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Submission + - Quantum algorithm beats classical tools on complement sampling tasks (phys.org)

Submitted by alternative_right
alternative_right writes: A team of researchers working at Quantinuum in the United Kingdom and QuSoft in the Netherlands has now developed a quantum algorithm that solves a specific sampling task—known as complement sampling—dramatically more efficiently than any classical algorithm. Their paper, published in Physical Review Letters, establishes a provable and verifiable quantum advantage in sample complexity: the number of samples required to solve a problem.

"We stumbled upon the core result of this work by chance while working on a different project," Harry Buhrman, co-author of the paper, told Phys.org. "We had a set of items and two quantum states: one formed from half of the items, the other formed from the remaining half. Even though the two states are fundamentally distinct, we showed that a quantum computer may find it hard to tell which one it is given. Surprisingly, however, we then realized that transforming one state into the other is always easy, because a simple operation can swap between them."

Submission + - 40,000-year-old Stone Age symbols may have paved the way for writing, long befor (phys.org)

Submitted by alternative_right
alternative_right writes: Over 40,000 years ago, our early ancestors were already carving signs into tools and sculptures. According to a new analysis by linguist Christian Bentz at Saarland University and archaeologist Ewa Dutkiewicz at the Museum für Vor- und Frühgeschichte (Museum of Prehistory and Early History) in Berlin, these sign sequences have the same level of complexity and information density as the earliest proto-cuneiform script that emerged tens of thousands of years later, around 3,000 B.C.E.

Submission + - Oldest Fossilized Butthole Found in 290-Million-Year-Old Reptile (sciencealert.com)

Submitted by alternative_right
alternative_right writes: The fossil hails from the sedimentary Goldlauter Formation in Germany's Thuringian Forest Basin, and an analysis of the impression left behind shows it was made by a reptile about 9 centimeters (3.5 inches) in length.

In the mud, it left a clear impression of what appears to be belly scales, structures made of hard keratin that act as armor. But the real showstopper is at the base of the tail, where modified scales surround a vent-like opening – what appears to be a cloaca.

It smashes the previous record, a Psittacosaurus butthole dated to around 120 million years ago, and now represents "the earliest fossil record of a cloacal vent in amniotes", the researchers write in their paper, supporting long-held views that the cloaca was present in early reptiles.

Submission + - Colorado Senate Bill Would Require Apple and Google to Embed ID Checks in OSes (reclaimthenet.org)

Submitted by alternative_right
alternative_right writes: Colorado’s latest attempt to regulate minors’ online access differs from its predecessors. Senate Bill 26-051 doesn’t target adult websites directly. Instead, it targets the operating system sitting on your phone.

The bill, currently before the Senate Committee on Business, Labor, and Technology with a hearing scheduled for February 24, would require operating system providers to collect your date of birth when you create an account.

By moving enforcement to the operating system layer, lawmakers are targeting a genuine chokepoint. Apple and Google control the operating systems, app stores, account infrastructure, and software distribution pipelines for virtually every smartphone. Requiring age signals at that layer means a defined compliance target with a limited number of companies to regulate.

The desktop web doesn’t offer that. Browser-based access spans millions of independently operated sites across multiple jurisdictions. There’s no single point of control. Any law that tried to impose universal age verification across the open web would require something far more radical, either mandatory identity verification for internet access, which would end anonymous browsing entirely, or rely on parental controls, which already exist and remain optional.

Submission + - Cosmic Radiation Coincides With Viral Epidemics on Earth (researchsquare.com)

Submitted by alternative_right
alternative_right writes: Global viral outbreak dynamics exhibit statistically robust, multi-scale synchronization with Galactic Cosmic Ray (GCR) variability. While GCRs are unlikely to act as direct causal agents, they may function as environmental timing cues or permissive triggers that modulate viral emergence or ecological susceptibility windows. Incorporation of heliophysical indicators as contextual environmental risk modi ers may enhance early-warning systems and global outbreak preparedness when integrated with conventional epidemiological surveillance frameworks.

Submission + - Robot clean-up crews tackle litter on Europe's seabed (phys.org)

Submitted by alternative_right
alternative_right writes: EU researchers are developing AI-guided robot fleets to take over the dangerous, dirty work of finding and removing marine litter from the sea floor. A ship with a crane floats in the Mediterranean sun at a marina in Marseille, France. The crane whirs as it hauls waste from the seabed and, when the wire breaks the surface, the gripper at the end is clutching a rubber tire covered in algae.

