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Physicists just found a tiny glitch in time itself

Quantum physics may place a fundamental limit on clock precision, hinting that time itself is not perfectly precise. Unconventional quantum theories may imply that time itself has a tiny fundamental uncertainty, placing an ultimate limit on how precisely any clock could measure it. The effect is far beyond current detection, but it could reveal a hidden connection between quantum mechanics, gravity, and spacetime.

Quantum mechanics has always challenged our everyday understanding of reality. In the quantum world, particles can exist in a superposition of states, meaning they can occupy multiple possible positions or configurations at the same time. Physicists describe these possibilities mathematically using a wavefunction.

That picture is very different from ordinary life, wher...

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Spaceflight could change how astronauts swallow, eat and drink in subtle ways

Keeping your food from floating away in space is only half the battle. NASA via Getty Images

Imagine trying to swallow a sip of water while your face feels stuffed with congestion, your sense of taste is dulled and your body is floating 250 miles (400 kilometers) above Earth.

That scenario is part of everyday life for astronauts aboard the International Space Station.

Spaceflight changes the human body in dramatic ways. Muscles shrink, bones lose density and bodily fluids shift toward the head. Astronauts often return with puffy faces, stuffy noses and a feeling similar to a lingering cold. When you’re congested, you might have more difficulty swallowing—but does microgravity also affect this important body function?

As a speech-language pathologist and researcher who studi...

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How quantum circuits based on neutral atoms could find and fix errors

Quantum computers, devices that process information by leveraging the laws of quantum mechanics, have been found to outperform classical computers in some advanced tasks. Instead of storing information in the form of classical binary bits (i.e., 0 or 1), quantum computers rely on quantum bits (i.e., qubits), which can also exist in combinations of 0 and 1 states.

Despite their potential, quantum computers are known to be highly prone to errors. This is because qubits are very sensitive to heat, magnetic fields and other changes in their surroundings, which can disrupt the delicate quantum states they rely on to store and process data.

Researchers at Princeton University recently introduced a new approach for developing quantum computers that make fewer errors and whose errors ar...

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In search of life beyond our solar system: Atmosphere detected on a habitable-zone rocky world

First atmosphere detected on a habitable-zone rocky world
In this artist’s concept, the exoplanet LHS 1140 b is shown in the foreground, surrounded by a helium-rich atmosphere. Another nearby rocky planet orbits the same cool red dwarf star in the distance. A new study provides the strongest evidence yet that LHS 1140 b has retained an atmosphere, representing a milestone step toward the discovery of Earth-like rocky planets beyond our solar system. Credit: Melissa Weiss/CfA

In a major milestone in the search for life on other planets, astronomers have detected, for the first time, an atmosphere surrounding an Earth-like, rocky planet orbiting within the habitable zone of another star...

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