Computer and Internet Technology

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.

Neural networks first treat sentences like puzzles solved by word order, but once they read enough, a tipping point sends them diving into word meaning instead—an abrupt “phase transition” reminiscent of water flashing into steam. By revealing this hidden switch, researchers open a window into how transformer models such as ChatGPT grow smarter and hint at new ways to make them leaner, safer, and more predictable.

A multinational team has cracked a long-standing barrier to reliable quantum computing by inventing an algorithm that lets ordinary computers faithfully mimic a fault-tolerant quantum circuit built on the notoriously tricky GKP bosonic code, promising a crucial test-bed for future quantum hardware.

A research team has achieved the holy grail of quantum computing: an exponential speedup that’s unconditional. By using clever error correction and IBM’s powerful 127-qubit processors, they tackled a variation of Simon’s problem, showing quantum machines are now breaking free from classical limitations, for real.

Quantum computing just got a significant boost thanks to researchers at the University of Osaka, who developed a much more efficient way to create "magic states" a key component for fault-tolerant quantum computers. By pioneering a low-level, or "level-zero," distillation method, they dramatically reduced the number of qubits and computational resources needed, overcoming one of the biggest obstacles: quantum noise. This innovation could accelerate the arrival of powerful quantum machines capable of revolutionizing industries from finance to biotech.

Chalmers engineers built a pulse-driven qubit amplifier that’s ten times more efficient, stays cool, and safeguards quantum states—key for bigger, better quantum machines.

Scientists at NIST and the University of Colorado Boulder have created CURBy, a cutting-edge quantum randomness beacon that draws on the intrinsic unpredictability of quantum entanglement to produce true random numbers. Unlike traditional methods, CURBy is traceable, transparent, and verifiable thanks to quantum physics and blockchain-like protocols. This breakthrough has real-world applications ranging from cybersecurity to public lotteries—and it’s open source, inviting the world to use and build upon it.

MIT scientists have built a tiny, ultra-efficient 5G receiver that can thrive in noisy wireless environments ideal for smartwatches, wearables, and sensors that need to sip power and still stay reliably connected. The chip s unique design uses clever capacitor-switch networks and barely a milliwatt of power to block interference 30 times better than typical receivers. This tech could shrink and strengthen the next generation of smart devices.

Scientists at UBC have devised a chip-based device that acts as a "universal translator" for quantum computers, converting delicate microwave signals to optical ones and back with minimal loss and noise. This innovation preserves crucial quantum entanglement and works both ways, making it a potential backbone for a future quantum internet. By exploiting engineered flaws in silicon and using superconducting components, the device achieves near-perfect signal translation with extremely low power use and it all fits on a chip. If realized, this could transform secure communication, navigation, and even drug discovery.

Imagine supercomputers that think with light instead of electricity. That s the breakthrough two European research teams have made, demonstrating how intense laser pulses through ultra-thin glass fibers can perform AI-like computations thousands of times faster than traditional electronics. Their system doesn t just break speed records it achieves near state-of-the-art results in tasks like image recognition, all in under a trillionth of a second.

Once a global leader in chipmaking, the U.S. now lags behind. Sandia National Laboratories is spearheading a strategic comeback by joining a powerful new coalition the National Semiconductor Technology Center. Through cutting-edge research, collaborative partnerships, and workforce development, Sandia is aiming to reclaim semiconductor dominance, safeguard national security, and revolutionize tech innovation for everything from self-driving cars to AI processors.

AI has helped astronomers crack open some of the universe s best-kept secrets by analyzing massive datasets about black holes. Using over 12 million simulations powered by high-throughput computing, scientists discovered that the Milky Way's central black hole is spinning at nearly maximum speed. Not only did this redefine theories about black hole behavior, but it also showed that the emission is driven by hot electrons in the disk, not jets, challenging long-standing models.

UC San Diego engineers have created a passive evaporative cooling membrane that could dramatically slash energy use in data centers. As demand for AI and cloud computing soars, traditional cooling systems struggle to keep up efficiently. This innovative fiber membrane uses capillary action to evaporate liquid and draw heat away without fans or pumps. It performs with record-breaking heat flux and is stable under high-stress operation.

