It can be difficult to understand quantum mechanics. That’s okay, because, in the early days of the Internet, few could understand how that worked. Now, new developments in quantum communication may turbocharge just how quickly and securely information is delivered among us. Scientists demonstrated that such a system could work on our existing telecommunications infrastructure, they report in the journal Nature Communication.This is kind of a big deal, because many physicists had thought that transmitting quantum information over any distance would require cryogenically cooling whatever kinds of cables needed to transmit it. They also weren’t sure if standard fiber optic cables would even work for such a process.A Quantum TurbochargeThe scientists proved such super-cooling unnecessary by sending encryption information 158 miles between Frankfurt and Kehl, Germany. One key challenge they needed to overcome was achieving “optical coherence” — the ability to keep different parts of a light wave — or, in the case of quantum mechanics, photons — in consist relationship to one another as they travel through space. Addressing this issue was one key to the test’s success.“Our research aligns the requirements of coherence-based quantum communication with the capabilities of existing telecommunication infrastructure, which is likely to be useful to the future of high-performance quantum networks,” according to the paper.Coherence in Quantum CommunicationsCoherence is both key to quantum communications and theoretically difficult to achieve. Although the qbit — the currency of quantum information — is exponentially more powerful than the standard computational bit, qbits are considered fragile. The tiniest interaction with its environment could, in theory interrupt it — thus destroying the information it was intended to carry.The short explanation of quantum mechanics is that it uses mysterious states in physics to achieve things demonstrably impossible with conventional methods. An even shorter explanation of the implication of the experiment in Germany is that we may someday have access to an exponentially faster, more secure set of information-carrying infrastructure.Article SourcesOur writers at Discovermagazine.com use peer-reviewed studies and high-quality sources for our articles, and our editors review for scientific accuracy and editorial standards. Review the sources used below for this article:Before joining Discover Magazine, Paul Smaglik spent over 20 years as a science journalist, specializing in U.S. life science policy and global scientific career issues. He began his career in newspapers, but switched to scientific magazines. His work has appeared in publications including Science News, Science, Nature, and Scientific American.

You may not even pay attention to what your T-shirt is made out of. I don’t blame you; checking tags can be boring. But, cotton shirts reign supreme over poly blends and other synthetic fabrics. They fade better, feel nicer, and don’t make you stink after two minutes on the treadmill. They can be a little pricier, though. Right now, Amazon has Hanes T-shirts made of 100 percent cotton in a four-pack for just $11.92. That’s less than half the regular price and more than $5 cheaper than I’ve ever seen them. You could even print a letter “T” on it to make yourself more attractive. Hanes Men's Short Sleeve Essentials Crewneck Cotton T-Shirt, Black Multipack — $11.92 (was $26) Hanes T-shirts are a summer staple, and these are great for the warm months. They’re made from 100 percent mid-weight cotton (as long as you get the black or the green, which are the only colors on sale), which comes with several advantages. They hold up over time and get a great-looking fade rather than falling apart like some synthetics. They have double-needle stitching and burly seams to keep them sturdy. This is a semi-full-cut T-shirt, so it offers a little more room in the torso than some other shirts. They will likely ship with an actual tag attached, rather than a screen-printed one, so I recommend cutting it out before wearing. They do go up to size 4XL, which is great because cotton T-shirts will tend to shrink a little after the first wash.

Nature, Published online: 24 April 2025; doi:10.1038/d41586-025-01309-3As the administration of US President Donald Trump slashes budgets, crucial climate and other data sets could disappear.

Lunar samples show evidence that solar wind could be behind the water molecules on the moon's surface, according to NASA. The results could shine a light on how water ice collects in cold traps formed by patches of permanent darkness at the moon's poles.

submitted by /u/klaus_nieto [link] [comments]

.@rapidpipeline's new update brings native UI integration, Mac support, and customizable CAD tessellation. The 80 Level community also gets a chance to try it all for free.Full info and free trial code here: https://80.lv/articles/optimize-cad-files-directly-in-blender-with-this-free-to-try-add-on#sponsored #ad

🤨Mario Nawfal: 🚨EXCLUSIVE - BOUGHT AND PAID FOR: HOW $472 MILLION BUILT A GLOBAL LEFT-WING MEDIA MACHINEIn February 2025, WikiLeaks pulled back the curtain on a government-funded media empire that’s been quietly shaping what billions of people read, watch, and believe. At the center of it

