Novel quantum refrigerator benefits from problematic noise

For quantum computers to function, they must be kept at extremely low temperatures. However, today’s cooling systems also generate noise that interferes with the fragile quantum information they are meant to protect. Now, researchers at Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden have developed an entirely new type of quantum refrigerator, which is partly driven by […]

Gravitational wave signal tests Einstein’s theory of general relativity

For those who watch gravitational waves roll in from the universe, GW250114 is a big one. It’s the clearest gravitational wave signal from a binary black hole merger to date, and it gives researchers an opportunity to test Albert Einstein’s theory of gravity, known as general relativity.

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BWC: NYPD officers shoot former cop who threatened self, others with sharp broken toilet seat in hospital

Officers spoke with the man for several minutes, deploying TASERs multiple times before the man stepped toward them, wielding the shard, prompting them to fire shots

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New Orleans PD recruit taken into custody by ICE

The recruit began the hiring process with NOPD in June 2025 and passed a background check, including screening through the FBI’s National Crime Information Center and E-Verify

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Burning satellites in the stratosphere: Emerging questions for climate

The sky is getting crowded. In the last few years, the number of satellite launches has increased by an order of magnitude as mega-constellations of internet-powering hardware crowd into low Earth orbit. The pace of both launching and retiring these units is creating new kinds of pollution, potentially upsetting the climate system and the protective […]

2D discrete time crystals realized on a quantum computer for the first time

Physical systems become inherently more complicated and difficult to produce in a lab as the number of dimensions they exist in increases—even more so in quantum systems. While discrete time crystals (DTCs) had been previously demonstrated in one dimension, two-dimensional DTCs were known to exist only theoretically. But now, a new study, published in Nature […]

Is time a fundamental part of reality? A quiet revolution in physics suggests not

Time feels like the most basic feature of reality. Seconds tick, days pass and everything from planetary motion to human memory seems to unfold along a single, irreversible direction. We are born and we die, in exactly that order. We plan our lives around time, measure it obsessively and experience it as an unbroken flow […]

How tree rings help scientists understand disruptive extreme solar storms

Scientists have long relied on tree rings to learn about ancient solar storms—rare bursts of high-energy particles from the sun that can disrupt satellites, power grids, and communication systems across the planet. When these particles hit Earth’s atmosphere, they create a radioactive form of carbon that trees absorb and store in their wood.

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Programmable terahertz vortices enable dual electric and magnetic skyrmion modes

Researchers have created an optical device that can generate both electric and magnetic vortex-ring-like light patterns. These structured light vortices, known as skyrmions, are highly stable and resistant to disturbances, making them promising for reliably encoding information in wireless applications.

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Measuring the quantum extent of a single molecule confined to a nanodroplet

There is no measurement that can directly observe the wave function of a quantum mechanical system, but the wave function is still enormously useful as its (complex) square represents the probability density of the system or elements of the system. But for a confined system, the wave function can be inferred.

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Atomic spins set quantum fluid in motion: Experimental realization of the Einstein–de Haas effect

The Einstein–de Haas effect, which links the spin of electrons to macroscopic rotation, has now been demonstrated in a quantum fluid by researchers at Science Tokyo. The team observed this effect in a Bose–Einstein condensate of europium atoms, showing that a change in magnetization causes the coherent transfer of angular momentum from atomic spins to […]

Stone circle dating to the Bronze Age found hidden in British forest

A British archaeologist recently made an incredible discovery in a forest: A 4.000-year-old stone circle, the first of its kind found in Gloucestershire, the Daily Mail reports:

“A ‘very significant’ discovery of a Bronze Age monument has been uncovered after being hidden under foliage in the Forest of Dean.

“Dating back to […]

A new method to search for ultralight dark matter with advanced optical cavities

Dark matter is a mysterious type of matter that does not emit, absorb, or reflect light, yet is predicted to account for most of the universe’s mass. While physicists have gathered extensive indirect evidence of its existence, so far dark matter has never been directly observed, thus its composition remains unknown.

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Gaia data reveal three galactic open clusters in detail

Using ESA’s Gaia satellite, astronomers have investigated three open clusters in the galactic disk, namely Berkeley 17, 18 and 39. Results of the new study, published January 21 on the arXiv pre-print server, yield crucial insights into the properties of these stellar groupings.

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Earliest launch window to ISS set for February 11: NASA

The next NASA crew rotation to the International Space Station could launch as early as the morning of February 11, the U.S. space agency said Wednesday.

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