryptography obsolete, presenting a security migraine for governments and corporations everywhere.
Quantum’s potential to turbocharge AI also applies to the simmering technology competition between the world’s superpowers. In 2021, the U.S. Commerce Department added eight Chinese quantum computing organizations to its Entity List, claiming they “support the military modernization of the People’s Liberation Army” and adopt American technologies to develop “counter-stealth and counter-submarine applications, and the ability to break encryption.”
These restrictions dovetail with a raft of measures targeting China’s AI ambitions, including last year blocking Nvida from selling AI chips to Chinese firms. The question is whether competition between the world’s top two economies stymies overall progress on AI and quantum—or pushes each nation to accelerate these technologies. The answer could have far-reaching consequences.
