Computer and Internet Technology

Scientists are learning to engineer light in rich, multidimensional ways that dramatically increase how much information a single photon can carry. This leap could make quantum communication more secure, quantum computers more efficient, and sensors far more sensitive. Recent advances have turned what was once an experimental curiosity into compact, chip-based technologies with real-world potential. Researchers say the field is hitting a turning point where impact may soon follow discovery.

Researchers have created microscopic robots so small they’re barely visible, yet smart enough to sense, decide, and move completely on their own. Powered by light and equipped with tiny computers, the robots swim by manipulating electric fields rather than using moving parts. They can detect temperature changes, follow programmed paths, and even work together in groups. The breakthrough marks the first truly autonomous robots at this microscopic scale.

A new chip-based quantum memory uses nanoprinted “light cages” to trap light inside atomic vapor, enabling fast, reliable storage of quantum information. The structures can be fabricated with extreme precision and filled with atoms in days instead of months. Multiple memories can operate side by side on a single chip, all performing nearly identically. The result is a powerful, scalable building block for future quantum communication and computing.

Scientists have developed molecular devices that can switch roles, behaving as memory, logic, or learning elements within the same structure. The breakthrough comes from precise chemical design that lets electrons and ions reorganize dynamically. Unlike conventional electronics, these devices do not just imitate intelligence but physically encode it. This approach could reshape how future AI hardware is built.

A new microchip-sized device could dramatically accelerate the future of quantum computing. It controls laser frequencies with extreme precision while using far less power than today’s bulky systems. Crucially, it’s made with standard chip manufacturing, meaning it can be mass-produced instead of custom-built. This opens the door to quantum machines far larger and more powerful than anything possible today.

Scientists in Japan have confirmed that ultra-thin films of ruthenium dioxide belong to a newly recognized and powerful class of magnetic materials called altermagnets. These materials combine the best of two magnetic worlds: they’re stable against interference yet still allow fast, electrical readout—an ideal mix for future memory technology.

Researchers have created a new kind of 3D computer chip that stacks memory and computing elements vertically, dramatically speeding up how data moves inside the chip. Unlike traditional flat designs, this approach avoids the traffic jams that limit today’s AI hardware. The prototype already beats comparable chips by several times, with future versions expected to go much further. Just as important, it was manufactured entirely in a U.S. foundry, showing the technology is ready for real-world production.

A new discovery shows that messy, stray light can be used to clean up quantum systems instead of disrupting them. University of Iowa researchers found that unwanted photons produced by lasers can be canceled out by carefully tuning the light itself. The result is a much purer stream of single photons, a key requirement for quantum computing and secure communication. The work could help push photonic quantum technology closer to real-world use.

Spanish researchers have created a powerful new open-source tool that helps uncover the hidden genetic networks driving cancer. Called RNACOREX, the software can analyze thousands of molecular interactions at once, revealing how genes communicate inside tumors and how those signals relate to patient survival. Tested across 13 different cancer types using international data, the tool matches the predictive power of advanced AI systems—while offering something rare in modern analytics: clear, interpretable explanations that help scientists understand why tumors behave the way they do.

Researchers have shown that quantum signals can be sent from Earth up to satellites, not just down from space as previously believed. This breakthrough could make global quantum networks far more powerful, affordable, and practical.

BISC is an ultra-thin neural implant that creates a high-bandwidth wireless link between the brain and computers. Its tiny single-chip design packs tens of thousands of electrodes and supports advanced AI models for decoding movement, perception, and intent. Initial clinical work shows it can be inserted through a small opening in the skull and remain stable while capturing detailed neural activity. The technology could reshape treatments for epilepsy, paralysis, and blindness.

A researcher from the University of Tokyo and a U.S.-based structural engineer developed a new computational form-finding method that could change how architects and engineers design lightweight and free-form structures covering large spaces. The technique specifically helps create gridshells, thin, curved surfaces whose members form a networked grid. The method makes use of NURBS surfaces, a widely used surface representation format in computer-aided design (CAD). It also drastically reduces computation cost — a task that previously took 90 hours on a high-end GPU completes in about 90 minutes on a standard CPU.

Researchers unveiled a new technique that validates quantum computer results—especially those from GBS devices—in minutes instead of millennia. Their findings expose unexpected errors in a landmark experiment, offering a crucial step toward truly reliable quantum machines.

Quantum communication is edging closer to reality thanks to a breakthrough in teleporting information between photons from different quantum dots—one of the biggest challenges in building a quantum internet. By creating nearly identical semiconductor-based photon sources and using frequency converters to sync them, researchers successfully transferred quantum states across a fiber link, proving a key step toward long-distance, tamper-proof communication.

