entangled dot cloud
MIT engineers develop a magnetic transistor for more energy-efficient electronics
Transistors, the building blocks of modern electronics, are typically made of silicon. Because it’s a semiconductor, this material can control the flow of electricity in a circuit. But silicon has fundamental physical limits that restrict how compact and energy-efficient a transistor can be.MIT researchers have now replaced silicon with a magnetic semiconductor, creating a magnetic transistor that could enable smaller, faster, and more energy-efficient circuits. The material’s magnetism strongly
Scientists “bottle the sun” with a liquid battery that stores solar energy
Scientists at UC Santa Barbara have created a remarkable new material that works like a “rechargeable solar battery,” storing sunlight inside tiny molecules and releasing it later as heat — even long after the sun goes down. Inspired by reversible changes found in DNA and photochromic sunglasses, the system captures solar energy without relying on bulky batteries or the electrical grid. The molecule can hold energy for years and packs more energy per kilogram than lithium-ion batteries.
Physicists Have Measured ‘Negative Time’ in the Lab
Photons traveling straight through a cloud of gas appear to exit, on average, before they enter. As Homer tells us, Odysseus made an epic journey, against the odds, from Troy to his home in Ithaca. He visited many lands, but mostly dwelt with the nymph Calypso on her island.We can imagine that his wife, Penelope, would have asked him about that particular time. Odysseus might have replied, “It was nothing. In fact, it was less than nothing. Negative five years I dwelt with Calypso. How else coul
Arena AI Model ELO History
Hi HN,I built a live tracker to visualize the lifecycle and performance changes of flagship AI models.We've all experienced the phenomenon where a flagship model feels amazing at launch, but weeks later, it suddenly feels a bit off. I wanted to see if this was just a feeling or a measurable reality, so I built a dashboard to track historical ELO ratings from Arena AI.Instead of a massive spaghetti chart of every single model variant, the logic plots exactly ONE continuous curve per major AI
Immune cells in the blood drive cognitive ageing — blocking them improves memory
<p>Nature, Published online: 14 May 2026; <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-026-01531-7">doi:10.1038/d41586-026-01531-7</a></p>Old T cells secrete an enzyme that can impair brain function in mice.
Two from MIT named 2026 Knight-Hennessy Scholars
MIT master’s student Sunshine Jiang ’25 and Rupert Li ’24 are recipients of this year’s Knight-Hennessy Scholarship. Now in its ninth year, the highly competitive scholarship provides up to three years of financial support for graduate studies at Stanford University. Sunshine Jiang ’25Sunshine Jiang, from Hangzhou, China, graduated from MIT in 2025 with a bachelor’s degree as a double major in physics and electrical engineering and computer science, along with minors in mathematics an
Mathematical analysis reveals a hidden 'golden rule' in abstract art
A mathematical method borrowed from topology can reveal structural properties of visual art that correspond to how people perceive and respond to them, according to a new study published in PLOS Computational Biology by Jacek Rogala of the University of Warsaw, Poland, Shabnam Kadir of the University of Hertfordshire, UK, and colleagues.
Mathematicians prove existence of Kaleidocycles then unlock their exact motion
Kaleidocycles are flexible polyhedral structures composed of rigid tetrahedra connected along their edges to form rotating rings. Each tetrahedron is a solid 3D polygon with four triangular faces (like a triangular pyramid), and the hinges connect neighboring units, enabling a smooth rotational motion of the ring without deforming the individual pieces. These mechanisms are often compared with the bubble rings blown by dolphins.
String theory is uniquely derived from basic assumptions about the universe, physicists show
If you could take an apple and break it into smaller and smaller parts, you would find molecules, then atoms, followed by subatomic particles like protons and the quarks and gluons that make them up. You might think you hit the bottom, but, according to string theorists, if you keep going to even smaller scales—about a billion billion times smaller than a proton—you will find more: tiny vibrating strings.
