Trump withdraws former Okla. state trooper as nominee for ICE director

Lance Schroyer, an Oklahoma law enforcement veteran, had been selected by President Donald Trump to head the federal immigration agency

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A glimpse of the solar system’s origins: Striking details on the molecules inside a meteorite

Researchers at the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory and Brookhaven National Laboratory have teamed up to get a fresh look at the complex makeup of meteorites and glimpse into our solar system’s past.

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What kills Schrödinger’s cat? Underground experiment rules out gravity model for quantum decoherence

Somewhere between the microscopic realm of elementary particles and the macroscopic world of human beings, something strange happens: The rules of quantum physics, which work so exquisitely for tiny atoms, seem to lose their grip as objects grow larger. Pondering where and how this shift from small-scale quantum fuzziness to everyday sharp certainty happens gives rise to thought-experiment oddities like Schrödinger’s famous dead-and-alive cat. The process by which quantum phenomena like superposition—the paradoxical affliction of Schrödinger’s cat—fade into the classical reality we experience is known as decoherence.

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Real-time quantum jump in sound observed for first time

A Stanford team has documented the first direct observation of quantum jumps of sound in a mechanical resonator, completing an arc of scientific exploration that started more than 100 years ago.

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Watch: Handcuffed suspect kicks out window, escapes from back of moving cruiser

The suspect, who was 6’7”, was quickly recaptured after he kicked out a back seat window of a Houston County Sheriff’s Office pickup truck and pulled himself out feet first

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New benchmark puts quantum computers to the test and reveals their limitations

Quantum computers are no longer theoretical concepts. Today, they are being developed to tackle a range of complex problems, including exploring financial risk, modeling complex molecules and optimizing massive logistics networks. However, until now, there has been no way to benchmark the computational power of different systems on the same scale to see how they compare.

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What ancient Mars rocks reveal about its buried carbonate stores

Carbonate minerals are among the best records of past liquid water on Mars: They form when water carrying dissolved carbon dioxide reacts with rock, and their composition reflects the chemistry of both. Yet Mars has surprisingly little carbonate on its surface compared with what climate models predict, given that the planet likely had a (at least transiently) thick, CO2-rich atmosphere more than 3 billion years ago.

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Japanese supercomputer simulations may explain Webb’s Little Red Dots

Of all the discoveries from the James Webb Space Telescope, the multitude of Little Red Dots it has observed is among the most enigmatic. Now, simulations using the Japanese Supercomputer ATERUI III have explained the nature of the Little Red Dots without requiring any exotic assumptions. The simulations show that the Little Red Dots are black holes growing at a rate that would be impossible today because of conditions in the early universe.

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Black holes from stellar to supermassive size may follow one jet-launching rule

An early-career Western Australian astrophysicist has helped uncover a universal rule behind one of the most powerful behaviors in the universe: when black holes launch jets. The discovery, published in the journal Nature Astronomy, shows black holes appear to fire off powerful jets at the same critical point in their feeding cycle—whether they are about 10 times the mass of the sun or millions of times heavier.

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Diamond quantum sensors can detect heart magnetism at room temperature without skin contact

Physicists at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) have developed a technology that uses quantum sensors to measure biomagnetic signals, such as heart activity. Researchers from the DIAQNOS (DIAmond-based Quantum Sensing for NeurOSurgery) flagship project, coordinated by Dr. Arne Wickenbrock in Mainz, have demonstrated the potential of quantum technology for future medical applications.

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BWC: Man on shooting spree ambushes, wounds Minneapolis officers

Officers were attempting to approach a wounded man when the shooter appeared from behind a doorway and shot an officer; another officer was wounded as he tried to return fire

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Robotic lab sets up and runs optics experiments on demand

Every new generation of phone display, television screen and solar panel is the result of precision optics experiments, which use lasers and other light sources to measure the optical properties of candidate materials. These experiments can take months to run, requiring scientists to meticulously angle and adjust delicate light sources, mirrors, cameras and other components in a process of careful, constant tuning that can be physically tedious and time-consuming.

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Is dark matter ‘natural?’ Physicist puts the question to the test

Dark matter is one of the oldest open problems in physics. It makes up most of the matter in the universe and shapes how galaxies form and move, yet no one has ever directly detected it. Physicists have proposed dozens of candidates to explain it: exotic new particles, black holes formed moments after the Big Bang and more.

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Handheld scanner delivers lab-quality chemical composition maps using infrared light

Researchers have developed a compact, handheld mid-infrared imaging spectrometer that can produce high-resolution chemical maps of a sample without using stains or labels. With further development, the handheld device might provide a portable and easy-to-use way to map the molecular makeup of tissues and other samples.

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San Diego officers fatally shoot man who set K-9 on fire

When the man refused to surrender to San Diego Police officers, they deployed a K-9; the man then ignited an incendiary device, setting the dog on fire

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