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Category: computing

Robust against noise, geometric-phase swap gates bring stability to quantum operations

Researchers at ETH Zurich have realized particularly stable quantum logical operations with qubits made of neutral atoms. Since these operations, called quantum gates, are based on geometric phases, they are extremely robust against experimental noise and can be used in quantum computers in the future.

Quantum bits, or qubits, which are required for building quantum computers, come in different kinds. In recent years, many research institutes and companies have focused on superconducting circuits and trapped ions. However, neutral atoms trapped with laser light also have a lot going for them: since they carry no electric charge, they are less sensitive to disturbances. Moreover, trapping with laser light makes it easy to realize several thousand qubits in a single system—using superconductors or ions this is much more difficult.

Nevertheless, neutral atoms have their own problems. In quantum computers, qubits exist in superposition states of the logic values 0 and 1. To perform calculations with them, one needs to execute quantum logic operations, also known as quantum gates.

Prototype chip could boost efficiency of power management in data centers

In an effort to meet the rising energy demands of data centers, engineers at the University of California San Diego have developed a new chip design that could improve how graphics processing units (GPUs) convert and manage power. The technology demonstrates a more efficient way to perform a critical task in electronics: converting high voltages into lower levels required by computing hardware. In lab tests, a prototype chip performed the type of voltage conversion used in modern data centers with high efficiency.

The advance, published in Nature Communications, could lead to the development of smaller, more energy-efficient systems for advanced computing.

The Data Center Boom Reshaping Williamson County, Texas

Williamson County is at the center of one of the most significant data center buildouts in the United States. What started as a handful of projects near Samsung’s Taylor semiconductor fabrication plant has become a full-scale infrastructure rush.

According to a March 2026 Propmodo analysis using Cushman & Wakefield data, the Austin–San Antonio data center corridor now has 7,823 megawatts of planned capacity compared to just 1,154 megawatts currently operating. More than 70 projects are being tracked between Temple and San Antonio, with Williamson County capturing a disproportionate share due to its power infrastructure, fiber connectivity, and available land. Of the 615 megawatts under construction in the corridor, 96 percent is already pre-leased, a remarkable indicator of demand.

A Texas A&M Real Estate Research Center analysis found that between 2023 and 2024, Central Texas experienced a drastic increase in data center construction, totaling 463.5 megawatts of potential demand under development. That report specifically cited marquee projects in Williamson County as having reshaped regional land markets. Texas overall has 408 data centers listed statewide, second most in the nation, with the Austin market at 46 and climbing fast.

Optogenetics, Biohybrid Implants And The Future Of Brain-Computer Interfaces | Dr. Alan Mardinly

Optogenetics, Biohybrid Implants And The Future Of Brain-Computer Interfaces — Dr. Alan Mardinly Ph.D. — CSO & Co-Founder, Science

What if we could restore vision, communicate directly with the brain, and even extend human life—not with machines alone, but with living, engineered biology?

Dr. Alan Mardinly, Ph.D. is the Chief Scientific Officer and Co-Founder of Science Corp. (https://science.xyz/), a neurotechnology company developing next-generation brain interfaces and biohybrid neural implants aimed at restoring human function.

Dr. Mardinly leads the company’s biohybrid program, focused on combining genetically engineered cells with advanced optical hardware to create optogenetic therapies for vision restoration and new types of brain-machine interfaces.

Dr. Mardinly has spent more than 15 years working at the intersection of neuroscience, genetics, and neural engineering.

Continue reading “Optogenetics, Biohybrid Implants And The Future Of Brain-Computer Interfaces | Dr. Alan Mardinly” | >

Quantum computing without interruptions

Mid-circuit measurements are one of the biggest practical hurdles in quantum error correction on encoded qubits. Researchers in Innsbruck and Aachen have now proposed and experimentally demonstrated that a universal fault-tolerant quantum algorithm can be executed without such measurements. Using a trapped-ion quantum processor, the team successfully ran Grover’s quantum search algorithm on three logical qubits.

A key bottleneck in today’s leading approaches to quantum error correction is the need to repeatedly pause and measure the quantum processor mid-computation, a process that is slow, technically demanding, and itself a significant source of errors.

Now, a joint team from the University of Innsbruck, RWTH Aachen University, Forschungszentrum Jülich and spin-off Alpine Quantum Technologies (AQT) has demonstrated fault-tolerant quantum computation without any such interruptions.

Mechanical inputs boost diamond quantum sensor states as Q factor tops one million

Most people think of diamonds as high-end adornments. Not Ania Bleszynski Jayich. The UC Santa Barbara physicist sees diamonds, which she grows in the UC Quantum Foundry, as a potentially powerful foundation for quantum sensors. Sensors are currently much farther along in their development than other potential quantum applications. Diamond sensors are particularly promising because diamonds require relatively few quantum bits (qubits) to operate, whereas a quantum computer, for instance, requires more than 100,000, perhaps as many as a million, qubits to handle error correction, one of the main hurdles for quantum computing.

A paper about the latest advance from the Bleszynski Jayich lab, “Spin-embedded diamond optomechanical resonator with a mechanical quality factor exceeding one million,” has been published in the journal Optica.

New GPUBreach attack enables system takeover via GPU rowhammer

A new attack, dubbed GPUBreach, can induce Rowhammer bit-flips on GPU GDDR6 memories to escalate privileges and lead to a full system compromise.

GPUBreach was developed by a team of researchers at the University of Toronto, and full details will be presented at the upcoming IEEE Symposium on Security & Privacy on April 13 in Oakland.

The researchers demonstrated that Rowhammer-induced bit flips in GDDR6 can corrupt GPU page tables (PTEs) and grant arbitrary GPU memory read/write access to an unprivileged CUDA kernel.

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