After 100 years, scientists finally uncover hidden rule behind cosmic rays
Scientists studying mysterious ultra-powerful cosmic rays have uncovered a surprising hidden pattern that could finally help explain where these particles come from. Using the DAMPE space telescope, researchers found that cosmic ray particles—from tiny protons to heavy iron nuclei—all begin fading away more sharply at the exact same point, hinting at a universal rule governing their behavior across the galaxy.
Scientists discover hidden math secret inside Chinese money plant leaves
Scientists have uncovered a hidden mathematical secret inside the leaves of the Chinese money plant: a naturally occurring geometric pattern known as a Voronoi diagram, something typically associated with city planning, computer science, and network design. By mapping tiny pores and looping veins in the plant’s leaves, researchers discovered that the plant organizes itself using the same kind of elegant spatial logic humans use to solve complex distance problems — without ever “measuring” anythi
Consortium to Build Quantum-Enabled ‘Brain-on-Chip’ Platform for Neurological Drug Discovery and Screening
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA, March 3, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — Chromos Labs, Tessara Therapeutics, Quantum Brilliance, Axol Biosciences, and the University of Melbourne ...
Establishing the Foundations of Quantum Information Science
Charles H. Bennett and Gilles Brassard on the collaboration that led them to the 2025 ACM A.M. Turing Award.
Deadly “red sky” solar storm from 800 years ago discovered in ancient trees
Researchers in Japan traced a hidden medieval solar storm using ancient tree rings and centuries-old sky observations. The team linked reports of eerie red auroras with spikes of carbon-14 trapped in buried wood, revealing a powerful solar radiation event around 1200 CE. The findings suggest the Sun was far more active at the time, with unusually short solar cycles.
Earth is flying through ancient supernova debris and scientists found the evidence in Antarctic ice
Earth is quietly collecting radioactive debris from an ancient stellar explosion as our Solar System drifts through a giant cloud of gas and dust between the stars. Scientists analyzing Antarctic ice up to 80,000 years old discovered traces of iron-60 — a rare isotope forged in supernova explosions — and found evidence that this “cosmic ash” has been lingering inside the Local Interstellar Cloud for ages. The discovery suggests the cloud surrounding our Solar System was shaped by a long-ago expl
Scientists discover a mysterious asteroid breaking apart near the Sun
A newly discovered meteor stream may be the smoking gun of an asteroid slowly disintegrating under the Sun’s intense heat. Scientists say these fiery streaks across the night sky could reveal hidden near-Earth asteroids that telescopes struggle to detect.
In quantum gravity, the cosmological constant may behave similar to the quantum Hall effect
Trying to solve quantum gravity is frustrating. We have made tremendous progress in quantum theory, but it seems that every time we find a new quantum technique, there's a reason it doesn't quite work with gravity. Take, for example, the case of quantum fluctuations and renormalization.
No more NYT cooperation: my dog-rape red line
Over the years, I’ve written two op-eds for The New York Times about quantum computing, at the NYT editors’ invitation:Quantum Computing Promises New Insights, Not Supermachines (2011)Why Google’s Quantum Supremacy Milestone Matters (2019)I’ve also visited the NYT office and helped NYT reporters with numerous stories about quantum computing and beyond. In the wake of Cade Metz’s hatchet job against the rationalist community, I resolved no longer to talk to Metz, bu
Long-term editing of brain circuits using an engineered electrical synapse
<p>Nature, Published online: 13 May 2026; <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-026-10501-y">doi:10.1038/s41586-026-10501-y</a></p>Connexin proteins found in white perch fish were used to engineer synthetic electrical synapses, enabling precision circuit editing in mammals.
Mesoscale atomic engineering in a crystal lattice
<p>Nature, Published online: 13 May 2026; <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-026-10431-9">doi:10.1038/s41586-026-10431-9</a></p>Electron-beam control enables deterministic placement of tens of thousands of atomic defects in three-dimensional crystals, creating stable, programmable artificial matter for scalable quantum and nanoscale technologies.