Tag Archives: complexity

Microscopic Images Unveil the Remarkable Complexity of the Tiny World

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Michael Benson’s photograph of an insect fly, with the flower and fly measuring just over 1 cm in diameter.

© 2025 Michael Benson

Inside a drawstring bag, you’ll find equipment like bug nets, tweezers, and small plastic vials. This may seem unusual for a photographer, but for Michael Benson, it’s just part of his routine. He dedicated over six years to gathering specimens for his latest publication, Nanocosmos: A Journey Through Electronic Space, a collection showcasing the microscopic realm in exquisite detail.

“I’m fascinated by the boundary between known and unknown territories—an area often linked to science,” he shares. “However, I approach it as an artist, not a scientist.”

That didn’t deter Benson from utilizing tools typically reserved for physicists and biologists. He produced all images for Nanocosmos using a formidable scanning electron microscope (SEM). This advanced technique employs a highly focused electron beam to intricately map surface contours. The resulting images portray submillimeter objects with such clarity that they appear almost extraterrestrial.

Take, for instance, the Acilidae musbifolia (as seen in the main image) alongside a flowering plant in Alberta, Canada. Even together, they span only slightly more than 1 cm. But with SEM technology, we can observe nearly every hair on the fly’s body, each claw on its legs, and even some of the countless individual receptors forming its bulging eyes.

Benson first utilized SEM in 2013 at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Media Lab. “Learning to master SEM was challenging, requiring several years of practice,” he notes. Every specimen must be coated with “a molecularly thin layer of platinum to prevent charging by the electron beam,” and meticulously dried to maintain surface details.


Wing of the Erythemis simplicicollis dragonfly, approximately 3 mm wide, seen from the tip.

© 2025 Michael Benson

The image above showcases the wing feathers of the eastern pontaka dragonfly (Erythemis simplicicollis), captured from beneath at the wing tip. This species is found across the eastern two-thirds of the United States, as well as in southern Ontario and Quebec, Canada. The wings are about 3 mm wide.

Below are images of single-celled marine organisms, specifically Hexalonche philosophica, collected from the equatorial region of the Pacific Ocean, measuring just 0.2 millimeters from tip to tip.

Marine organism Hexalonche philosophica, about 0.2 mm in length

© 2025 Michael Benson

Another marine specimen, Ornithocercus magnificus (featured below), is a type of plankton discovered in the Gulf Stream off Florida’s coast, measuring approximately 0.1 mm in width.

Ornithocercus magnificus, with a width of about 0.1 mm.

© 2025 Michael Benson

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Source: www.newscientist.com

IBM Introduces Two Quantum Computers with Unmatched Complexity

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IBM researchers hold components of the Loon quantum computer

IBM

In the competitive landscape of developing error-resistant quantum supercomputers, IBM is adopting a unique approach distinct from its primary rivals. The company has recently unveiled two new quantum computing models, dubbed Nighthawk and Loon, which may validate its methodology and deliver the advancements essential for transforming next-gen devices into practical tools.

IBM’s design for quantum supercomputers is modular, emphasizing the innovation of connecting superconducting qubits both within and across different quantum units. When this interconnectivity was first proposed, some researchers expressed skepticism about its feasibility. Jay Gambetta from IBM noted that critics implied to the team, “You exist in a theoretical realm; achieving this is impossible,” which they aim to refute.

Within Loon, every qubit interlinks with six others, allowing for unique connectivity that enables vertical movement in addition to lateral motion. This feature has not been previously observed in existing superconducting quantum systems. Conversely, Nighthawk implements four-way connections among qubits.

This enhanced connectivity may be pivotal in tackling some of the most pressing issues encountered by current quantum computers. The advancements could boost computational capabilities and reduce error rates. Gambetta indicated that initial tests with Nighthawk demonstrated the ability to execute quantum programs that are 30% more complex than those on most other quantum computers in use today. Such an increase in complexity is expected to facilitate further advancements in quantum computing applications, with IBM’s earlier models already finding utility in fields like chemistry.

The industry’s ultimate objective remains the ability to cluster qubits into error-free “logical qubits.” IBM is promoting strategies that necessitate smaller groupings than those pursued by competitors like Google. This could permit IBM to realize error-free computation while sidestepping some of the financial and engineering hurdles associated with creating millions of qubits. Nonetheless, this goal hinges on the connectivity standards achieved with Loon, as stated by Gambetta.

Stephen Bartlett, a researcher at the University of Sydney in Australia, expressed enthusiasm about the enhanced qubit connectivity but noted that further testing and benchmarking of the new systems are required. “While this is not a panacea for scaling superconducting devices to a size capable of supporting genuinely useful algorithms, it represents a significant advancement,” he remarked.

