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    Researchers reverse the flow of time on IBM’s Quantum Computer

    March 15, 2019, Categories  Physics

    Reversing flow of time concept (stock image).
    Credit: © Ivelin Radkov / Fotolia

    Quantum simulation gives a sneak peek into the possibilities of time reversal. An international team of scientists led by the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory returned a computer briefly to the past. It suggests new paths for exploring the backward flow of time in quantum systems. They also open new possibilities for quantum computer program testing and error correction.

    To achieve the time reversal, the research team developed an algorithm for IBM’s public quantum computer that simulates the scattering of a particle. In classical physics, this might appear as a billiard ball struck by a cue, traveling in a line...

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    Astronomers discover 83 Supermassive Black Holes in the Early Universe

    March 15, 2019, Categories  Astronomy/Space

    Astronomers from Japan, Taiwan and Princeton University have discovered 83 quasars powered by supermassive black holes in the distant universe, from a time when the universe was less than 10 percent of its present age. In this photograph taken by the Hyper-Suprime Camera on the Subaru Telescope on Maunakea, light shines from one of the most distant quasars known, powered by a supermassive black hole lying 13.05 billion light-years away from Earth. The other objects in the field are mostly stars in our Milky Way or galaxies along the line of sight.
    Credit: Image courtesy of the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan

    Subaru Telescope spots 13-billion-year-old quasars powered by black holes...

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    Danger of Vitamin B12 Deficiency

    March 14, 2019, Categories  Health/Medical, Biology/Biotechnology

    Rice University researchers found vitamin B12 promotes survival during infection by improving mitochondrial health. The expression of a fluorescent protein (top left) reflects buildup of a toxic metabolic product, propionate, in mitochondria on diets low in B12, as compared (bottom left) to those receiving sufficient B12. Mitochondrially targeted fluorescent protein (center) reveals fragmentation of mitochondria when B12 is low, and dead worms stained with fluorescent dye (bottom right) demonstrate the decreased survival rate of worms infected by the pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa.
    Credit: Natasha Kirienko/Rice University

    Direct link between low-B12 diet, increased risk of infection...

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    Bat Flight Model can Inspire Smarter, Nimbler Drones

    March 14, 2019, Categories  Physics, Technology/Electronics

    When a bat wing flaps, it forms swirling masses of air known as vortex rings
    Credit: University of British Columbia

    Engineers have captured the full complexity of bat flight in a 3D computer model for the first time, potentially inspiring the future design of better drones and other aerial vehicles. Bats are among nature’s best flyers – able to fly for long periods of time, maneouvre in mid-air with pinpoint precision and get into some very tight spaces. However, scientists have not fully understood exactly how bats manage to fly so well, until now.

    Engineers at the University of British Columbia have captured the full complexity of bat flight in a 3D computer model for the first time, potentially inspiring the future design of better drones and other aerial vehicles.

    Researcher...

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