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New multiplexing scheme accelerates long-distance quantum communication

Quantum networks, systems consisting of multiple connected nodes or devices that can transmit quantum information to one another, have the potential to advance future communications. These networks typically leverage entanglement, a quantum phenomenon that prompts two or more distant particles to become highly correlated, so that measuring one instantly affects the state of the other.

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Private mission launches to extend life of out-of-gas communication satellites

A two-armed space robot blasted off on a private salvage operation Tuesday to slap life-extending jetpacks on old satellites running low on fuel thousands of miles up.

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Electyrolyzer experiment designated ready-to-fly by NASA

A Southwest Research Institute and University of Texas at San Antonio experiment has passed a critical NASA review, designating it ready for parabolic flight testing. The two institutions will evaluate the performance of a patent-pending electrolyzer, the Mars Atmospheric Reactor for Synthesis of Consumables (MARS-C), in partial-gravity environments.

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Does dark energy really exist? Our work identifies cracks in the foundations of today’s cosmological model

According to current understanding, the universe is expanding—and is doing so at an accelerating rate. This is believed to be caused by something called the cosmological constant, which was first proposed by Albert Einstein in his theory of general relativity. In recent decades, it has become better known as dark energy, which is believed to make up about 70% of the universe.

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Mysterious gas ‘bullets’ race from Milky Way’s only known helium nova at up to 20 million mph

Mysterious high-speed “bullets”—clumps of possibly oxygen-rich gas traveling at up to 20 million miles per hour—have been discovered shooting out of the rarest stellar explosion in our galaxy.

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New technique enables LIGO to peer farther into the distant universe

Scientists at the University of California, Riverside, have developed a new way to help gravitational-wave observatories see farther into the universe by solving one of their biggest challenges: tiny heat-induced distortions in the massive mirrors at the heart of the detectors.

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Black hole jet may be stirring gas cloud containing early ‘red potato’ galaxy

A black hole may be stirring a “pot” of gas containing a neighboring galaxy in the early universe, according to a new study published in Astronomy & Astrophysics that used observations from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory. The galaxy slowly being “cooked” is named MQN01 J004131.9-493704, but astronomers have nicknamed it the “red potato” because of its appearance in images from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope.

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US-India satellite delivers data, reveals ‘hummingbird’ in Antarctica

As of July 20, the public can access data from the two powerful radar instruments aboard the NISAR (NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar) satellite. Teams in the United States and India will release files processed from the satellite’s L-band and S-band radars on an ongoing basis, helping researchers and other users track the movement of Earth’s land and ice masses, monitor changes in ecosystems like forests and wetlands and respond to natural hazards such as landslides and earthquakes.

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New simulation challenges leading explanation for why galaxies stop forming stars

For decades, astronomers have cast galaxy mergers as the universe’s ultimate relationship drama: two galaxies collide, chaos erupts, black holes awaken and star formation comes to a screeching halt. Upending this long-held belief, new research from Florida International University suggests most galaxies don’t “die” in spectacular cosmic pileups after all.

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Jellyfish nebula may be the scene of two stars going supernova

The star that formed the Jellyfish nebula may have had a partner star that exploded 100,000 years earlier, according to international researchers, who say that this may be the first known discovery of a binary star system in which both stars have gone supernova.

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Two-color lasers aim electron currents through semiconductor with no electric field

Researchers at the University of Michigan have created a device that enables them to control the flow of electrons through a semiconductor using only laser light—no electrical power source required. The device was built to explore fundamental physics and realize a previously unobserved behavior, but it could also open doors for new applications in areas that bridge optics and electronics, including sensing, imaging and telecommunications.

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Quantum sensing microscope illuminates transistor design

Artificial intelligence faces an energy crisis stemming from a physical traffic jam inside modern computer chips. Processors must continually shuffle data, such as the billions of parameters in complex models, between separate computing and memory nodes. This traffic jam, known as the “von Neumann bottleneck,” hinders the speed and energy efficiency of advanced processors.

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BWC: Conn. officer shoots man to stop him from mercilessly beating father with baseball bat

The Meriden Police officer had to fire nearly 20 rounds before the suspect stopped the ultimately fatal attack

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Federal judge dismisses DOJ lawsuit targeting Minn. immigration laws

Chief U.S. District Judge Eric Tostrud rejected the DOJ’s claims that Minnesota’s laws unfairly target federal agents and inhibit them from carrying out immigration work

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New radio-burst method helps locate universe’s missing ordinary matter

Stars and galaxies make up much of the universe’s ordinary, observable matter. But for decades, scientists have wrestled with a cosmic conflict: There should be much more.

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