RIKEN and Fujitsu Limited have developed a 256-qubit superconducting quantum computer that will significantly expand their joint quantum computing capabilities. The system, located at the RIKEN RQC-FUJITSU Collaboration Center, located on the RIKEN Wako campus, builds upon the advanced technology of the 64-qubit iteration, which was launched with the support of the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) in October 2023, and incorporates newly-developed high-density implementation techniques. The new system overcomes some key technical challenges, including appropriate cooling within the dilution refrigerator, which is achieved through the incorporation of high-density implementation and cutting-edge thermal design.
This announcement marks a new step toward the practical application of superconducting quantum computers and unlocking their potential to grapple with some of the world’s most complex issues, such as the analysis of larger molecules and the implementation and demonstration of sophisticated error correction algorithms.
The organizations plan to integrate the 256-qubit superconducting quantum computer into their platform for hybrid quantum computing lineup and offer it to companies and research institutions globally starting in the first quarter of fiscal 2025. Looking further into the future, Fujitsu and RIKEN will continue R&D efforts toward the launch of a 1,000-qubit computer, scheduled to be launched in 2026. For more information, see a longer press release on Fujitsu’s website.
Most people’s experiences with polynomial equations don’t extend much further than high school algebra and the quadratic formula. Still, these numeric puzzles remain a foundational component of everything from calculating planetary orbits to computer programming. Although solving lower order polynomials—where the x in an equation is raised up to the fourth power—is often a simple task, things get complicated once you start seeing powers of five or greater. For centuries, mathematicians accepted this as simply an inherent challenge to their work, but not Norman Wildberger. According to his new approach detailed in The American Mathematical Monthly, there’s a much more elegant approach to high order polynomials—all you need to do is get rid of pesky notions like irrational numbers.
Babylonians first conceived of two-degree polynomials around 1800 BCE, but it took until the 16th century for mathematicians to evolve the concept to incorporate three-and four-degree variables using root numbers, also known as radicals. Polynomials remained there for another two centuries, with larger examples stumping experts until in 1832. That year, French mathematician Évariste Galois finally illustrated why this was such a problem—the underlying mathematical symmetry in the established methods for lower-order polynomials simply became too complicated for degree five or higher. For Galois, this meant there just wasn’t a general formula available for them.
Mathematicians have since developed approximate solutions, but they require integrating concepts like irrational numbers into the classical formula.
Scientists from The University of Manchester have changed our understanding of how cells in living organisms divide, which could revise what students are taught at school. In a study published today in Science, the researchers challenge conventional wisdom taught in schools for over 100 years.
Students are currently taught that during cell division, a parent cell will become spherical before splitting into two daughter cells of equal size and shape. However, the study reveals that cell rounding is not a universal feature of cell division and is not how it often works in the body.
Dividing cells, the researchers show, often don’t round up into sphere-like shapes. This lack of rounding breaks the symmetry of division to generate two daughter cells that differ from each other in both size and function, known as asymmetric division.
Why do the two most fundamental theories of the universe contradict each other? In this mind-bending segment from Quantum Convergance, we explore how Einstein’s general relativity and quantum mechanics—despite their opposing principles—both point toward one astonishing truth: the universe is not made of separate parts, but of undivided wholeness.
Using powerful metaphors like the whirlpool and grounded scientific insight from David Bohm and Einstein, this video unravels how the illusion of separateness may be the greatest misunderstanding in modern physics. Relativity describes the universe as a smooth, local continuum, while quantum theory insists on jumps, discontinuity, and entanglement.
But what if both are right… and incomplete?
🔹 Narrated by David Bohm. 🔹 From the full documentary: Quantum Convergance.
It’s easy to solve a 3×3 Rubik’s cube, says Shantanu Chakrabartty, the Clifford W. Murphy Professor and vice dean for research and graduate education in the McKelvey School of Engineering at Washington University in St. Louis. Just learn and memorize the steps then execute them to arrive at the solution.
Computers are already good at this kind of procedural problem solving. Now, Chakrabartty and his collaborators have developed a tool that can go beyond procedure to discover new solutions to complex optimization problems in logistics to drug discovery.
Chakrabartty and his collaborators introduced NeuroSA, a problem-solving neuromorphic architecture modeled on how human neurobiology functions, but that leverages quantum mechanical behavior to find optimal solutions—guaranteed—and find those solutions more reliably than state-of-the-art methods.
Today, we’re diving into how the 2004 reboot of Battlestar Galactica didn’t just serve up emotionally broken pilots and sexy robots—it predicted our entire streaming surveillance nightmare. From Cylons with download-ready consciousness to humans drowning in misinformation, BSG basically handed us a roadmap to 2025… and we thanked it with fan theories and Funko Pops.
🔎 Surveillance culture? Check. 👤 Digital identity crises? Double check. 🤯 Manufactured realities? Oh, we’re way past that.
Turns out, the Cylons didn’t need to invade Earth. We became them—scrolling, uploading, and streaming our humanity away one click at a time.
So join me as we break it all down and honor the sci-fi series that turned out to be way more documentary than dystopia.
👉 Hit like, share with your fellow glitchy humans, and check out egotasticfuntime.com before the algorithm decides fun is obsolete!
Particle Physics Breakthroughs: The Outstanding Contributions of US Universities to Large Hadron Collider Research and Talent Development — fully visualized data of colleges rankings, basic information, admission, graduation, tuition, majors, students, campus safety and more information.
Filipino scientists have discovered a simple, affordable way to make dynamically adjustable water-based lenses that have a wide variety of potential future applications—from classrooms and research labs to cameras and even wearable gadgets. Their research is published in the journal Results in Optics.
By coating an ordinary glass slide with specially prepared polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastic, the researchers were able to create a hydrophobic surface that could hold a water droplet in a dome shape similar to a magnifying glass. And by adding or removing water from the droplet, they were able to change and control the magnifying power of this liquid lens with minimal loss or distortion.
In a process called “electrospinning,” the researchers melted the PVC in an electric field, which stretches out and deposits the plastic onto the glass slide as very fine microfibers. This makes the surface of the slide more water repellent, and the result is that water droplets stay in a spherical dome shape instead of flattening out.
Human cyborgs are individuals who integrate advanced technology into their bodies, enhancing their physical or cognitive abilities. This fusion of man and machine blurs the line between science fiction and reality, raising questions about the future of humanity, ethics, and the limits of human potential. From bionic limbs to brain-computer interfaces, cyborg technology is rapidly evolving, pushing us closer to a world where humans and machines become one.
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