For over a decade, researchers have considered boson sampling—a quantum computing protocol involving light particles—as a key milestone toward demonstrating the advantage of quantum methods over classical computing. But while previous experiments showed that boson sampling is hard to simulate with classical computers, practical uses have remained out of reach. Now, in Optica Quantum, researchers from the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST) present the first practical application of boson sampling for image recognition, a vital task across many fields, from forensic science to medical diagnostics. Their approach uses just three ...

summary A research team led by Associate Professor Yasushi Segawa, graduate students Mai Nagase (at the time of the research) and Rui Yoshida, and technical staff member Sachiko Nakano of the Institute for Molecular Science (IMS) and SOKENDAI (The Graduate University for Advanced Studies), together with Associate Professor Takashi Hirose of Kyoto University's Institute for Chemical Research, has synthesized three-dimensionally shaped molecules containing an internal twist and shown that they possess the properties of organic semiconductors. By introducing methyl groups into a planar molecule containing several thiophene units and forcing it into a twisted conformation, ...

A collaboration spanning Europe, Australia and North America to create a cutting-edge bushfire evacuation simulator has been recognised for its contribution to fire safety.    The simulator visualises bushfire spread and people movement based on traffic congestion, weather conditions and other factors to calculate how quickly a community can escape a fire.  The award-winning team from RMIT University, Imperial College London, Canada’s National Research Council, Lund University and end-users like GHD Group, have collaborated for over eight years to develop and test the free-to-use simulation tool, ...

The question of whether Earth is alone in harboring life has captivated humanity for millennia. In recent years, scientists have turned to Earth-like planets in other solar systems that may show the most promise, but many revolve around stars that emit much stronger solar radiation than our own. Now, a new study offers evidence that life as we know it may be able to thrive on those Earth-like exoplanets.   Published June 12th in Astrobiology, the new research demonstrated that lichen found in the Mojave Desert survived for 3 months under levels ...

When pain strikes from multiple sources—such as a paper cut followed by contact with hot water—the experience can feel disproportionately intense. But is this agony merely additive, or does the brain integrate these signals in a way that amplifies suffering? Researchers have long known that pain is highly subjective and is influenced not only by the intensity of harmful stimuli but also by cognitive factors, such as instructions on how to perceive pain. However, how the brain integrates ...

Over recent centuries, the intensification of land use has caused the loss of natural sponge functions in landscapes. River straightening, bank stabilisation and embankments disrupt the natural exchange of water with the floodplains, which not only absorb and slowly release water during droughts but also provide diverse habitats, nature-based flood protection, and valuable recreational areas. Restoring wetlands is vital in addressing the climate and biodiversity crises. The "SpongeBoost" project supports policy-making, ...

A UBC Okanagan research team has developed an innovative artificial intelligence system that can accurately predict where ships are heading and arriving, potentially helping Canadian ports better prepare for incoming vessels and respond more efficiently to global supply chain disruptions. Dr. Zheng Liu, a Professor with UBCO’s School of Engineering, and doctoral student Chengkai Zhang have created TrajReducer, a framework that increases prediction accuracy and computational efficiency by analyzing ship trajectories through advanced spatial clustering and cross-dimensional metadata ranking. The ...

Living with an autoimmune disease is linked to a near doubling in the risk of persistent mental health issues, such as depression, generalised anxiety, and bipolar disorder, with these risks higher in women than in men, finds a large population-based UK study, published in the open access journal BMJ Mental Health. Chronic exposure to the systemic inflammation caused by the autoimmune disease may explain the associations found, say the researchers. A growing body of evidence suggests that inflammation is linked to mental ill health, but many of the published studies have relied on small sample sizes, limiting their statistical power, note the researchers. In a bid to overcome this, ...

