Quantum error correction that suppresses errors below a critical threshold needed for achieving future practical quantum computing applications is demonstrated on the newest generation quantum chips from Google Quantum AI, reports a paper in Nature this week. The device performance, if scaled, could facilitate the operational requirements of large-scale fault-tolerant quantum computing.

A new study by Rice University physicist Qimiao Si unravels the enigmatic behaviors of quantum critical metals—materials that defy conventional physics at low temperatures. Published in Nature Physics Dec. 9, the research examines quantum critical points (QCPs), where materials teeter on the edge between two distinct phases, such as magnetism and nonmagnetism. The findings illuminate the peculiarities of these metals and provide a deeper understanding of high-temperature superconductors, which conduct electricity without resistance at relatively high temperatures.

Screens for TVs, smartphones or other displays could be made with a new kind of organic LED material developed by an international team, co-led by University of Michigan engineers. The material maintains sharp color and contrast while replacing the heavy metal with a new hybrid material.

Researchers from the United States and Germany have discovered a peptide that makes barley in the most important barley-growing region of the United States more susceptible to leaf blotch disease. The fungus that causes the disease uses the peptide to activate an immune receptor in the plant. The affected cells then die.

Dubbed "Conan the Bacterium" for its extraordinary ability to tolerate the harshest of conditions, Deinococcus radiodurans can withstand radiation doses thousands of times higher than what would kill a human—and every other organism for that matter.

A new USC Stem Cell study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences has identified key gene regulators that enable some deafened animals—including fish and lizards—to naturally regenerate their hearing. The findings could guide future efforts to stimulate the regeneration of sensory hearing cells in patients with hearing loss and balance disorders.

New research has revealed less than a quarter of the remaining tropical rainforests around the globe can safeguard thousands of threatened species from extinction.

A cave in Galilee, Israel, has yielded evidence for ritualistic gatherings 35,000 years ago, the earliest on the Asian continent. Three Israeli researchers led the team that published its results in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Freshwater fish populations that dwell nearer the poles are outperforming their equatorial counterparts, researchers have found. Large-bodied migratory species such as Atlantic salmon are thriving as warming temperatures open up new habitats at the poleward edge of their ranges.

A collaborative study has uncovered evidence of rice beer dating back approximately 10,000 years at the Shangshan site in Zhejiang Province, China, providing new insights into the origins of alcoholic beverage brewing in East Asia.