Quantum technologies are poised to transform fields ranging from medicine and sensing to computing and communications by manipulating the energy states of atoms and molecules. These manipulations are achieved by controlling quantum states with laser pulses.
So far, quantum computers have been held back by their extreme sensitivity to errors and external disturbances. The longer a quantum operation takes, the greater the risk of computational errors.
As tiny as they are, marine plankton play pivotal roles in biogeochemical cycles and sustaining aquatic ecosystems, producing around half of the oxygen on Earth and also acting as carbon sinks. When they die, their decomposing cells produce dissolved organic carbon that can be transformed and stored in the ocean for thousands of years, so understanding plankton mortality is essential for uncovering the mechanisms behind marine ecosystems.
Peatlands store large amounts of carbon. However, when they are drained, they can become substantial sources of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide (CO₂).
In the transformation toward sustainability, the interests of societal, economic and political actors often clash, making conflict inevitable. Understanding these dynamics and learning how to engage with them constructively is therefore crucial.
Tiny manufacturing imperfections in optical components normally go unnoticed. Yet they can alter light in surprisingly significant ways. An international research team led by TU Darmstadt has shown that such imperfections can affect not only polarization—the direction in which light oscillates—but also the spatial shape of a light beam.
A recent study coordinated by the University of Helsinki tracked the populations of 100 bird species across Finnish protected areas. Cold-dwelling species fared better in large protected areas, while the same species saw much steeper declines in smaller ones.
For years, scientists have relied primarily on radio imaging from techniques like very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) to study jets from the active galactic nuclei of supermassive black holes. This allows for the detection of broad, unresolved features, called components, moving at what appear to be faster-than-light speeds. However, traditional imaging has poor resolution and treats each observation as a separate snapshot in time, limiting information about how the features move.
Glioblastoma is one of the most aggressive and treatment-resistant brain cancers known to medicine, carrying a median survival of just 12–15 months, even with the best available care.
Researchers at University of Tsukuba have discovered that the crystal structure of zirconia nanoparticles remains stable under uniform pressure applied from all directions but changes under anisotropic pressure. This unique property is expected to lead to new technologies for detecting and evaluating pressure anisotropy, which has been difficult to assess using conventional methods.
A firm handshake used to be all a job candidate needed to make a good first impression, but today a growing number of firms are relying on artificial intelligence to screen applicants.
Harmful algal blooms pose serious threats to people, animals and the environment. The University of Toledo's Dr. Jeanine Refsnider counts it as a positive discovery that northern map turtles tend to steer clear, as she and an undergraduate collaborator recently reported in the Journal of Great Lakes Research.
Vaping isn't just annoying to passersby who have to walk through clouds of vapor but may be actively harmful to the environment, a new study says. Discarded nicotine vapes contain extremely high levels of lead and other heavy metals in their remaining cache of e-liquid, researchers report in the journal Environmental Monitoring and Assessment.
A research team at the University of Vienna led by physicist Jani Kotakoski demonstrates how the shape of nanopores in hexagonal boron nitride—the electrically insulating counterpart to graphene, also known as "white graphene"—can be precisely controlled at the atomic level.
Artificial intelligence is changing work in Ireland for the better, according to a new study led by Taha Yasseri, Workday Professor of Technology and Society at Trinity's School of Social Sciences & Philosophy.
In early 2017 and 2023, California experienced two catastrophic and record-breaking floods that caused billions of dollars in damage, triggered mudslides and forced thousands of people to evacuate. Why this happened left scientists scratching their heads. Both disasters struck during La Niña conditions, which normally bring drier-than-normal weather to California.
The sun is capable of great things. In massive eruptions, it repeatedly hurls particles and radiation into space. This solar bombardment can be dangerous for technical infrastructure on Earth: For example, satellites and transformers in substations can be damaged.
If you read about AI, you'll find a widespread belief: When people don't want to use AI, it's because they're afraid or just don't understand it. They're afraid of losing their jobs or of change generally. Or they don't understand the technology, so they can't see the benefits. They're stuck in the past.
Tiny flowers trapped in amber around 15 million years ago are offering scientists a rare glimpse into the plant life of a tropical rainforest in what is now Southeast China. Researchers have studied two exceptionally well-preserved fossil flowers from the Zhangpu flora.
New research from The Earthshot Prize and the University of Exeter's Green Futures Solutions team, published today, reveals 51 environmental solutions that can trigger rapid, transformative change to repair our planet within the next five years. After a northern summer of extreme heat and fire, and as the world prepares for an unprecedented El Niño, the research provides a new, unifying agenda for positive action.