The universe may be trapped in its own comfort zone, and a researcher in the College of Engineering and Computer Science has helped explain why it cannot seem to leave. A new study suggests the universe could be locked into its current state by the same kinds of quantum effects that scientists study when trying to preserve fragile information inside a quantum computer.

The paper, titled “Cosmic Lockdown: When Decoherence Saves the Universe from Tunneling,” has been accepted for publication in the Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics.

It was written by Gregory Kaplanek, a postdoctoral researcher working in the lab of Jason Pollack, an assistant professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, along with four c...

For millions of people, osteoarthritis slowly breaks down the joints, bringing pain, swelling and stiffness that make free movement harder with time. It is largely a condition of age, with 73% of those living with it older than 55. For years, the wear and tear that comes with aging and physical trauma was considered a major driver of the disease. A recent study published in Science, however, points to a metabolic disease that is also highly common among this demographic as a contributing factor in osteoarthritis progression.

A look at national health data from 36,820 Korean adults ages 45 and older revealed that high blood pressure was linked to osteoarthritis, with stronge...

Astronomers have discovered the first example of a second-generation planet orbiting a white dwarf, a world that appears to have formed from the remains of the dead star it now orbits.

A team of astronomers led by the University of Warwick has identified the first second-generation planet ever found around a white dwarf. While similar “reborn” worlds have been suspected to exist around pulsars, this discovery shows that a second generation of planets can form around this much more common stellar remnant.

First author Jamie Williams, a Ph.D. student in the Department of Physics at the University of Warwick, said, “Second-generation planets are worlds that form out of the material a star casts off as it dies...

Treatment for obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), a mental health condition characterized by distressing, uncontrollable thoughts and repetitive behaviors, has centered on psychotherapy and medication to curb symptoms. New research identifying a previously unknown brain circuit involved in OCD could be a key step toward treatments that target specific brain regions to better control the condition.

Published in the journal Neuron and led by Joshua L. Plotkin, Ph.D...