In a bold challenge to silicon s long-held dominance in electronics, Penn State researchers have built the world s first working CMOS computer entirely from atom-thin 2D materials. Using molybdenum disulfide and tungsten diselenide, they fabricated over 2,000 transistors capable of executing logic operations on a computer free of traditional silicon. While still in early stages, this breakthrough hints at an exciting future of slimmer, faster, and dramatically more energy-efficient electronics powered by materials just one atom thick.

A team of Danish and German scientists has launched a major project to create new technology that could form the foundation of the future quantum internet. They re using a rare element called erbium along with silicon chips like the ones in our phones to produce special particles of light for ultra-secure communication and powerful computing. With cutting-edge tools like lasers and nanotech, the researchers are working to make something that didn t seem possible just a few years ago: light that can both travel long distances and remember information.

Scientists have uncovered how close we can get to perfect optical precision using AI, despite the physical limitations imposed by light itself. By combining physics theory with neural networks trained on distorted light patterns, they showed it's possible to estimate object positions with nearly the highest accuracy allowed by nature. This breakthrough opens exciting new doors for applications in medical imaging, quantum tech, and materials science.

Physicists at the University of Oxford have set a new global benchmark for the accuracy of controlling a single quantum bit, achieving the lowest-ever error rate for a quantum logic operation--just 0.000015%, or one error in 6.7 million operations. This record-breaking result represents nearly an order of magnitude improvement over the previous benchmark, set by the same research group a decade ago.

A team of researchers has shown that even small-scale quantum computers can enhance machine learning performance, using a novel photonic quantum circuit. Their findings suggest that today s quantum technology isn t just experimental it can already outperform classical systems in specific tasks. Notably, this photonic approach could also drastically reduce energy consumption, offering a sustainable path forward as machine learning s power needs soar.

Despite advances in machine vision, processing visual data requires substantial computing resources and energy, limiting deployment in edge devices. Now, researchers from Japan have developed a self-powered artificial synapse that distinguishes colors with high resolution across the visible spectrum, approaching human eye capabilities. The device, which integrates dye-sensitized solar cells, generates its electricity and can perform complex logic operations without additional circuitry, paving the way for capable computer vision systems integrated in everyday devices.

Students recently unveiled their invention of a robotic actuator -- the 'muscle' that converts energy into a robot's physical movement -- that has the ability to detect punctures or pressure, heal the injury and repair its damage-detecting 'skin.'

Scientists have developed a powerful new tool for finding the next generation of materials needed for large-scale, fault-tolerant quantum computing. The significant breakthrough means that, for the first time, researchers have found a way to determine once and for all whether a material can effectively be used in certain quantum computing microchips.

Engineers have developed a real-life Transformer that has the 'brains' to morph in midair, allowing the drone-like robot to smoothly roll away and begin its ground operations without pause. The increased agility and robustness of such robots could be particularly useful for commercial delivery systems and robotic explorers.

Physicists have unveiled a breakthrough in quantum sensing by demonstrating a 2D material as a versatile platform for next-generation nanoscale vectorial magnetometry.

Miniature organs on a chip could allow us to do scientific studies with great precision, without having to resort to animal testing. The main problem, however, is that artificial tissue needs blood vessels, and they are very hard to create. Now, new technology has been developed to create reproducible blood vessels using high-precision laser pulses. Tissue has been created that acts like natural tissue.

Researchers united insights from cellular biology, quantum computing, old-fashioned semiconductors and high-definition TVs to both create a revolutionary new quantum biosensor. In doing so, they shed light on a longstanding mystery in quantum materials.

Diamond quantum sensors can be used to analyze the magnetization response of soft magnetic materials used in power electronics; report scientists based on collaborative research. Using a novel imaging technique, they developed quantum protocols to simultaneously image both the amplitude and phase of AC stray fields over a wide frequency range up to 2.3 MHz. Their results demonstrate that quantum sensing is a powerful tool for developing advanced magnetic materials across diverse applications.