Adobe announced a slew of new features and improvements at its annual Adobe Max conference on Thursday. The software giant announced new Firefly artificial intelligence (AI) models, support for third-party models, new Adobe Express features, and a new Firefly mobile app. The company also unveiled its Adobe Boards tool for storyboard creation, and a Vector model to let designers create editable vector-based artworks. The company also announced that its Adobe Firefly Video model, which was teased last year, is now generally available to subscribers.Adobe Firefly Image 4 AI Models ReleasedIn a blog post, the software giant detailed the two new text-to-image AI models. Dubbed Image Model 4 and Image Model 4 Ultra, these are the successors to the company's Image Model 3 series, introduced last year.With the Model 4 series, Adobe claims that users will see significant improvement in accuracy, prompt fidelity, and realism in generated images. The Firefly Image Model 4 is geared towards faster image generation, and the company says it is best suited for creating simple illustrations, icons, and basic photo objects.On the other hand, the Image Model 4 Ultra is the flagship-grade AI model, and the company claims that it can generate photorealistic scenes, human portraits, and complex imagery. Both models come with features such as filters, style options, and match compositions. These are now available with Firefly subscriptions.New Features in the Firefly AppSeparately, Adobe also introduced several other Firefly-based tools. The new Adobe Vector Model can generate editable vector-based artwork, logo variations, product packaging, icons, scenes, patterns, and more using natural language text prompts. It can be accessed within the Firefly app.A new Firefly Boards tool is also available in the Firefly app in public beta. The interface lets users work on storyboards, mood boards, or explore concepts. Initially unveiled as Project Concept, the tool offers a text-to-image generator, various AI-powered creation and editing tools, as well as an inline AI editor feature. Adobe says the platform is suitable for iterating on different variations of ideas and refining them.Further, the Adobe Firefly Video model is finally generally available to all users. The video generation tool was first unveiled in September 2023.Apart from in-house innovation, Adobe is also expanding the Firefly app with third-party AI models. Currently, users can access OpenAI's image generation capabilities and Google's Image 3 and Veo 2, as well as the Flux 1.1 Pro, which used to power Grok's image generation feature, before the release of xAI's native Aurora model. “Adobe also plans to integrate additional models from partners including fal.ai, Ideogram, Luma, Pika and Runway in the coming months,” the company said.Notably, Firefly has several paid subscription plans for individuals, students, and teams. The starting plan for individuals, Firefly Standard, is priced at $9.99 (roughly Rs. 852) per month.New Features in Adobe ExpressThe company also introduced several new features in Adobe Express, its content creation platform. Most of the new features are aimed at video editing. Adobe says these features will eliminate the tedious parts of creating video content.A new Clip Maker feature will let users turn longer video footage into shareable clips using AI. The AI feature will also let users optimise the content by identifying key moments, adding captions, and reframing clips.Adobe Express new featuresPhoto Credit: AdobeThe company is also adding a Firefly Video Model-powered video generation tool that accepts both text and images as input to generate custom b-roll and background footage. Another Enhance Speech tool removes background noise, while Video Self-Record allows users to record themselves within Adobe Express.Additionally, the Drop Zone tool can compile clips into sequences while Scene View rearranges clips, so users can batch-edit videos in a single flow. Adobe Express is also being integrated with Vimeo to let users directly export and publish their content on the platform.Apart from video editing, the content creation platform is adding a Dynamic Animation tool that adds natural motion effects to objects to turn still images into animated photos.For enterprise users, the Generate Similar feature can create a collection of visual assets by taking reference from a single on-brand image. Adobe is also adding more than 30 new filters to try out inside the Adobe Express app.

