Forging a Quantum Leap in Quantum Communication

In quantum communication, the participating parties can detect eavesdropping by resorting to the fundamental principle of quantum mechanics -- a measurement affects the measured quantity. Thus, an eavesdropper can be detected by identifying traces his measurements of the communication channel leave behind. The major drawback of quantum communication is the slow speed of data transfer, limited by the speed at which the parties can perform quantum measurements. Researchers at Bar-Ilan University have devised a method that overcomes this, and enables an increase in the rate of data transfer by more than 5 orders of magnitude! This image illustrates their technique, in which they replaced electrical nonlinearity with a direct optical nonlinearity, transforming the quantum information into a classical optical signal. Credit: Bar-Ilan University

In quantum communication, the participating parties can detect eavesdropping by resorting to the fundamental principle of quantum mechanics — a measurement affects the measured quantity. Thus, an eavesdropper can be detected by identifying traces his measurements of the communication channel leave behind. The major drawback of quantum communication is the slow speed of data transfer, limited by the speed at which the parties can perform quantum measurements...

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New ‘4D Goggles’ allow wearers to be ‘Touched’ by Approaching Objects

4-D goggles developed at UC San Diego. Credit: Photo by Ching-fu Chen

4-D goggles developed at UC San Diego. Credit: Photo by Ching-fu Chen

A team of researchers at UC San Diego and San Diego State University has developed a pair of “4D goggles” that allows wearers to be physically “touched” by a movie when they see a looming object on the screen, such as an approaching spacecraft. The device was developed based on a study conducted by the neuroscientists to map brain areas that integrate the sight and touch of a looming object and aid in their understanding of the perceptual and neural mechanisms of multisensory integration...

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Astrophysicists Settle Cosmic Debate on Magnetism of Planets and Stars

This is a 3-D radiation magneto-hydrodynamic FLASH simulation of the experiment, performed on the Mira supercomputer at Argonne National Laboratory. The values demonstrate strong amplification of the seed magnetic fields by turbulent dynamo. Credit: Petros Tzeferacos/University of Chicago

This is a 3-D radiation magneto-hydrodynamic FLASH simulation of the experiment, performed on the Mira supercomputer at Argonne National Laboratory. The values demonstrate strong amplification of the seed magnetic fields by turbulent dynamo. Credit: Petros Tzeferacos/University of Chicago

Laser experiments verify ‘turbulent dynamo’ theory of how cosmic magnetic fields are created. By creating a hot turbulent plasma the size of a penny, that lasts a few billionths of a second, the researchers recorded how the turbulent motions can amplify a weak magnetic field to the strengths of those observed in our sun, distant stars, and galaxies...

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Breakthrough Technique Combats Cancer Drug Resistance

A schematic illustration of the strategy for overcoming cancer drug resistance.

A schematic illustration of the strategy for overcoming cancer drug resistance.

Researchers ‘turn off’ multi-drug resistance capabilities in cancer cells. The ability for cancer cells to develop resistance to chemotherapy drugs – known as multi-drug resistance – remains a leading cause for tumor recurrence and cancer metastasis, but recent findings offer hope that oncologists could one day direct cancer cells to “turn off” their resistance capabilities...

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