Researchers have discovered a way to store information using a rare class of materials called ferroaxials, which rely on swirling electric dipoles instead of magnetism or charge. These vortex-like states are naturally stable and resistant to outside interference, but until now were almost impossible to control. By using circularly polarized terahertz light, scientists were able to flip these tiny rotational patterns on command, opening the door to a new form of robust, ultrafast, and long-lasting data storage.

New research shows that light’s magnetic field is far more influential than scientists once believed. The team found that this magnetic component significantly affects how light rotates as it passes through certain materials. Their work challenges a 180-year-old understanding of the Faraday Effect and opens pathways to new optical and magnetic technologies.

Researchers created scalable quantum circuits capable of simulating fundamental nuclear physics on more than 100 qubits. These circuits efficiently prepare complex initial states that classical computers cannot handle. The achievement demonstrates a new path toward simulating particle collisions and extreme forms of matter. It may ultimately illuminate long-standing cosmic mysteries.

A Princeton team built a new tantalum-silicon qubit that survives for over a millisecond, far surpassing today’s best devices. The design tackles surface defects and substrate losses that have limited transmon qubits for years. Easy to integrate into existing quantum chips, the approach could make processors like Google’s vastly more powerful.

Electrons can freeze into strange geometric crystals and then melt back into liquid-like motion under the right quantum conditions. Researchers identified how to tune these transitions and even discovered a bizarre “pinball” state where some electrons stay locked in place while others dart around freely. Their simulations help explain how these phases form and how they might be harnessed for advanced quantum technologies.

Aalto University researchers have developed a method to execute AI tensor operations using just one pass of light. By encoding data directly into light waves, they enable calculations to occur naturally and simultaneously. The approach works passively, without electronics, and could soon be integrated into photonic chips. If adopted, it promises dramatically faster and more energy-efficient AI systems.

Scientists have developed a new way to build rare-earth crystals that boosts quantum coherence to tens of milliseconds. This leap could extend quantum communication distances from city blocks to entire continents. The method uses atom-by-atom construction for unprecedented material purity.

UC Santa Barbara physicists have engineered entangled spin systems in diamond that surpass classical sensing limits through quantum squeezing. Their breakthrough enables next-generation quantum sensors that are powerful, compact, and ready for real-world use.

Stanford scientists found that strontium titanate improves its performance when frozen to near absolute zero, showing extraordinary optical and mechanical behavior. Its nonlinear and piezoelectric properties make it ideal for cryogenic quantum technologies. Once overlooked, this cheap, accessible material now promises to advance lasers, computing, and space exploration alike.

USC researchers built artificial neurons that replicate real brain processes using ion-based diffusive memristors. These devices emulate how neurons use chemicals to transmit and process signals, offering massive energy and size advantages. The technology may enable brain-like, hardware-based learning systems. It could transform AI into something closer to natural intelligence.

Engineers at the University of Delaware have uncovered a way to bridge magnetism and electricity through magnons—tiny waves that carry information without electrical current. These magnetic waves can generate measurable electric signals within antiferromagnetic materials, offering a possible foundation for computer chips that operate faster and use less power.

ETH Zurich scientists have created “MetaGraph,” a revolutionary DNA search engine that functions like Google for genetic data. By compressing global genomic datasets by a factor of 300, it allows researchers to search trillions of DNA and RNA sequences in seconds instead of downloading massive data files. The tool could transform biomedical research and pandemic response.

Researchers at Tsinghua University developed the Optical Feature Extraction Engine (OFE2), an optical engine that processes data at 12.5 GHz using light rather than electricity. Its integrated diffraction and data preparation modules enable unprecedented speed and efficiency for AI tasks. Demonstrations in imaging and trading showed improved accuracy, lower latency, and reduced power demand. This innovation pushes optical computing toward real-world, high-performance AI.

Scientists have found that mushrooms can act as organic memory devices, mimicking neural activity while consuming minimal power. The Ohio State team grew and trained shiitake fungi to perform like computer chips, capable of switching between electrical states thousands of times per second. These fungal circuits are biodegradable and low-cost, opening the door to sustainable, brain-like computing.

A wireless eye implant developed at Stanford Medicine has restored reading ability to people with advanced macular degeneration. The PRIMA chip works with smart glasses to replace lost photoreceptors using infrared light. Most trial participants regained functional vision, reading books and recognizing signs. Researchers are now developing higher-resolution versions that could eventually provide near-normal sight.

Auburn scientists have designed new materials that manipulate free electrons to unlock groundbreaking applications. These “Surface Immobilized Electrides” could power future quantum computers or transform chemical manufacturing. Stable, tunable, and scalable, they represent a leap beyond traditional electrides. The work bridges theory and potential real-world use.