Remember your first open-world game? That feeling of reckless abandon, of stepping into a world full of possibilities? You probably didn’t think as much about ticking items off a list. You may have ignored the main story for far too long. Sometimes, that nagging feeling of what you’re doing with your life would emerge – only to quickly fade as you wondered, once more, “What’s over there?” Everyone has a game that may or may not have first triggered that feeling, but for many, it all began with The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion. Bizarre, beautiful, streamlined, annoyingly complicated, yet teeming with stories and interesting characters. Considered a unique in-between point for Morrowind and Skyrim, it exudes confidence in its strangeness, elegance in its world design, and, above all, that feeling of getting lost in a unique fantasy setting. "There’s an endearing charm, a sense of wonder at exploring Cyrodiil and taking in its details, even if some of the more outdated aspects of Oblivion often emerge." With Oblivion Remastered, Bethesda and Virtuos set out to harness that nostalgia, addressing the biggest grievances, enhancing aspects limited by the technology of its time, and delivering a complete visual overhaul. The Bethesda Jank is still very much at its core, whether in the NPC interactions or several aspects of its gameplay. And yet, there’s an endearing charm, a sense of wonder at exploring Cyrodiil and taking in its details, even if some of the more outdated aspects of Oblivion often emerge. The story starts with the player in prison, but it’s not long before the call of adventure comes knocking in the form of Emperor Uriel Septim VII and the Blades. Hounded by assassins, he escapes into underground passages beneath the prison, and it’s not long before you join in. After obtaining the Amulet of Kings and venturing into the world, crisis brews in the background, with the gates of Oblivion and the Daedra spewing forth to cause destruction. Yes, your ultimate goal is to stop this and bring peace to the province (and Tamriel as a whole), but the overall plot goes in some interesting directions while maintaining a fantasy adventure feel. It may seem superfluous to mention, but I’m impressed by how much the narrative holds up after all these years. The same goes for the exploration. You could deliver the Amulet to the grandmaster of Blades and follow the plot, becoming the Hero of Kvatch and whatnot. Or you can just get lost and explore. Venture out into the wider world and discover caves, abandoned forts and sanctums teaming with precious stones. Tussle with goblins, ogres, bandits, skeletons, mud crabs, and whatnot. "The single “thunk” of an arrow, whether you’re playing stealth archer and assassinating everyone or backpedalling against aggressive monsters, is just so satisfying." Channel a rune stone for some armor and a dagger that can’t be removed until the duration runs out. Heck, stop a passing Imperial Guard on the road, try to persuade him to no end, get insulted, then attack him and steal his horse (with some help from a wolf). Murder all the bandits occupying some ruins, sleep and run into a Speaker for the Dark Brotherhood, who invites you to join their cause. Every single bit looks better than ever thanks to assets created from scratch on Unreal Engine 5. The Emperor’s facial details are immaculate, with the new lip-syncing lending more realism and emotion to his soliloquy. Ogres and goblins look creepier; the various races are more detailed, whether it’s the Khajit’s fur or the scales of the Argonian. The real-time lighting and dynamic shadows lend a distinct atmosphere when exploring caves, torch in hand, as they do when roaming the countryside on horseback, appreciating the minute insects buzzing about and the revamped geometry. Even the combat animations look much smoother, bolstered by the new hit reactions and sound effects. The single “thunk” of an arrow, whether you’re playing stealth archer and assassinating everyone or backpedalling against aggressive monsters, is just so satisfying. Even the slight movement on Power Attacks, with your character shifting forward or backwards depending on the direction, feels right. Even the third-person perspective feels more tenable, though I still default to first-person while aiming. Don’t get me wrong, though – the combat hasn’t seen a massive overhaul as such. It certainly feels better, but it’s a far cry from the very best in the industry. We’ll come back to this, but suffice it to say that even if you’re a huge fan of Skyrim’s combat (despite the various elements it also stripped away), Oblivion will take some getting used to. One thing that won’t take a long time to embrace is the new levelling system. You still have Major and Minor Skills, and as you perform certain actions relating to them (more Archery to increase the Marksman skill, the new sprinting for Athletics, etc.), they increase in points. Accrue enough and you can level up, receiving Virtues to assign to various stats. "Outside the traditional jank, there are some notable bugs, like my shield appearing in one hand and the bow in another after equipping a torch, resulting in an obstructed view. Arrows have also been spotted jittering in the air on at least one occasion. " Only three stats can be upgraded with each level, but the amount of Virtues is fixed, and the benefits (including Endurance) are immediate. It’s a simpler system compared to the nightmare of the original, and it works remarkably, allowing you to indulge in the character fantasy rather than worrying whether you’re progressing properly or how much stronger enemies are becoming for no fault of your own. I’m not completely all in on the user interface rework – though it doesn’t feel as awful as some are making it out to be, there’s definitely room for improvement, especially in some filtering options. There have been several diverging opinions on performance, though. I stuck to 1440p, Vsync enabled, everything set to Medium and DLSS on Balanced (FOV for both perspectives set to 91) on a Core i5-11400 with 32 GB RAM and an RTX 4060 (8 GB). The frame rate remained respectably consistent, though it did occasionally drop after setting viewing distance and texture quality to High. Dropping the resolution to 1080p allowed for a mix of Ultra and High settings and Quality DLSS with the overall performance remaining fairly steady, sans a severe drop when going from early morning to sunrise. Your mileage will vary, so I advise looking into more configurations and tests before fully committing. Also, outside the traditional jank, there are some notable bugs, like my shield appearing in one hand and the bow in another after equipping a torch, resulting in an obstructed view. Arrows have also been spotted jittering in the air on at least one occasion. And I don’t know if I can classify this as a bug, but enemy AI is a little mixed, occasionally facing into walls and allowing for easy kills when they’re not oblivious to their allies dying. Then again, they will sometimes react to the slightest of noise and investigate, which I found surprising. "The passage of time may wear on Cyrodiil as its flaws become more apparent, but bringing back the joy of younger days more than warrants the price of admission." When spending more time with The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Remastered, several elements, like the dungeon design, are still obviously stuck in 2006. However, Virtuos has faithfully captured everything that made it so endearing. There could have probably been more extensive, earth-shattering changes, but it may not have felt like the classic that fans know and love. As such, Oblivion Remastered is a worthwhile role-playing experience, and even with a few nitpicks – that will hopefully get ironed out with subsequent patches – it stands in a class of its own, especially compared to Bethesda’s modern efforts. The passage of time may wear on Cyrodiil as its flaws become more apparent, but bringing back the joy of younger days more than warrants the price of admission. This game was reviewed on PC.