To build a large-scale quantum computer that works, scientists and engineers need to overcome the spontaneous errors that quantum bits, or qubits, create as they operate. Scientists encode these building blocks of quantum information to suppress errors in other qubits so that a minority can operate in a way that produces useful outcomes. As the number of useful (or logical) qubits grows, the number of physical qubits required grows even further. As this scales up, the sheer number of qubits needed to create ...

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — If an extraterrestrial intelligence were looking for signs of human communications, when and where should they look? In a new study, researchers at Penn State and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California analyzed when and where human deep space transmissions would be most detectable by an observer outside our solar system and suggest that the patterns they see could be used to guide our own search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI). “Humans are predominantly communicating with the spacecraft and probes we have ...

University of Arizona researchers devised a new method to deliver cancer chemotherapy drugs to pancreatic and breast cancer tumors more effectively and with less damage to healthy tissues than standard forms of chemotherapy. The paper was published today in Nature Cancer. The research team’s new formulation of the drug paclitaxel may help overcome some common limitations of chemotherapy drugs, setting the stage for a promising new platform for treating cancer and other diseases. “Paclitaxel is potent and kills cancer cells, but to unleash its full therapeutic potential, we have to address its toxicity,” ...

In a first-of-its-kind study, researchers found that the brain’s control center for a lost appendage can persist long after surgical amputation, which stands in stark contrast to longstanding theories about the brain’s ability to reorganize itself, also known as plasticity. Scientists from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and their colleagues examined human brain activity before and after arm amputation and found that the loss of a limb does not prompt a large-scale cerebral overhaul. Published in the journal Nature Neuroscience, ...

Heat-stressed Victorian mountain ash forests are thinning fast, turning from carbon sinks to carbon sources, new research reveals. Published in Nature Communications, the research shows forests will lose a quarter of their trees by 2080 due to global warning. Mountain ash forests are currently one of Earth’s most effective ecosystems for storing carbon – they store more carbon per hectare than the Amazon. But researchers say these forests will store less carbon in the future as warming causes more trees to die and decompose. Scientists from the Universities of Melbourne and ...

A deeper look into carbon flux is now possible — thanks to a deep pool of scientific collaboration. And for once, the spotlight is on Asia. Led by researchers at Osaka Metropolitan University, a collaborative team of researchers from Japanese institutions has introduced JapanFlux2024, the first large-scale open dataset of its kind for Asia. It details how terrestrial ecosystems across Japan and neighboring regions absorb and release carbon dioxide (CO2), offering a long-awaited foundation for understanding Asia’s role in the global carbon cycle. Across Asia’s diverse landscapes—from ...

LGBTQIA+ college students living in conservative US states have reported far worse mental health than their counterparts in more liberal areas in a national study. Analysis of a survey—carried out prior to the latest Republican term—uncovered this group, who fell within an age bracket of 18 to 25, were considerably more likely to describe themselves as being anxious, depressed, and suicidal. The new report, published today in the Journal of American College Health, also revealed LGBTQIA+ students in conservative states were also more likely to feel afraid that something ...

With climate change and more frequent extreme weather events, researchers predict that global yields of important crops like maize, rice, and soybeans could decline by 12 to 20% by the end of the century. To prepare, plant scientists are hoping to find ways to improve yields and grow hardier varieties of these crops. New insights into the genetic makeup of wild varieties of common crops show how domestication has changed crop traits over time and propose a new cultivation method to improve genetic diversity. The research was shared in a paper published in Life on July 11. “While domesticated species have originally been bred by cultivating wild species, the resulting reduction in genetic ...

Introducing Sustainable Carbon Materials—a new peer-reviewed, open-access journal dedicated to advancing fundamental and applied research on carbon-based materials!  As a multidisciplinary global platform, we foster innovation in this rapidly expanding field by publishing high-impact reviews, original research, rapid reports, perspectives, commentaries, and correspondence. Broad Scope Includes: ✅ Synthesis & characterization of graphene, nanotubes, fullerenes & more ✅ Physical/chemical properties for electronics, optics, and spintronics ✅ Energy applications (batteries, ...

RIVERSIDE, Calif. -- When companies are acquired, conventional wisdom suggests that employee nostalgia for their pre-buyout days is a problem to be eliminated so workers can more quickly adapt to the new owners’ ways of doing business. A new study published in the journal Strategic Organization led by UC Riverside School of Business professors Boris Maciejovsky and Jerayr Haleblian suggests this thinking is wrong—especially when the new owners want to retain the most talented, productive, and informed workers. Nostalgia, they found, serves as a comforting and stabilizing force during takeover periods, when employees feel vulnerable, fear ...

Individuals should be held accountable for “ecocide,” the most serious acts of environmental destruction, argue experts in The BMJ today. And they say the UK should take on a leadership role by adopting legislation of its own to criminalise ecocide and inspiring other nations to protect our planet. The term “ecocide” was coined in 1970 by biologist Arthur Galston, who condemned the large scale environmental devastation caused during the Vietnam War, they explain. Fifty years on, as the world grapples with the escalating consequences of climate change, including sea level rises and biodiversity ...

Many direct to consumer menopause services are unnecessary and do not improve care, warn experts in The BMJ today. They argue that the sharp rise in commercial services for women seeking relief for menopausal symptoms raises concerns about the reliability and potential commercial bias of the information, and that symptoms are best assessed by a thorough clinical history with treatment decisions guided by clinical response and patient preferences. One of the most troubling trends arising from this surge is the promotion of routine ...

Parents are spending thousands of pounds to bank stem cells from their children’s milk teeth – but the recipient companies’ claims about their future medical value are unproven and potentially misleading, reveals an investigation by The BMJ, published today. The companies’ claims include that stem cells banked from teeth are already being used in treatments for autism and diabetes. They also highlight current research using stem cells in multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, and heart attacks. Tooth stem cell ...