Vast amounts of valuable research data remain unused, trapped in labs or lost to time. Frontiers aims to change that with FAIR² Data Management, a groundbreaking AI-driven system that makes datasets reusable, verifiable, and citable. By uniting curation, compliance, peer review, and interactive visualization in one platform, FAIR² empowers scientists to share their work responsibly and gain recognition.

Our everyday GPS struggles in “urban canyons,” where skyscrapers bounce satellite signals, confusing even advanced navigation systems. NTNU scientists created SmartNav, combining satellite corrections, wave analysis, and Google’s 3D building data for remarkable precision. Their method achieved accuracy within 10 centimeters during testing. The breakthrough could make reliable urban navigation accessible and affordable worldwide.

An international team has confirmed that large quantum systems really do obey quantum mechanics. Using Bell’s test across 73 qubits, they proved the presence of genuine quantum correlations that can’t be explained classically. Their results show quantum computers are not just bigger, but more authentically quantum. This opens the door to more secure communication and stronger quantum algorithms.

In a remarkable leap for quantum physics, researchers in Japan have uncovered how weak magnetic fields can reverse tiny electrical currents in kagome metals—quantum materials with a woven atomic structure that frustrates electrons into forming complex patterns. These reversals amplify the metal’s electrical asymmetry, creating a diode-like effect up to 100 times stronger than expected. The team’s theoretical explanation finally clarifies a mysterious phenomenon first observed in 2020, revealing that quantum geometry and spontaneous symmetry breaking are key to this strange behavior.

Researchers at Columbia have created a chip that turns a single laser into a “frequency comb,” producing dozens of powerful light channels at once. Using a special locking mechanism to clean messy laser light, the team achieved lab-grade precision on a small silicon device. This could drastically improve data center efficiency and fuel innovations in sensing, quantum tech, and LiDAR.

Diraq has shown that its silicon-based quantum chips can maintain world-class accuracy even when mass-produced in semiconductor foundries. Achieving over 99% fidelity in two-qubit operations, the breakthrough clears a major hurdle toward utility-scale quantum computing. Silicon’s compatibility with existing chipmaking processes means building powerful quantum processors could become both cost-effective and scalable.

Penn engineers have taken quantum networking from the lab to Verizon’s live fiber network, using a silicon “Q-chip” that speaks the same Internet Protocol as the modern web. The system pairs classical and quantum signals like a train engine with sealed cargo, ensuring routing without destroying quantum states. By maintaining fidelity above 97% even under real-world noise, the approach shows that a scalable quantum internet is possible using today’s infrastructure.

Toxic metals are pushing infrared detector makers into a corner, but NYU Tandon researchers have developed a cleaner solution using colloidal quantum dots. These detectors are made like “inks,” allowing scalable, low-cost production while showing impressive infrared sensitivity. Combined with transparent electrodes, the innovation tackles major barriers in imaging systems and could bring infrared technology to cars, medicine, and consumer devices.

Caltech scientists have built a record-breaking array of 6,100 neutral-atom qubits, a critical step toward powerful error-corrected quantum computers. The qubits maintained long-lasting superposition and exceptional accuracy, even while being moved within the array. This balance of scale and stability points toward the next milestone: linking qubits through entanglement to unlock true quantum computation.

Researchers at UNSW have found a way to make atomic nuclei communicate through electrons, allowing them to achieve entanglement at scales used in today’s computer chips. This breakthrough brings scalable, silicon-based quantum computing much closer to reality.

Astronomers have long relied on supercomputers to simulate the immense structure of the Universe, but a new tool called Effort.jl is changing that. By mimicking the behavior of complex cosmological models, this emulator delivers results with the same accuracy — and sometimes even finer detail — in just minutes on a standard laptop. The breakthrough combines neural networks with clever use of physical knowledge, cutting computation time dramatically while preserving reliability.

Scientists in Korea have engineered magnetic nanohelices that can control electron spin with extraordinary precision at room temperature. By combining structural chirality and magnetism, these nanoscale helices can filter spins without complex circuitry or cooling. The breakthrough not only demonstrates a way to program handedness in inorganic nanomaterials but also opens the door to scalable, energy-efficient spintronic devices that could revolutionize computing.

Artificial intelligence is consuming enormous amounts of energy, but researchers at the University of Florida have built a chip that could change everything by using light instead of electricity for a core AI function. By etching microscopic lenses directly onto silicon, they’ve enabled laser-powered computations that cut power use dramatically while maintaining near-perfect accuracy.

Like LEGO for the quantum age, researchers have created modular superconducting qubits that can be linked with high fidelity. This design allows reconfiguration, upgrades, and scalability, marking a big step toward fault-tolerant quantum computers.

