While quantum computers are already being used for research in chemistry, material science, and data security, most are still too small to be useful for large-scale applications. A study led by researchers at the University of California, Riverside, now shows how “scalable” quantum architectures — systems made up of many small chips working together as one powerful unit — can be made.

Kennesaw State University’s Lei Shi, an assistant professor of mechanical engineering in the Southern Polytechnic College of Engineering and Engineering Technology, is working to change how doctors diagnose and treat gastrointestinal disorders with virtual replicas of human stomachs.

On August 8, 2024, the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope captured the sharpest-ever images of a solar flare at the H-alpha wavelength (656.28 nm), revealing dark coronal loop strands in unprecedented detail. The observations, made during the decay phase of an X1.3-class flare, measured loop widths averaging 48.2 km, with some even half as narrow. By using the Inouye Solar Telescope to isolate light at the H-alpha wavelength, emitted by hydrogen atoms, solar physicists can identify fine structures in the lower solar atmosphere too small to observe in the past—offering a potential breakthrough in determining the fundamental scale of coronal loops and advancing solar flare modeling. By improving researchers’ ability to model solar flares, these observations will also improve forecasting for space weather events that are hazardous to satellites, power grids, and communications on Earth.

In the U.S., one in five of the 37 million adults who has diabetes doesn’t know it. Current methods of diagnosing diabetes and prediabetes usually require a visit to a doctor’s office or lab work, both of which can be expensive and time-consuming. Now, diagnosing diabetes and prediabetes may be as simple as breathing.  

Plants have a sophisticated internal communication system to help them optimize energy production. Now, a new study by an international team of scientists led by Penn State researchers reveals for the first time the molecular messengers that control how and when plants “breathe” and “eat,” which could have implications for agriculture.

A new study published by researchers at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa sheds light on the critical role of iron in Earth’s climate history, revealing how its sources in the South Pacific Ocean have shifted over the past 93 million years. This groundbreaking research, based on the analysis of deep-sea sediment cores, provides crucial insights into the interplay between iron, marine life, and atmospheric carbon dioxide levels.

TACC’s Lonestar6 and Corral supercomputers are aiding the development of Automatic Speech Recognition systems for children, using discrete speech units as an anonymous encoding method that strengthens privacy protections. 

Newly detected fast radio burst (FRB) is one of the brightest ever observed. Astronomers used the CHIME telescope array to triangulate the burst’s location. FRB traced to the outskirts of a star-forming region in a nearby galaxy using powerful optical telescopes. Location is accurate within just 42 light years, the most precise localization yet for a non-repeating FRB.

New research from Purdue University reveals how moisture influences atmospheric blocking, a phenomenon that often drives heat waves, droughts, cold outbreaks and floods, helping solve a mystery in climate science and improving future extreme weather predictions.