Berkeley Lab team models parton showers using a quantum algorithm. A team of researchers at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) used a quantum computer to successfully simulate an aspect of particle collisions that is typically neglected in high-energy physics experiments, such as those that occur at CERN’s Large Hadron Collider. The quantum algorithm they developed accounts for the complexity of parton showers, which are complicated bursts of particles produced in the collisions that involve particle production and decay processes….
Fast and energy-efficient future data processing technologies are on the horizon after an international team of scientists successfully manipulated magnets at the atomic level. Physicist Dr Rostislav Mikhaylovskiy from Lancaster University said: “With stalling efficiency trends of current technology, new scientific approaches are especially valuable. Our discovery of the atomically-driven ultrafast control of magnetism opens broad avenues for fast and energy-efficient future data processing technologies essential to keep up with our data hunger.” Magnetic materials are heavily used in modern…
Using observations from NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), an international team of astronomers has discovered a trio of hot worlds larger than Earth orbiting a much younger version of our Sun called TOI 451. The system resides in the recently discovered Pisces-Eridanus stream, a collection of stars less than 3% the age of our solar system that stretches across one-third of the sky. The planets were discovered in TESS images taken between October and December 2018. Follow-up studies of…
Simulation of non-Hermitian quantum mechanics using a quantum computer goes beyond centuries old conventions. Aalto researchers have used an IBM quantum computer to explore an overlooked area of physics, and have challenged 100 year old cherished notions about information at the quantum level. The rules of quantum physics – which govern how very small things behave – use mathematical operators called Hermitian Hamiltonians. Hermitian operators have underpinned quantum physics for nearly 100 years but recently, theorists have realized that it…
Lipids are the building blocks of a cell’s envelope – the cell membrane. In addition to their structural function, some lipids also play a regulatory role and decisively influence cell growth. This has been investigated in a new study by scientists at Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU). The impact of the lipids depends on how they are distributed over the plasma membrane. The study was published in “The Plant Cell”. If plant cells want to move, they need to grow….
Knowledge on how cells communicate is an important key to understanding many biological systems and diseases. A research team led by researchers at the University of Gothenburg has now used a unique combination of methods to map the mechanism behind cellular communication. Their findings can potentially improve understanding of the underlying mechanism behind type 2 diabetes. We know that human communication is important, but communication between the cells in our bodies is just as vital. The processes where cells synchronize…
Findings on cancer medication reveal protein regulation mechanism Immunomodulatory drugs, including the Contergan derivatives lenalidomide and pomalidomide, have significantly improved the therapy of hematologic malignancies such as multiple myeloma. Researchers at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) have now further decoded the mode of action in this class of medications. At the same time, they identified new innovative targeted cancer therapies. The drug thalidomide was sold as a sedative under the trade name Contergan in the 1950s and 1960s. At…
Bacteria can survive antibiotic treatment even without antibiotic resistance by slowing down their metabolism and going into a type of deep sleep. A research team funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation reveals the changes bacteria undergo to reach this “persister” state. Resistant bacteria evade the effects of antibiotics by becoming less susceptible, for example by breaking the drugs down. But some bacteria have another survival strategy: they withstand treatment by going into a sleep-like state that enables them to…
Brain enzyme activates dormant neural stem cells Researchers studying an enzyme in fruit fly larvae have found that it plays an important role in waking up brain stem cells from their dormant ‘quiescent’ state, enabling them to proliferate and generate new neurons. Published in the journal EMBO Reports, the study by Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore, could help clarify how some neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism and microcephaly occur. Quiescent neural stem cells in the fruit fly larval brainPr-set7 is an…
Getting around without the need to concentrate on every step is something most of us can take for granted because our inner ears drive reflexes that make maintaining balance automatic. However, for about 1.8 million adults worldwide with bilateral vestibular hypofunction (BVH) — loss of the inner ears’ sense of balance — walking requires constant attention to avoid a fall. Now, Johns Hopkins Medicine researchers have shown that they can facilitate walking, relieve dizziness and improve quality of life in…
Scientists of the Universities of Zurich and Cambridge, associated with the Swiss National Centre of Competence in Research PlanetS, suggest a new explanation for the abundance in intermediate-mass exoplanets – a long-standing puzzle of Astronomy. In the last 25 years, scientists have discovered over 4000 planets beyond the borders of our solar system. From relatively small rock and water worlds to blisteringly hot gas giants, the planets display a remarkable variety. This variety is not unexpected. The sophisticated computer models,…
Neutrons show effective lithium and electrolyte distribution in lithium-ion cells. In our smartphones, our computers and in our electric cars: We use rechargeable lithium-ion batteries everywhere. But their capacity drops after a while. Now a German-American research team has investigated the structure and functionality of these batteries using neutron diffraction: They discovered that the electrolyte fluid’s decomposition products capture mobile lithium in the battery and that the distribution of lithium within the cell is surprisingly uneven. The outstanding characteristics of…
The light side of the Force A group of researchers from the Fritz Haber Institute of the Max Planck Society and the Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin have found out that semiconductors can be converted to metals and back more easily and more quickly than previously thought. This discovery may increase the processing speed and simplify the design of many common technological devices. From smartphones to computer processors – much of the technology we nowadays use heavily features transistors. They connect many…
Service robots can help ensure that buildings and means of transport are cleaned and disinfected regularly and with consistently high quality. Since October 2020, twelve institutions of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft have been working on the development of new technologies for this field of application. Led by Fraunhofer IPA, the partners are pooling their expertise in the »Mobile Disinfection” (MobDi) research project to contribute to a safe »New Normal« in times of pandemic. The project is part of the »Fraunhofer vs. Corona«…
… between machines, plants and cloud systems thanks to Time Sensitive Networking Being able to reliably and safely control and regulate highly dynamic production systems still appears to be a challenge for many companies. Edge and cloud systems are gaining in importance, but even today there is still a lack of appropriate equipment and infrastructure to integrate existing machines and plants into digital IT landscapes in accordance with the industrial requirements. To this end, the Fraunhofer Institute for Production Technology…
Mobile laboratory for rapid detection of SARS-CoV-2 for Africa The PCR test is the most accurate tool to identify SARS-CoV-2. However, valid results are often available only after days. Moreover, the laboratory must be well equipped, have trained personnel and sufficient financial resources. All of this is usually a problem in Africa. A portable suitcase could help. In cooperation with several African universities, scientists at Leipzig University have found that this mini-laboratory provides test results that are almost as good…
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