Researchers have achieved a significant breakthrough with spin qubits, a less developed quantum computing approach. The advance improves their coherence and scalability, closing the gap with leading qubit technologies. This matters because spin qubits could enable more practical and manufacturable quantum computers.

A new analysis reveals that during the 1930s and 1940s, very few Black households received mortgages insured by the US government, largely due to discriminatory policies. This exclusion systematically denied Black families access to homeownership and wealth-building opportunities. The findings underscore how historical federal practices contributed to today's persistent racial wealth gap.

Researchers are exploring the use of engineered algal blooms to capture atmospheric carbon dioxide through large-scale ocean fertilization. The approach could help mitigate climate change, but it raises serious environmental and ethical concerns about unintended ecological impacts. The debate centers on whether this geoengineering technique can be deployed responsibly.

A new survey of geoglyphs and earthworks in the Amazon rainforest reveals that the region's pre-Columbian population was much larger than previously estimated. The findings challenge long-held assumptions about the Amazon being a pristine wilderness untouched by human settlement. This suggests sophisticated societies actively shaped the landscape long before European contact.

Researchers have developed a new method called Raygun that enables the miniaturization and modification of natural proteins. This approach allows for the design of smaller, more stable proteins with altered functions, which could significantly advance drug development and synthetic biology applications.

Researchers using lidar technology have identified over 20,000 previously unknown precolonial earthworks across southwest Amazonia. These structures, including ditched enclosures and geometric earthworks, suggest a much denser and more complex human occupation of the region than previously believed. The findings challenge the long-held view of the Amazon as a pristine wilderness untouched by significant pre-Columbian societies.

Researchers have identified the oldest known cephalopod possessing a siphuncle, a key feature for buoyancy control, from early Cambrian deposits. This discovery pushes back the origin of complex cephalopod anatomy by millions of years and provides new insights into early mollusk evolution.

Researchers have demonstrated a time crystal using plasmonic metamaterials, a structure that oscillates in time without external energy. This breakthrough validates a new class of time crystals and could advance quantum computing and precision measurements by providing a stable, tunable time-crystal platform.

Researchers demonstrated a method to sequentially read a peptide as it is shortened stepwise while immobilized on a nanopore. This technique allows direct protein sequencing at the single-molecule level, which could advance proteomics and disease diagnostics by enabling the analysis of complex protein mixtures without labeling.