Quantum scientists in Innsbruck have taken a major leap toward building the internet of the future. Using a string of calcium ions and finely tuned lasers, they created quantum nodes capable of generating streams of entangled photons with 92% fidelity. This scalable setup could one day link quantum computers across continents, enable unbreakable communication, and even transform timekeeping by powering a global network of optical atomic clocks that are so precise they’d barely lose a second over the universe’s entire lifetime.

While superconducting qubits are great at fast calculations, they struggle to store information for long periods. A team at Caltech has now developed a clever solution: converting quantum information into sound waves. By using a tiny device that acts like a miniature tuning fork, the researchers were able to extend quantum memory lifetimes up to 30 times longer than before. This breakthrough could pave the way toward practical, scalable quantum computers that can both compute and remember.

Scientists have discovered that electron spin loss, long considered waste, can instead drive magnetization switching in spintronic devices, boosting efficiency by up to three times. The scalable, semiconductor-friendly method could accelerate the development of ultra-low-power AI chips and memory technologies.

Defects in spintronic materials, once seen as limitations, may now be key to progress. Chinese researchers discovered that imperfections can enhance orbital currents, unlocking more efficient, low-power devices that outperform traditional approaches.

Researchers discovered that bees use flight movements to sharpen brain signals, enabling them to recognize patterns with remarkable accuracy. A digital model of their brain shows that this movement-based perception could revolutionize AI and robotics by emphasizing efficiency over massive computing power.

By using quantum dots and smart encryption protocols, researchers overcame a 40-year barrier in quantum communication, showing that secure networks don’t need perfect hardware to outperform today’s best systems.

Scientists may have uncovered the missing piece of quantum computing by reviving a particle once dismissed as useless. This particle, called the neglecton, could give fragile quantum systems the full power they need by working alongside Ising anyons. What was once considered mathematical waste may now hold the key to building universal quantum computers, turning discarded theory into a pathway toward the future of technology.

A research team has created a quantum logic gate that uses fewer qubits by encoding them with the powerful GKP error-correction code. By entangling quantum vibrations inside a single atom, they achieved a milestone that could transform how quantum computers scale.

Researchers have unveiled a new quantum material that could make quantum computers much more stable by using magnetism to protect delicate qubits from environmental disturbances. Unlike traditional approaches that rely on rare spin-orbit interactions, this method uses magnetic interactions—common in many materials—to create robust topological excitations. Combined with a new computational tool for finding such materials, this breakthrough could pave the way for practical, disturbance-resistant quantum computers.

Cornell engineers have built the first fully integrated “microwave brain” — a silicon microchip that can process ultrafast data and wireless signals at the same time, while using less than 200 milliwatts of power. Instead of digital steps, it uses analog microwave physics for real-time computations like radar tracking, signal decoding, and anomaly detection. This unique neural network design bypasses traditional processing bottlenecks, achieving high accuracy without the extra circuitry or energy demands of digital systems.

Scientists have developed a lightning-fast AI tool called HEAT-ML that can spot hidden “safe zones” inside a fusion reactor where parts are protected from blistering plasma heat. Finding these areas, known as magnetic shadows, is key to keeping reactors running safely and moving fusion energy closer to reality.

Quantum computing may one day outperform classical machines in solving certain complex problems, but when and how this “quantum advantage” emerges has remained unclear. Now, researchers from Kyoto University have linked this advantage to cryptographic puzzles, showing that the same conditions that allow secure quantum cryptography also define when quantum computing outpaces classical methods.

Researchers at Harvard have created a groundbreaking metasurface that can replace bulky and complex optical components used in quantum computing with a single, ultra-thin, nanostructured layer. This innovation could make quantum networks far more scalable, stable, and compact. By harnessing the power of graph theory, the team simplified the design of these quantum metasurfaces, enabling them to generate entangled photons and perform sophisticated quantum operations — all on a chip thinner than a human hair. It's a radical leap forward for room-temperature quantum technology and photonics.

Aalto University physicists in Finland have set a new benchmark in quantum computing by achieving a record-breaking millisecond coherence in a transmon qubit — nearly doubling prior limits. This development not only opens the door to far more powerful and stable quantum computations but also reduces the burden of error correction.

Researchers at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities have made a promising breakthrough in memory technology by using a nickel-tungsten alloy called Ni₄W. This material shows powerful magnetic control properties that can significantly reduce energy use in electronic devices. Unlike conventional materials, Ni₄W allows for "field-free" switching—meaning it can flip magnetic states without external magnets—paving the way for faster, more efficient computer memory and logic devices. It's also cheap to produce, making it ideal for widespread use in gadgets from phones to data centers.

A groundbreaking step in AI hardware efficiency comes from Germany, where scientists have engineered a vast spin waveguide network that processes information with far less energy. These spin waves quantum ripples in magnetic materials offer a promising alternative to power-hungry electronics.