However, there remain several engineering and physical challenges on the horizon. One crucial task is to identify the most effective method for reading the output of a quantum computer after calculations, an area where Gambetta mentioned recent IBM progress. The team, led by Matthias Steffen, also aims to enhance the “coherence time” for each qubit. This measure indicates how long a quantum state remains valid for computational purposes, but the introduction of new connections can often degrade this quantum state. Additionally, they are developing techniques to reset certain qubits while computations are ongoing.

Plans are in place for IBM to launch a modular quantum computer in 2026 capable of both storing and processing information, with future tests on Loon and Nighthawk expected to provide deeper insights.

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Source: www.newscientist.com

An Essential Guide to Navigating the Complexity of the COP Summit

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Peter Betts (seated, in a pink shirt) at COP17 in Durban, South Africa, 2011

IISD/ENB Leila Mead

Climate Diplomat
Peter Betts, Profile Edition

Next month, climate negotiators, advocates, and global leaders will gather in Belem, Brazil, for COP30, this year’s United Nations climate change summit.

For those who have attended a COP summit or observed it from a distance, the experience can be quite overwhelming. Numerous negotiation sessions occur at once, filled with intricate topics and jargon—everything from “dialogue” and “consultations” to “informal informal” discussions.

To an onlooker, it may seem like a bustling marketplace, steeped in its unique customs and largely disconnected from the outside world. Fortunately, the insights of Peter Betts, a well-respected figure in COP circles, offer clarity.

While many outsiders may not recognize Betts, he was the former chief climate change negotiator for the UK and EU, instrumental in laying the groundwork for the Paris Agreement and guiding the negotiations that culminated in 2015.

Sadly, Mr. Betts passed away from a brain tumor in October 2023. His posthumously published book, Climate Diplomats: A Personal History of the COP Conference, released in August of this year, provides a comprehensive view of the inner workings of the climate summit and chronicles the modern history of these events, starting from Betts’s appointment as head of UK international climate policy in 1998.

One key revelation is that while COPs are often set in exotic locales—from Peru to Paris, and Durban to Dubai—the life of a climate negotiator is anything but glamorous. Teams spend years preparing negotiating strategies for the two-week summit, yet they often find themselves confined to windowless temporary structures, finalizing crucial details.

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Amid the chaos, negotiators must find a way to get everyone to the table and reach agreement
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During COP17 in Durban, Betts recounted how delegation offices were set up in a parking garage basement that “reeked of petrol and diesel,” while at COP15 in Copenhagen, meals consisted solely of large circular bread rolls filled with bland paste. Clearly, climate diplomats are not drawn to a life of luxury; their dedication to addressing the climate crisis is evident.

Through his writing, Betts guides readers on a whirlwind journey of how COP summits function, explaining the rules governing these meetings as well as the goals and positions of each participating nation.

The scale of the challenges is immense. Some countries prioritize securing increased financial assistance for development, others aim to commit nations to ambitious greenhouse gas emissions reductions, while some seek to maintain the status quo. Domestic politics, economic circumstances, and cultural perspectives further complicate negotiations.

In the midst of chaos, negotiators are tasked with uniting all parties to agree on next steps in combating climate change. This is no small feat.

Betts possesses a knack for clear communication and often employs dry humor, even when discussing the complex intricacies of multilateral climate finance. Through his narratives, readers begin to understand the meticulous crafting of a balanced agenda that aims to bring nations together towards a shared goal.

Things become particularly engaging when readers are granted behind-the-scenes access to pivotal summits like Copenhagen, Paris, and Glasgow. Betts shares anecdotes of prime ministers and presidents “eating biscuits like robots” during high-stress meetings, creating headlines at unplanned “damaging” press conferences, retreating into VIP areas to avoid their teams, and “erupting” in frustration when outcomes don’t align with their desires.

There’s no shortage of gossip about influential figures in Whitehall to keep British politicians intrigued, along with insights into the pitfalls of climate change advocacy efforts, which have, at times, hindered progress in emission reductions.

Despite criticisms suggesting that summits merely function as prolonged spectacles, evidence indicates they play a significant role in spurring global climate action. Before the signing of the Paris Agreement in 2015, projections suggested a potential increase of 5°C in global temperatures by the end of this century. Now, a decade later, that trajectory has shifted to approximately 2.7°C—still excessive but far from the dire future we once faced.

Diplomacy has the power to reshape the world. In this enlightening book, Betts unveils the intricate mechanisms behind this transformation.

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Source: www.newscientist.com

Meta shuts down fact checker due to complexity.

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The co-chairs of Meta’s oversight committee stated that the company’s systems had become “too complex” after deciding to eliminate fact-checkers, with Elon Musk’s X CEO welcoming the decision. ” he said.

