Backing up information on quantum computers is tricky RUSLANAS BARANAUSKAS/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY/Alamy In quantum mechanics, the idea that quantum information can’t be duplicated is ironclad – or at least, it was. A surprising approach to backing up qubits, the basic units of quantum computers, appears to allow a sidestepping of this fundamental law of physics….
Some caterpillars speak ant by rocking to a beat. By jiggling like a cellphone receiving a call while on vibrate, the caterpillars cozy up to ants, reaping benefits for them both. The findings, published February 25 in the Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, suggest that the ability to keep a beat might be…
Mathematicians just made a big leap forward on one of the field’s all-time favorite problems. Curves—squiggly lines through space, such as a comet’s trajectory or a stock market trend—are some of math’s simplest objects. But even though they have been studied for thousands of years, mathematicians still have some basic questions about them left unanswered….
Killhouse Academy, run by the 3rd Assault Brigade, is Ukraine’s leading drone-pilot school. Its R&D chief (pictured) is known as Shark Mykhaylo Palinchak The grinding, attritional war between Russia and Ukraine is now entirely dominated by drones. Russia pummels Ukraine with long-range kamikaze aircraft and Ukraine knocks them out of the sky with specialised interceptors….
February 24, 2026 2 min read Add Us On GoogleAdd SciAm Horses whinny by making sounds in a unique way that is not seen in other animals The distinctive sound horses produce when they whinny is created by combining low and high pitch sounds together, like grunting and whistling at the same time By Jackie…
An illustration of the molecule rapamycin, which may aid extend your life, but then again, may not Science Photo Library The longevity benefits of fasting or taking rapamycin are more like a lottery than a sure bet. The interventions were linked to a robustly extended lifespan less than a year ago, but a reanalysis of…
The invasion of Ukraine has stymied healthcare services, allowing diseases such as HIV to spread unchecked. The rate of contagion has been difficult to gauge. But now, using a van equipped with portable research gear, virologist Ganna (Anna) Kovalenko is probing the hidden threat that HIV poses in the war-torn country. HIV has been spreading…
From skating to curling, the thrilling sports of the Winter Olympics have plenty of science behind them. Follow our coverage here to learn more. Downhill skier Lindsey Vonn has won plaudits not only for her ability in her sport but also for her capacity to endure. By committing to compete despite tearing her anterior cruciate…
Orcas may be at risk of predation by other orcas Francois Gohie/VWPics/Alamy Biologists have seen signs of orca-on-orca predation in the North Pacific, and such cannibalism may explain why some orcas travel in large family groups. Two distinct subspecies of orcas, also called killer whales (Orcinus orca), are found in the North Pacific. Transient or…
A monkey making a meal of a squirrel may have sparked an outbreak. In early 2023, mpox broke out among a group of a few dozen sooty mangabeys (Cercocebus atys) living in Côte d’Ivoire’s Taï National Park. Roughly one-third of the monkeys developed symptoms such as skin lesions and four infants died. Surveys of the park’s wildlife…