The world will warm more than expected due to future changes in ozone, which protects Earth from harmful sun rays but also traps heat as it is a greenhouse gas.  While banning ozone-destroying gases such as CFCs has helped the ozone layer to recover, when combined with increased air pollution the impact of ozone could warm the planet 40% more than originally thought.   A new study led by the University of Reading found that from 2015 to 2050, ozone is expected to cause 0.27 watts ...

The complex 3D shapes of brains, lungs, eyes, hands, and other vital bodily structures emerge from the way in which flat 2D sheets of cells fold during embryonic development. Now, researchers at Columbia Engineering have developed a novel way to use light to influence an animal's own proteins in order to control folding in live embryos. These new findings, detailed Aug. 18 in Nature Communications, may one day lead to a host of applications in biorobotics and medical research. "Being able to precisely control the shape of folds in tissue sheets ...

In a towering aquarium in a darkened laboratory, moon jellyfish (Aurelia aurita) hover as if floating in space. The glow of neon lights illuminates their translucent, bell-shaped bodies as they expand and contract rhythmically, their graceful tentacles flowing in wavelike patterns. CU Boulder engineer Nicole Xu watches them with fondness. Xu, an assistant professor in the Paul M. Rady Department of Mechanical Engineering, first became fascinated with moon jellies more than a decade ago because of their ...

Atmospheric waves from a massive 2022 South Pacific volcanic eruption created seismic waves that penetrated Earth to at least 5 kilometers in Alaska, creating an opportunity to employ an unusual method of peering into the state’s deep subsurface. Ken Macpherson, a scientist at the University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute, and other researchers analyzed the coupling of atmospheric pressure waves with the ground to determine the speed at which seismic waves travel through Alaska’s upper crust.  Subsurface material properties such as hardness, which controls seismic velocity, can ...

PHILADELPHIA (August 20, 2025) – A new publication highlights the success of an international partnership working to strengthen nursing and midwifery in the Caribbean. “Fostering International Collaborations to Inform Nursing and Midwifery Policy: A Caribbean Initiative,” appears in the International Nursing Review. It was led by Penn Nursing’s Eileen T. Lake, PhD, RN, FAAN, the Edith Clemmer Steinbright Professor in Gerontology, with Carmen Alvarez, PhD, CRNP, CNM, FAAN, Associate Professor of Nursing, serving as co-author. The initiative was created to support ...

Jeffrey Carson spent more than a decade persuading hospitals that fewer, resource-saving blood transfusions work just as well as more frequent transfusions for most patients. More recently, the Rutgers internist finished a massive study that indicates a major exception to the rule: anemic heart attack patients. That work, published in late 2023 in the New England Journal of Medicine and reinforced by a combined analysis of patients from several studies this past winter, underpins a just-published recommendation from the Association for the Advancement of ...

In 1995, scientists translocated eight Texas pumas into Florida in a genetic restoration effort to save the only viable puma population east of the Mississippi from extinction, the Florida panther. The move raised concerns about harmful mutations and genetic swamping — or loss of unique traits. However, a recent study co-authored by UCF Assistant Professor of Biology and Genomics and Bioinformatics faculty cluster member Robert Fitak, found that since the introduction, genetic variation has significantly improved; unique traits have been retained; and harmful mutations, while still present, are largely masked by the restored ...

A new study finds that a high-salt diet triggers brain inflammation that drives up blood pressure. The research, led by McGill University scientist Masha Prager-Khoutorsky in collaboration with an interdisciplinary team at McGill and the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre, suggests the brain may be a missing link in certain forms of high blood pressure – or hypertension – traditionally attributed to the kidneys. “This is new evidence that high ...

A trusted and essential resource for more than four decades, Laboratory Guide for Identification of Plant Pathogenic Bacteria returns in a fully updated fourth edition. This guide remains the most authoritative reference for plant pathologists, diagnosticians, and students who need to accurately identify bacterial plant pathogens using both conventional and cutting-edge methods. Each chapter is authored by leading experts and provides a holistic, comprehensive overview of the genus or genera, including characteristics useful for identification, isolation techniques, and molecular, ...

It’s been a long-accepted reality that with age comes increased inflammation – so widely accepted it’s been dubbed “inflammaging.” With this increase in age-related chronic inflammation also comes serious health concerns, such as cardiovascular disease and Alzheimer’s. But according to new research, inflammaging isn’t as universal of an experience as previously thought. Published today in Proceedings of Royal Society B, “Inflammaging is minimal among forager-horticulturalists in the Bolivian Amazon,” the work highlights little inflammaging in one non-industrialized ...

At UC Berkeley, researchers in Sergey Levine’s Robotic AI and Learning Lab eyed a table where a tower of 39 Jenga blocks stood perfectly stacked. Then a white-and-black robot, its single limb doubled over like a hunched-over giraffe, zoomed toward the tower, brandishing a black leather whip. Through what might have seemed to a casual viewer like a miracle of physics, the whip struck in precisely the right spot to send a single block flying out from the stack while the rest of the tower remained structurally sound. This task, known as ...

Woods Hole, Mass. (August 20, 2025) -- A newly published study challenges long-held assumptions about the origins of urban civilization in ancient Mesopotamia, suggesting that the rise of Sumer was driven by the dynamic interplay of rivers, tides, and sediments at the head of the Persian Gulf. Published today in PLOS ONE, the study, Morphodynamic Foundations of Sumer, is led by Liviu Giosan, Senior Scientist Emeritus in Geology & Geophysics at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), and Reed Goodman, Assistant Professor of Environmental Social Science at Baruch Institute of Social Ecology and Forest Science (BICEFS), Clemson ...