`Universal` Programmable Two-Qubit Quantum Processor Created

by mokosam on November 18, 2009

Physicists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have demonstrated the first "universal" programmable quantum information processor able to run any program allowed by quantum mechanics — the rules governing the submicroscopic world — using two quantum bits (qubits) of information. The processor could be a module in a future quantum computer, which [...]

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Tiny Bubbles Clean Oil from Water

November 18, 2009

Small amounts of oil leave a fluorescent sheen on polluted water. Oil sheen is hard to remove, even when the water is aerated with ozone or filtered through sand. Now, a University of Utah engineer has developed an inexpensive new method to remove oil sheen by repeatedly pressurizing and depressurizing ozone gas, creating microscopic bubbles [...]

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Birds Lose Color Vision in Twilight

November 18, 2009

Research at the Lund University Vision Group can now show that the color vision of birds stops working considerably earlier in the course of the day than was previously believed, in fact, in the twilight. Birds need between 5 and 20 times as much light as humans to see colors.
It has long been known that [...]

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New Climate Treaty Could Put Species at Risk, Scientists Argue

November 18, 2009

Plans to be discussed at the forthcoming UN climate conference in Copenhagen to cut deforestation in developing countries could save some species from extinction but inadvertently increase the risk to others, scientists believe.
A team of eleven of the world`s top tropical forest scientists, coordinated by the University of Leeds, warn that while cutting clearance of [...]

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Finding a Protective Mechanism for Retinal Cells Could Save Sight

November 18, 2009

Determining what triggers the death of retinal cells, called photoreceptors, could hold the key to stopping blinding disorders caused by a wide range of eye diseases, Yale School of Medicine researchers report in the November journal Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science.
Several blinding disorders are known to cause the breakdown of photoreceptors. Caroline Zeiss, associate professor [...]

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Disease-Matching Software Could Save Children

November 18, 2009

By matching children with rare or life-threatening diseases and modelling potential disease progression, researchers hope to find new routes forward.
Software tools are being developed that can search and compare patient data at hospitals across Europe to find children with closely matched conditions. The doctors can then study how the matched patients at other hospitals were [...]

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Young Athletes Need Dual Screening Tests for Heart Defects, Study Suggests

November 18, 2009

To best detect early signs of life-threatening heart defects in young athletes, screening programs should include both popular diagnostic tests, not just one of them, according to new research from heart experts at Johns Hopkins.
Sudden cardiac death due to heart rhythm disturbances is blamed for more than 3,000 deaths a year in young people, especially [...]

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Volatile Gas Could Turn Rwandan Lake Into a Freshwater Time Bomb

November 18, 2009

A dangerous level of carbon dioxide and methane gas haunts Lake Kivu, the freshwater lake system bordering Rwanda and the Republic of Congo.
Scientists can`t say for sure if the volatile mixture at the bottom of the lake will remain still for another 1,000 years or someday explode without warning. In a region prone to volcanic [...]

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Shape of Things to Come: Structure of HIV Coat Could Lead to New Drugs

November 17, 2009

Structural biologists at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine have described the architecture of the complex of protein units that make up the coat surrounding the HIV genome and identified in it a "seam" of functional importance that previously went unrecognized. Those findings, reported today in Cell, could point the way to new treatments [...]

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Thinking of a Loved One Can Reduce Your Pain

November 17, 2009

Can the mere thought of your loved one reduce your pain? Yes, according to a new study by UCLA psychologists that underscores the importance of social relationships and staying socially connected.
The study, which asked whether simply looking at a photograph of your significant other can reduce pain, involved 25 women, mostly UCLA students, who had [...]

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