24/11/2013

How losing information can benefit quantum computing

Suggesting that quantum computers might benefit from losing some data, physicists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have entangled—linked the quantum properties of—two ions by leaking judiciously ...

Swiss reject plan to cap managers' pay

Swiss voters soundly rejected on Sunday a proposal to limit the pay of companies' highest-paid managers to 12 times that of their lowest-paid workers, a plan that business leaders had warned could weaken the prosperous nation's ...

Great lakes waterfowl die-offs: Finding the source

A deadly menace stalks the loons, gulls and other water birds of the Great Lakes region: Type E botulism, a neuromuscular disease caused when birds eat fish infected with toxin-producing bacteria. Cases of the disease are ...

The physics of beer tapping

An old, hilarious if somewhat juvenile party trick involves covertly tapping the top of someone's newly opened beer bottle and then standing back as the suds foam out onto the floor.

The secrets of owls' near noiseless wings

Many owl species have developed specialized plumage to effectively eliminate the aerodynamic noise from their wings – allowing them to hunt and capture their prey in silence.

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