A new breakthrough has been made in regards to the inner workings of the device known as the Antikythera mechanism. Combining recent 3D X-ray scans of the ancient computer with over a century’s worth of cumulative investigation, researchers are now confident that enough of the mechanism and its accompanying instructionsread more
An international team of researchers has definitively proven that quantum computers can hold a significant computational advantage over classical semiconductor-based computers.
Although quantum computing elements have been available in D-Wave Systems‘ series of computers for over a decade, there has been a great deal of controversy over whether or not the performance increases demonstrated by these computers are actually due to quantum processes, and not simply efficiencies hidden in the computer’s code or hardware.
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On January 3, a group of cybersecurity experts announced the existence of two security flaws affecting virtually every microprocessor on the planet, codenamed ‘Meltdown’ and ‘Spectre’: the Meltdown exploit affects computer processors that were built by Intel over the past decade, used in the majority of consumers’ personal computers, and over 90 percent of the world’s computer servers; Spectre is somewhat less dangerous, but is more widespread, as it affects not only Intel processors, but also those of their main competitor, Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), and Britain’s Advanced RISC Machine (ARM) chips. These vulnerabilities could potentially allow hackers to access personal data from computers, mobile devices, smart TVs, and cloud servers around the world.
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Researchers at Harvard University have recorded the first digital movie recording in the DNA of bacteria, including having successfully retrieved the recording for playback.read more