Physicists at Yale University have taken another significant step in the development of quantum computing, a new frontier in computing that promises exponentially faster information processing than the most sophisticated computers of today.
In research published online this month in the journal Nature, the Yale physicists demonstrate the most basic form of quantum error correction — a way to compensate for quantum computing’s intrinsic susceptibility to errors. Developing technology to correct these errors on the fly is a necessary step for fully realizing quantum computers. (more…)
COLLEGE PARK, Md. – Though cellphones are usually considered devices that connect people, they may make users less socially minded, finds a recent study from the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business.
Marketing professors Anastasiya Pocheptsova and Rosellina Ferraro, with graduate student, Ajay T. Abraham, conducted a series of experiments on test groups of cellphone users. The findings appear in their working paper, The Effect of Mobile Phone Use on Prosocial Behavior. (more…)
*Four new reports examine the contaminants polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) found in house dust, streams, lakes, soil, and air*
Coal-tar-based sealants are emitting polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) into the air at rates that may be greater than annual emissions from vehicles in the United States, according to new reports by the U.S. Geological Survey, published in the scientific journals Chemosphere and Atmospheric Environment.(more…)
Genetic information provided by a large group of specially designed mice could pave the way to faster human health discoveries and transform the ways people battle and prevent disease.
In 15 papers published Feb. 16 in the Genetics Society of America journals Genetics and G3:Genes/Genomes/Genetics, researchers from North Carolina State University, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, The Jackson Laboratory and other universities and labs across the globe highlight a new genetic resource that could aid development of more effective treatments for any number of human diseases. (more…)
*Go behind the scenes with msnNOW, a new service that provides up-to-the-minute updates on breaking news, trends, and social conversations.*
REDMOND, Wash. – It was a story that everyone hoped wasn’t true. On Saturday, Feb. 11, the day before the Grammys, Twitter and Facebook posts reported that one of the music industry’s once brightest stars, Whitney Houston, had died. Variations on the hashtag #RIPwhitney filled the top trending spots on Twitter. Facebook feeds were filled with memories of the late singer’s music – a first kiss, a first dance or first song ever bought. And YouTube exploded with videos of Houston’s past performances.
An hour or so after reports of the singer’s death began appearing via social media sites, the mainstream media began reporting confirmations of her death. As the day progressed, the major cable news stations began reading celebrity tweets aloud memorializing the singer and encouraging readers to visit their Facebook fan pages to join in the discussion. (more…)
*Ayanna Gregory celebrates heroes of civil rights movement*
Wearing a mauve-colored dress with flared sleeves that flowed with each dance step, soul singer, educator and activist Ayanna Gregory celebrated the history of the American civil rights movement with an evening of song and spoken word before an enthusiastic audience on Wednesday evening, Feb. 15, in the Gore Recital Hall of the University of Delaware’s Roselle Center for the Arts.
During her performance, “Daughter of the Struggle,” Gregory recalled what it was like growing up as one of 10 children of Lillian and Dick Gregory, the standup comedian who used his comic skills to tell Americans that segregation and racial bigotry were no laughing matter. (more…)
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — As a carrier of as many as 100 types of germs, the common house fly is hardly as innocuous as its name might suggest.
Military personnel know this firsthand, and their need for effective fly control has helped University of Florida researchers create an innovative new fly control device. (more…)
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Water-associated infectious disease outbreaks are more likely to occur in areas where a region’s population density is growing, according to a new global analysis of economic and environmental conditions that influence the risk for these outbreaks.
Ohio State University scientists constructed a massive database containing information about 1,428 water-associated disease outbreaks that were reported between 1991 and 2008 around the world. By combining outbreak records with data on a variety of socio-environmental factors known about the affected regions, the researchers developed a model that can be used to predict risks for water-associated disease outbreaks anywhere in the world. (more…)