Helle Thorning-Schmidt, co-chair of Meta’s oversight board and former Danish prime minister, agreed with outgoing international affairs chairman Nick Clegg, stating, “The metasystem is too complex.” He mentioned there was “excessive coercion.”

On Tuesday, Mark Zuckerberg surprised everyone by announcing that Facebook owners will stop using third-party checkers to flag misleading content in favor of notes from other users.

The 40-year-old billionaire revealed that Meta will “eliminate fact-checkers and replace them with community notes similar to `I will replace it with’. To the White House.”

Shortly after Mr. Clegg’s departure from Meta, the former British deputy prime minister who had been with the company for six years, Facebook Oversight Board was established under his leadership to make decisions about the social network’s moderation policies.

Helle Thorning-Schmidt told the BBC, “We appreciate the consideration of fact-checking. We welcome that message and are examining the complexity and potentially excessive enforcement.”

In replacing Mr. Clegg, Joel Kaplan, who previously served as deputy chief of staff for policy under former President George W. Bush, will take over the leadership role. Thorning-Schmidt mentioned that Mr. Clegg had been discussing his departure for a while.

Linda Yaccarino, X chief, expressed her approval of Meta’s policy change during an appearance at the CES technology show in Las Vegas by saying, “Welcome to the party.” The decision comes as a response to the positive reception from Mr. Yaccarino.

The shift will move the social network away from third-party checkers that flag misleading content in favor of user-based notes. This move has faced criticism from online safety advocates for potentially allowing misinformation and harmful content to spread.

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Yaccarino praised Meta’s decision as “really exciting” during a Q&A session at CES.

Describing X’s community notes as a positive development, Yaccarino emphasized its effectiveness in unbiased fact-checking.

Yaccarino added, “Human behavior is inspirational because when a post gets noticed, it becomes dramatically less shared. That’s the power of community notes.”

Mr. Zuckerberg, sporting a rare Swiss watch valued at about $900,000, criticized Meta’s current moderation system as “too politically biased” while acknowledging the potential impact on catching malicious content.

Source: www.theguardian.com

The complexity of Viking expansion into the North Atlantic was underestimated.

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Vikings played a prominent role among the peoples of the North Atlantic, and the populations founded by them might be expected to be genetically similar and homogeneous. New research suggests that the Icelandic and Faroese people had distinctly different founding fathers. This result is consistent with a scenario in which the male population of the Faroe Islands was formed by a more diverse population from the more diverse Scandinavian population than from neighboring Icelanders. Furthermore, this study conclusively shows that there is no evidence of post-founder admixture between the Faroese and Icelandic gene pools.

The Faroe Islands consist of an archipelago of 18 small islands located in the North Atlantic Ocean between southern Norway, Iceland, and Scotland. As a result of their demographic history and relative geographical isolation, the Faroe Islands, like other North Atlantic island populations, are genetically homogeneous compared to mainland populations. Historical and archaeological sources report that the Faroe Islands were settled around 800 AD by Vikings, primarily from western Norway. However, increasing evidence suggests that these islands were settled earlier, perhaps by Celtic monks or other people from the British Isles. Carbon dating of peat moss and barley grain supports two pre-Viking periods of settlement, approximately 300-500 AD and 500-700 AD. More recently, scientists detected sheep DNA in archaeological deposits from 500 AD, and based on modern whole-genome data, the original founding of the Faroe Islands occurred between 50 and 300 AD. estimated that it may have been two to three centuries earlier than previously thought. Based solely on archaeological findings. Image credit: Oscar CR

From the 8th century to about 1050 AD, Vikings roamed the Atlantic in longships all the way to Newfoundland, Labrador, and Greenland, as well as exploring the Mediterranean and Eurasia.

Among the places they are known to have settled are the Faroe Islands, an archipelago of 18 islands in the North Atlantic Ocean.

They probably weren’t the first. Archaeologists have found evidence that these islands have been inhabited since about 300 AD, perhaps by Celtic monks or other people from the British Isles.

However, according to Fairinga Sagawritten around 1200, a Viking chieftain called Grimur Kamban settled in the Faroe Islands between about 872 and 930 AD. But where in Scandinavia did Grimur and his followers come from?

“We have strong evidence here that the Faroe Islands were colonized by a diverse group of male settlers from multiple Scandinavian populations,” said University of Louisville researcher Dr. Christopher Tillquist. .

In this study, Dr. Tillquist and his colleagues genotyped 12 “short tandem repeat” (STR) loci on the Y chromosome of 139 men from the Faroese islands of Bordoloi, Streymoy, and Suzloj.

They assigned each man to the most likely haplogroup. Each haplogroup has a different known distribution across Europe today.

