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BWC: Man who fired shots at LAPD helicopter taken into custody after SWAT standoff

A K-9 assisted in arresting the suspect, who initially refused to drop his gun until officers fired shots at him

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Texas deputy constable working off-duty security shift ‘executed’ by suspect, chief says

Caldwell County Deputy Constable Aaron Armstrong attempted to arrest a suspect he had escorted out of the club when he was shot; he returned fire before collapsing

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Rare ‘firework morphology’ of supernova remnant Pa 30 may be due to white dwarf wind

In 1181 AD, a bright “guest star” was observed to linger in the sky for around six months. Nearly 850 years later, the likely remnants of this event were rediscovered and tentatively linked to the 1181 supernova and dubbed supernova remnant (SNR) Pa 30. Yet, this supernova remnant was unique in appearance and researchers have […]

Electrons that lag behind nuclei in 2D materials could pave way for novel electronics

One of the great successes of 20th-century physics was the quantum mechanical description of solids. This allowed scientists to understand for the first time how and why certain materials conduct electric current and how these properties could be purposefully modified. For instance, semiconductors such as silicon could be used to produce transistors, which revolutionized electronics […]

Jupiter’s moon Europa lacks the undersea activity needed to support life, study suggests

The giant planet Jupiter has nearly 100 known moons, yet none have captured the interest and imagination of astronomers and space scientists quite like Europa, an ice-shrouded world that is thought to possess a vast ocean of liquid salt water. For decades, scientists have wondered whether that ocean could harbor the right conditions for life, […]

Solving quantum computing’s longstanding ‘no cloning’ problem with an encryption workaround

A team of researchers at the University of Waterloo have made a breakthrough in quantum computing that elegantly bypasses the fundamental “no cloning” problem. The research, “Encrypted Qubits can be Cloned,” appears in Physical Review Letters.

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New report shows a 25% drop in annual LODDs

“Even one officer fatality is too many, and our ultimate goal is to have none. But we’re heartened by any decrease in those numbers,” said Bill Alexander, CEO of the NLEOMF

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Black hole shreds distant ‘super sun,’ unleashing a spectacular event known as the Whippet

A black hole has shredded a massive star like it was “preparing a snack for lunch,” according to a team of scientists at the American Astronomical Society’s annual meeting (5–8 January).

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ALMA devours cosmic ‘hamburger,’ reveals potential for giant planet formation

Have you ever found something unexpected in your hamburger? Astronomers using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) were surprised to discover the very earliest phases of giant planet formation between the dense layers of gas and dust in the “Gomez’s Hamburger” system, referred to as GoHam. This research, currently in preparation for publication, was presented […]

To understand exoplanet habitability, we need a better understanding of stellar flaring

One of the main questions in exoplanet science concerns M dwarfs (red dwarfs) and the habitability of exoplanets that orbit them. These stars are known for their prolific and energetic flaring, and that’s a problem. M dwarfs are so small that their habitable zones are in tight proximity to them, putting any potentially habitable planets […]

Stars and planets are linked together, and dust is the key to understanding how

Stars and planets are inextricably linked. They form together and stars shape the fate of planets. Stars create the dusty protoplanetary disks that give birth to planets of all kinds. And when a star dies, planets are either blown apart, swallowed, or doomed to spend an eternity in cold and darkness.

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Astronomers build molecular cloud atlas for nearby Andromeda galaxy

Astronomers from Cardiff University, UK, have employed the Combined Array for Research in Millimeter-wave Astronomy (CARMA) to explore the nearby Andromeda galaxy. Results of the observational campaign, published December 27 on the pre-print server arXiv, yield important insights into the molecular cloud system of this galaxy.

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Error-correction technology to turn quantum computing into real-world power

Ripples spreading across a calm lake after raindrops fall—and the way ripples from different drops overlap and travel outward—is one image that helps us picture how a quantum computer handles information.

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New framework unifies space and time in quantum systems

Quantum mechanics and relativity are the two pillars of modern physics. However, for over a century, their treatment of space and time has remained fundamentally disconnected. Relativity unifies space and time into a single fabric called spacetime, describing it seamlessly. In contrast, traditional quantum theory employs different languages: quantum states (density matrix) for spatial systems […]

Researchers build plasma accelerator that boosts electron energy and brightness at the same time

Researchers from the Department of Energy’s SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), have designed innovative technology that can generate both high-energy and high-brightness electron bunches in an accelerator that is a fraction of the size of current particle accelerators.

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