The emotional demands and confrontation inherent in person-contact roles, involving direct face to face or voice to voice interaction with external parties, are linked to a heightened risk of type 2 diabetes, suggests research published online in Occupational & Environmental Medicine. And inadequate social support from managers and colleagues at work seems to amplify the magnitude of these associations, the findings indicate. Job strain, job insecurity, workplace violence and bullying, and effort–reward imbalance have all been linked ...

The annual cost of hand and wrist injuries among dog walkers in the UK is estimated to top £23 million, with women and the over 65s most at risk as a result of being pulled along on the dog leash, finds a review of the available evidence, published online in the journal Injury Prevention. Cases of dog walking injuries have been rising in recent years in tandem with an increase in dog ownership and dog walking to improve fitness, explain the researchers.  In the UK alone, there are around 8.5 million dogs–one for every seven to eight people. Despite the many cognitive and physical health benefits of dog ownership, it is not without ...

The Lancet: Life-saving childhood vaccination coverage has stalled in recent decades, leaving millions of children at risk for deadly diseases   Globally, between 1980 and 2023, vaccine coverage doubled against diseases such as diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough (pertussis), measles, polio, and tuberculosis. Additionally, there was a 75% global decline in the number of children who had never received a routine childhood vaccine (also known as zero-dose children), falling from 58.8 million in 1980 to 14.7 million ...

The American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) Magnet Recognition Program is the highest honor of excellence in nursing MD Anderson achieved its first Magnet with Distinction designation, an elite rating earned only by the world’s top-tier organizations  MD Anderson is one of 26 organizations worldwide to have earned six or more Magnet designations  MD Anderson is highlighted for its highly credentialed nursing staff, strong professional engagement and notably low turnover rate  The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center has earned its sixth Magnet designation and first Magnet ...

In a new paper with implications for preventing Alzheimer’s disease and other neurological disorders, Keith Hengen, an associate professor of biology in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, suggests a new comprehensive approach to understanding how the brain works and the rules it must follow to reach optimal performance. “There’s a common perception that the human brain is the most complicated thing in the universe,” Hengen said. “The brain is immensely powerful, but that power may arise from a relatively simple set of mathematical principles.” Hengen ...

The University of Texas at Arlington has awarded funding to research teams to launch new investigative projects. The Research Enhancement Program (REP), administered by UTA’s Office of Vice President for Research and Innovation, offers seed funding to investigators to help them test new ideas and explore new directions that could lead to future innovations and more competitive proposals for external funding from federal agencies and nonprofit foundations. In our research series, we highlight six of these grants. Researcher: Liwei Zhou, Department of Electrical Engineering, College of Engineering Project title: “Highly Accurate Micro-grid Multi-time-scale Control and Optimization ...

In 1944, Austrian physicist Erwin Schrödinger published his book What Is Life? The Physical Aspect of the Living Cell, an early landmark in an ongoing—if sometimes controversial—conversation between quantum mechanics, the weird theory that governs the microrealm, and biology. Schrödinger is one of the founding figures of quantum mechanics, having postulated his now-famed quantum equation, a century ago, in 1925. In honor of the discovery of quantum mechanics, this year has been proclaimed the International Year of Quantum Science ...

A recent study published in Engineering has shed light on a novel combination therapy for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) that significantly reduces bone destruction by targeting the m6A methylation pathway. The research, conducted by a team from the China–Japan Friendship Clinical Medical College and other institutions, explores the synergistic effects of triptolide (TP) and medicarpin (Med) in mitigating RA-associated bone erosion.   Rheumatoid arthritis is a progressive autoimmune disease characterized by chronic inflammation and bone destruction, primarily driven by the overactivation of osteoclasts (OCs). Current treatments ...

Global climate change has become one of the most pressing challenges of the 21st century. As anthropogenic CO2 emissions from fossil fuel consumption and industrial processes continue to disrupt Earth’s carbon cycle, atmospheric CO2 concentrations have reached unprecedented levels—exceeding 420 parts per million (ppm) in 2023 compared to pre-industrial 280 ppm. This rapid accumulation of greenhouse gases has resulted in measurable consequences including rising global temperatures, ocean acidification, and increased frequency of extreme weather events.   As ...

