Scientist challenge scientific journals to hold computational researchers to higher standards of transparency, and call for their colleagues to share their code, models and computational environments in publications. In an article published in Nature on October 14, 2020, scientists at Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University of Toronto, Stanford University, Johns Hopkins, Harvard School of Public…

Instead of relying on software to tackle computationally intensive puzzles, researchers took an unconventional approach. They created a design for an electronic hardware system that directly replicates the architecture of many types of networks. Instead of relying on software to tackle these computationally intensive puzzles, researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)…

A new technique may sift out universe’s very first gravitational waves. Identifying primordial ripples would be key to understanding conditions of the early universe. Primordial gravitational waves, produced nearly 13.8 billion years ago, still echo through the universe today. But they are drowned out by the crackle of gravitational waves produced by more recent events,…

Big data and exponential demands for computations are driving an unsustainable rise in global ICT energy use. A new study reviews the use of the ‘multiferroic’ material bismuth-ferrite, which allows for low-energy switching in data storage devices and could be applied in a future generation of ultra-low-energy electronics. The review advances FLEET’s search for low-energy…

Urban planners may soon have a new way to measure traffic congestion. By capturing the different routes by which vehicles can travel between locations, researchers have developed a new computer algorithm that helps quantify regions of congestion in urban areas and suggests ways around them. The study, published in the Journal of Physics: Complexity, used…

Increasing use of electronic devices in consumables and new technologies for the internet of things are increasing the amount of electronic scrap. To save resources and minimize waste volumes, an eco-friendlier production and more sustainable lifecycle will be needed. Scientists have now been the first to produce displays, whose biodegradability has been checked and certified…

Researchers have found that variability between brain cells might speed up learning and improve the performance of the brain and future AI. The new study found that by tweaking the electrical properties of individual cells in simulations of brain networks, the networks learned faster than simulations with identical cells. They also found that the networks…

Communication between quantum systems depends on their ability to effectively interact with light. Some molecular crystals have proven to be new materials with excellent quantum properties. They are of great interest for creating quantum computers that can communicate among themselves using fibre optic networks. While quantum technologies promise a revolution in the future, they still…

Quantum annealers are devices that physically implement a quantum system called the ‘Ising model’ to solve combinatorial optimization problems. However, the coefficients of the Ising model often require a large bit width, making it difficult to implement physically. Now, scientists demonstrate a method to reduce the bit width of any Ising model, increasing the applicability…

When we think of ions, we usually think of single atoms that have lost or gained some electrons, but entire molecules can also become ions. Physicists now show that cold molecular ions can be created using a new method, and that they are a very useful tool for detecting small amounts of other, regular molecules.…