Submission + - Lion DNA helps convict poachers for first time (bbc.com)

Submitted by alternative_right
alternative_right writes: Lion DNA has been used to successfully prosecute poachers for the first time in the world, it has emerged.

Wildlife crime experts have only just revealed how they were able to identify the individual animal from body parts found in a suspect's village, as they matched a profile on Zimbabwe's lion database.

A blood sample had previously been taken from the male lion, which was being tracked by authorities in Hwange National Park — using a radio collar.

Submission + - Atom-thin electronics withstand space radiation for centuries (phys.org)

Submitted by alternative_right
alternative_right writes: Atom-thick layers of molybdenum disulfide are ideally suited for radiation-resistant spacecraft electronics, researchers in China have confirmed. In a study published in Nature, Peng Zhou and colleagues at Fudan University put a communications system composed of the material through a gauntlet of rigorous tests—including the transmission of their university's Anthem—confirming that its performance is barely affected in the harsh environment of outer space.

Submission + - GDPR is legal junk (thecritic.co.uk)

Submitted by alternative_right
alternative_right writes: For the uninitiated, GDPR (or General Data Protection Regulation) is the reason you are constantly bombarded with "accept cookies" pop-ups. It was designed, with a quintessentially German scepticism of corporate power, to give you control over your digital footprint, ensuring companies cannot hoard your data without permission.

But, while intended as a necessary check on privacy, it has instead fueled a burgeoning industry of litigation-funded class actions, costing businesses billions and making the UK a less attractive place to do business. The growth of group litigation in the UK and Europe has been exponential, with claimant law firms and litigation funders pursuing novel claims that previously would not have been economically feasible.

There's no doubt that you’ve seen the adverts: "Did you shop at the Co-op?", "Were you a Southern Water customer?", "Did you have an M&S Sparks card?", "Claim your compensation now." These are the fruits of a newly empowered litigation industry — the product of beefed-up GDPR rules.

Companies absolutely should prioritise consumer privacy. But these rules must be measurable and achievable. Right now, these class action lawsuits are often driven by lawyers in search of claimants, exploiting minor mishaps to secure a payout rather than addressing a genuine grievance.

Submission + - DNA Mutations Discovered in The Children of Chernobyl Workers (sciencealert.com)

Submitted by alternative_right
alternative_right writes: Rather than picking out new DNA mutations in the next generation, they looked for what are known as clustered de novo mutations (cDNMs): two or more mutations in close proximity, found in the children but not the parents. These would be mutations resulting from breaks in the parental DNA caused by radiation exposure.

"We found a significant increase in the cDNM count in offspring of irradiated parents, and a potential association between the dose estimations and the number of cDNMs in the respective offspring," write the researchers in their published paper.

Submission + - Brain inspired machines are better at math than expected (sciencedaily.com)

Submitted by alternative_right
alternative_right writes: Neuromorphic computers modeled after the human brain can now solve the complex equations behind physics simulations — something once thought possible only with energy-hungry supercomputers. The breakthrough could lead to powerful, low-energy supercomputers while revealing new secrets about how our brains process information.

Submission + - Old galaxies in a young universe? (phys.org)

Submitted by alternative_right
alternative_right writes: The fact that some of these galaxies might be older than the universe within some significant confidence level is even more challenging.

The most extreme case is for the galaxy JADES-1050323 with redshift 6.9, which has, according to my calculation, an age incompatible to be younger than the age of the universe (800 Myr) within 4.7-sigma (that is, a probability that this happens by chance as statistical fluctuation of one in one million).

If this result is confirmed, it would invalidate the standard Lambda-CDM cosmological model. Certainly, such an extraordinary change of paradigm would require further corroboration and other stronger evidence.

Submission + - Quantum Teleportation Was Performed Over The Internet For The First Time (sciencealert.com)

Submitted by alternative_right
alternative_right writes: In 2024, a quantum state of light was successfully teleported through more than 30 kilometers (around 18 miles) of fiber optic cable amid a torrent of internet traffic – a feat of engineering once considered impossible.

The impressive demonstration by researchers in the US may not help you beam to work to beat the morning traffic, or download your favorite cat videos faster.

However, the ability to teleport quantum states through existing infrastructure represents a monumental step towards achieving a quantum-connected computing network, enhanced encryption, or powerful new methods of sensing.

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