Researchers developed a faster, more stable way to simulate the swirling electric fields inside industrial plasmas -- the kind used to make microchips and coat materials. The improved method could lead to better tools for chip manufacturing and fusion research.

Researchers have unveiled a breakthrough in solid-state cooling technology, doubling the efficiency of today's commercial systems. Driven by the Lab's patented nano-engineered thin-film thermoelectric materials and devices, this innovation paves the way for compact, reliable and scalable cooling solutions that could potentially replace traditional compressors across a range of industries.

Researchers demonstrated a way to to manipulate electrons using pulses of light that last less than a trillionth of a second to record electrons bypassing a physical barrier almost instantaneously -- a feat that redefines the potential limits of computer processing power.

A new AI chip works without the cloud server or internet connections needed by existing chips. The AI Pro, designed by Prof Hussam Amrouch, is modelled on the human brain. Its innovative neuromorphic architecture enables it to perform calculations on the spot, ensuring full cyber security. It is also up to ten times more energy efficient.

Researchers have developed a 3D micro-printed sensor for highly sensitive on-chip biosensing, opening new opportunities for developing high-performance, cost-effective lab-on-a-chip devices for early disease diagnosis.

Molecules like DNA are capable of storing large amounts of data without requiring an energy source, but accessing this molecular data is expensive and time consuming. Researchers have now developed an alternative method to encode information in synthetic molecules, which they used to encode and then decode an 11-character password to unlock a computer.

Location data is considered particularly sensitive -- its misuse can have serious consequences. Researchers have now developed a method that allows individuals to cryptographically prove their location -- without revealing it. The foundation of this method is the so-called zero-knowledge proof with standardized floating-point numbers.

New research shows that cyberbullying should be classified as an adverse childhood experience due to its strong link to trauma. Even subtle forms -- like exclusion from group chats -- can trigger PTSD-level distress. Nearly 90% of teens experienced some form of cyberbullying, accounting for 32% of the variation in trauma symptoms. Indirect harassment was most common, with more than half reporting hurtful comments, rumors or deliberate exclusion. What mattered most was the overall amount of cyberbullying: the more often a student was targeted, the more trauma symptoms they showed.

Listen to the first notes of an old, beloved song. Can you name that tune? If you can, congratulations -- it's a triumph of your associative memory, in which one piece of information (the first few notes) triggers the memory of the entire pattern (the song), without you actually having to hear the rest of the song again. We use this handy neural mechanism to learn, remember, solve problems and generally navigate our reality.

A multidisciplinary team of researchers has developed an artificial intelligence (AI) model that can predict acute child malnutrition in Kenya up to six months in advance. The tool offers governments and humanitarian organizations critical lead time to deliver life-saving food, health care, and supplies to at-risk areas. The machine learning model outperforms traditional approaches by integrating clinical data from more than 17,000 Kenyan health facilities with satellite data on crop health and productivity. It achieves 89% accuracy when forecasting one month out and maintains 86% accuracy over six months -- a significant improvement over simpler baseline models that rely only on recent historical child malnutrition prevalence trends.

Researchers have developed a new technique called 'Skia' to help computer processors better predict future instructions and improve computing performance.

Engineers developed a ping-pong-playing robot that quickly estimates the speed and trajectory of an incoming ball and precisely hits it to a desired location on the table.

Researchers have developed a more efficient chip as an antidote to the vast amounts of electricity consumed by large-language-model artificial intelligence applications like Gemini and GPT-4.

Our brain is a complex organ. Billions of nerve cells are wired in an intricate network, constantly processing signals, enabling us to recall memories or to move our bodies. Making sense of this complicated network requires a precise look into how these nerve cells are arranged and connected. A new method makes use of off-the-shelf light microscopes, hydrogel and deep learning.

Researchers recently connected their campuses with an experimental quantum communications network using two optical fibers.

Researchers have developed a new protocol for characterizing quantum gate errors, paving the way toward more reliable quantum simulations and fault-tolerant quantum computing.