The candidate pool for engineered materials that can help enable tomorrow's cutting-edge optical technologies—such as lasers, detectors and imaging devices—is much deeper than previously believed. That's according to new research from the University of Michigan that examined a class of materials known as topological insulators. These materials have exciting and tunable properties when it comes to how they transit energy and information. "We see this as a step toward building a more versatile and ...

It is of vital importance to, on occasion, consider how little we know about the spinning rock we all live on. Take coral reefs, for example. Given how much they’ve been studied, you’d think we’ve learned just about everything about them by now. But talk to a marine biologist, and they will quickly disabuse you of this notion. “A majority of the things that are out there on coral reefs are simply unknown to us or haven’t been formally described or named,” said Catherine McFadden, a professor of life sciences at Harvey Mudd College. McFadden is ...

In a step toward treating mitochondrial diseases, researchers in the Netherlands have successfully edited harmful mutations in mitochondrial DNA using a genetic tool known as a base editor. The results, published June 24th in the open-access journal PLOS Biology, offer new hope for people with rare genetic conditions. Mitochondria, often called the powerhouses of the cell, have their own small set of DNA. Mutations in this mitochondrial DNA can lead to a wide range of maternally inherited diseases, cancer, and aging-related conditions. ...

The transition from sprawling (reptile-like) to more upright (parasagittal) posture and locomotion was a transformative event in mammalian evolution. A study published June 24th in the open-access journal PLOS Biology by Dr. Robert Brocklehurst and Professor Stephanie Pierce at Harvard University, USA and colleagues suggests that parasagittal posture evolved via an indirect, dynamic, and radiating process. Non-mammalian synapsids (tetrapod vertebrates), the ancestors of extant mammals, underwent major musculoskeletal reorganization, including ...

A trade-off between tooth size and jaw mobility has restricted fish evolution, Nick Peoples at the University of California Davis, US, and colleagues report June 24th in the open-access journal PLOS Biology. Ray-finned fish are a diverse and widespread group, representing 99% of living fish species. Two key adaptations have helped them thrive: large teeth and extendible jaws. Fish with larger teeth can access a wider range of food sources, while the ability to rapidly extend the upper jaw allows fish to hunt fast-swimming prey by using suction forces to pull them closer. However, these two innovations are rarely found in the same fish species. To find out why, ...

Researchers have discovered two new viruses in bats that are closely related to the deadly Nipah and Hendra viruses — pathogens that can cause severe brain inflammation and respiratory disease in humans. The viruses, as well as other new viruses, bacteria, and parasites identified from bat kidneys, were reported this week in the open-access journal PLOS Pathogens by Yun Feng of the Yunnan Institute of Endemic Disease Control and Prevention, China, and colleagues. Bats are natural reservoirs for a wide range ...

For over a century, scientists have puzzled over a fundamental mystery in our evolutionary history: how did mammals go from sprawling like lizards to striding like cats and dogs? This transition—from a sprawled stance (like a lizard) to an upright (parasagittal) posture—marked a pivotal moment in mammal evolution. While the earliest non-mammalian synapsids, the ancestors of living mammals, had a sprawling posture, researchers debated when and how the upright postures of modern mammals evolved. Now, a groundbreaking study in PLOS ...

An international research team led by Dr. André Marques from the Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research in Cologne, Prof. Dr. Christiane Ritz from the Senckenberg Museum of Natural History in Görlitz and Dr. Aleš Kovařík from the Institute of Biophysics of the Czech Academy of Sciences has achieved a significant breakthrough in research into the reproduction of dogrose. The study, which has now been published in the renowned journal "Nature", shows how differences in the size of the centromeres - the central docking sites for chromosomes - play a decisive role in the extraordinary chromosome inheritance ...