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The Photon Has Two Faces
Over at Ars Technica, Matt Francis has the scoop on a nifty new quantum interference experiment using large molecules of phthalcyanine and its derivatives. The molecules are quite large — comprised of more than 100 atoms — which means this experiment is approaching that critical threshold where quantum effects (the subatomic realm) give way to…
Quantum Computers to Model Particle Collisions
Quantum computers are still years away, but a trio of theorists has already figured out at least one talent they may have. According to the theorists, including one from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), physicists might one day use quantum computers to study the inner workings of the universe in ways that…
Origin of Intelligence, Mental Illness Linked to Ancient Genetic Accident
Scientists have discovered for the first time how humans — and other mammals — have evolved to have intelligence. Researchers have identified the moment in history when the genes that enabled us to think and reason evolved. This point, 500 million years ago, provided our ability to learn complex skills, analyze situations and have flexibility…
Skulls Engineered for Hard Knocks
The braincase of a skull may well be, as advertised, a strongly built and cleverly engineered structure, but listening to all that incessant banging coming from the direction of the crab apple tree in the garden, one has to wonder: is it really strong enough to keep a woodpecker from having the most terrible headache?…
The Presidential Debates’ Great Unmentionable: Climate Change
The Pentagon ranks it as a national security threat and, left unchecked, climate change is expected to cost the US economy billions of dollars every year – and yet it has proved the great unmentionable of this election campaign. Amid unprecedented melting of the Arctic summer sea ice, new temperature records in the US and…
Evolution at Sea: Phytoplankton Can Adapt to Ocean Acidification
Fossil fuel derived carbon dioxide has a serious impact on global climate but also a disturbing effect on the oceans, know as the other CO2 problem. When CO2 dissolves in seawater it forms carbonic acid and results in a drop in pH, the oceans acidify. A wealth of short-term experiments has shown that calcifying organisms,…