In the edition of this week’s prototype we look at new findings about dark energy, the state of the quantum technology industry, using magnetic nanoparticles to combat cancer and more. You can register to get the prototype here in your inbox.
NSF’s Noirlab
NBeginning a century agoPhysician and Catholic priest Georges Lemaître first brought the idea of the big bang forward – the idea that the universe started as an explosion and has since expanded. For decades, scientists assumed that the expansion of our universe would eventually slow down because of gravity. Then they discovered about 30 years ago that the expansion percentage actually accelerates.
To explain this, physicists suggested ‘dark energy’, a catch theory for everything that the universes extend over time. To further investigate the concept Dark energy spectroscopic instrument (Desi) was built. The instrument is used to investigate billions of light years from distant galaxies to find out more about how dark energy works – advantage of the fact that the speed of light means that we can actually look back in time on different eras of the universe.
Now the results of a three -year study of the universe are published And they are confusing. It seems that the nature of dark energy changes over time, which does not match the current model that predicts that it is constant. Scientists are now wondering whether dark energy is evolving – and weakened – about the time, instead of stimulating the expansion of the universe in a consistent way.
With new instruments for measuring dark energy that comes online for decade, scientists hope to get a better grasp on what it is and how it changes over time.
Stay informed.
Quantum Computing companies saw more than $ 1 billion in income in 2024
Boston Globe Via Getty Images
QUantum -Technology companies saw a turnover of more than $ 1.4 billion in 2024” According to a new report of the Handelsgroep the Quantum Economic Development Consortium. More than $ 1 billion of that income came from Quantum Computing companies, while the rest came from quantum detection applications.
Together, the industry saw $ 5.7 billion in investments last year, according to the report, with $ 3.1 billion from the government and $ 2.6 billion from risk capital. The United States is currently leading the world in the number of Pure-Play Quantum technology companies, according to the report, followed by the United Kingdom and Canada.
The report predicts that in the coming years the income in both areas of quantum technology will triple, with quantum computer companies that reach around $ 2.2 billion in income and quantum detection in 2028 $ 915 million in 2028 by the end of 2027.
That growth in quantum detection – the use of quantum mechanics principles to measure magnetic fields, gravity and other data points – is expected to come from different sectors. The defense industry is, for example, interested in this technology as an alternative to GPS satellites. The healthcare sector wants to benefit from the extreme sensitivity of technology to develop better patient monitoring and diagnostic devices.
Discovery of the week: Cancer -fighting nanoparticles
Researchers at Oregon State University have developed A new type of magnetic nanoparticle that has the potential to combat cancer. The nanoparticles are connected to a special protein so that they go to the ovary tumors. Magnets are then used to heat the nanoparticles to high temperatures, killing the cancer cells. The scientists have so far successfully demonstrated Use of technology in mice.
Last border: Butch and Suni return to Earth
After a planned stay of a week at the International Space Station, astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams finally returned to Earth this week. They were accompanied during the return trip by NASA Astronaut Nick Hague and Russian Kosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov. After the SpaceX capsule was splashed in the Atlantic, they were greeted by a pod dolphins Swimming nearby.
What more I wrote this week
In my other newsletter, Innovationrx, my colleague Amy Feldman and I looked at the policy uncertainty about vaccines, sex differences in GLP-1 side effects for drugs, the challenges of using AI to predict epidemics and more.
I filled in for my colleague Rashi Shrivastava Forbes‘Ai newsletter, the prompt, where I wrote that Meta download a download mile pole of one billion for its open source LLM Lama, the new AI models from Google for robots, AI -Chatbots that refuse to do work, and more.
On the Forbes YouTube channel, me sit down With my colleague Brittany Lewis to talk about the impact that the cuts of the Trump administration have on the scientific community, and how they have the potential to undermine the technological and economic ability of America.
Science and technical facts
A star in the binary star system t Corona Borealis It is expected that it will explode some time next week. It will be visible without a telescope for a few days if you live in the northern hemisphere. (Okay, technically it blew up 3000 years ago, but it takes time before the light came here.)
One day You may be able to listen privately to your phone, without headphones, thanks to Audio Engineering Research published this week That shows exactly how sound can be targeted with the help of ultrasonic beams.
A French researcher wax Recovery to the United States Because he had criticized the policy of the Trump administration with regard to scientific research.
Brain Computer Interface Company Synchron is Work together with Nvidia To develop an AI model that is trained on human neural activity to make it easier to develop new functions for its hardware.
The greenhouse gas methane can be converted into biodegradable plastics thanks to a New fermentation process.
Pro Science Tip: Part meals with friends
If you have felt lately, there is a simple way in which you can improve your own sense of well -being: call some friends and pack lunch. Researchers from University College London report That people who regularly share meals, report higher levels of life satisfaction and positive emotions compared to those who eat alone. The scientists actually note that sharing meals is a better predictor of happiness than income or other economic factors.
What entertains me this week
Actor Bruce Willis turned 70 this week, so I took the opportunity to re -watch the film in which he gave his best performance: Death becomes her. Directed by Robert Zemeckis, this black comedy Co-star Meryl Streep and Goldie Hawn and definitely spoke the American obsession with looks and youth who retain his relevance 33 years later. It contains some groundbreaking special effects with the help of early CGI techniques and offers one of my favorite Bruce Willis line lectures of all time. “I don’t want to live forever. I mean, it sounds good, but what am I going to do? What if I’m bored?” It is currently streaming on Peacock.