They compared the genotype distribution to that found in 412 men from Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Iceland, and Ireland.

This allowed the team to reconstruct the source population of the founders of the Viking population.

Advanced analysis showed that the Faroe Islands sample range was similar to the broader Scandinavian genotype range, whereas the Icelandic genotypes were different.

The authors also developed a powerful and innovative genetic method called “variational distance from modal haplotype” to analyze SNP (single nucleotide polymorphism) variation within STRs.

This has led to the “founder effect” (vestiges of random loss of diversity during historical colonization by a small number of people) that remains in the genetic composition of male populations in the Faroe Islands and Iceland today. was able to clarify.

“Scientists have long thought that the Faroe Islands and Iceland were settled by similar Nordic peoples,” Dr Tillquist says.

“However, our new analysis showed that these islands were founded by people belonging to different gene pools within Scandinavia.”

“One group of diverse Scandinavian origins settled in the Faroe Islands, while a more genetically distinct group of Vikings colonized Iceland. They had separate genetic characteristics that continue to this day. Masu.”

“Despite their geographic proximity, there appears to have been no subsequent interbreeding between these two populations.”

“Our findings show that Viking expansion into the North Atlantic was more complex than previously thought.”

“Each longship that sailed to these distant islands carried a different genetic heritage, and not just Vikings.”

“We can now trace the separate journeys of conquest and settlement, revealing a more nuanced story of Viking exploration than is told in history books.”

of findings appear in the diary frontiers of genetics.

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Alison E. Mann others. 2024. Genetic evidence points to distinct patrilineal colonization of the Faroe Islands and Iceland. front. Genet 15;doi: 10.3389/fgene.2024.1462736

Source: www.sci.news

The Complexity of the Human Brain: Is It Truly Unmatched in the Universe?

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Crescent Nebula: More complex than the human brain?

Reinhold Wittich/Stocktrek Images/Alamy

Back in 2012, neuroscientist Christoph Koch wrote in his book: Consciousness: Confessions of a Romantic Reductionist The human brain is “the most complex object in the known universe.” This seems intuitive, given that the brain has approximately 86 billion neurons, which are connected in ways that are still beginning to be understood. But when I put it, David Wolpert At New Mexico's Santa Fe Institute, founded in the 1980s as a hub for the budding field of complexity science, he doesn't think so. “It's almost a travesty that we are the most complex system in the universe,” he says. “That question is actually misguided.”

Nevertheless, I persevere. Is there a common measure of complexity that can be applied to complex systems of all kinds? After all, if you squint, galaxy clusters and the filaments that connect them look like intertwined circuits of neurons. Masu. The human brain even has almost as many neurons as there are galaxies in the observable universe. This formal similarity may have something to do with the general laws by which complexity emerges, he says. Ricard Sole At Pompeu Fabra University in Barcelona, ​​Spain. Or maybe not. “By chance, it might show up in both systems, but that doesn't mean anything,” he says.

Moreover, complexity is not defined by components and their interconnections. It's the idea that the whole is more than just something.

Source: www.newscientist.com

New approach uncovers the complete chemical complexity of quantum decoherence

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Rochester researchers have reported a strategy for understanding how molecules in completely chemically complex solvents lose their quantum coherence. This discovery opens the door to rational tuning of quantum coherence through chemical design and functionalization.

Credit: Annie Ostau de Lafon

This discovery can be used to design molecules with custom quantum coherence properties, laying the chemical basis for new quantum technologies.

In quantum mechanics, particles can exist in multiple states at the same time, which defies the logic of everyday experience. This property, known as quantum superposition, is the basis for new quantum technologies that promise to transform computing, communications, and sensing. However, quantum superposition faces a serious challenge: quantum decoherence. During this process, interaction with the surrounding environment disrupts the delicate superposition of quantum states.

Quantum decoherence challenges

To unlock the power of chemistry and build complex molecular architectures for practical quantum applications, scientists need to understand and control quantum decoherence so they can engineer molecules with specific quantum coherence properties. must be. To do so, we need to know how to rationally modify the chemical structure of molecules to modulate or alleviate quantum decoherence. To do this, scientists need to know the “spectral density,” a quantity that summarizes the speed at which the environment moves and the strength of its interactions with the quantum system.

A breakthrough in spectral density measurement

Until now, quantifying this spectral density in a way that accurately reflects molecular complexity has remained difficult in theory and experiment. However, a team of scientists has developed a way to extract the spectral density of molecules in a solvent using a simple resonance Raman experiment, a method that fully captures the complexity of the chemical environment.

A team led by Ignacio Franco, an associate professor of chemistry and physics at the University of Rochester, published their findings in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Relationship between molecular structure and quantum decoherence

Using the extracted spectral density, we can not only understand how quickly decoherence occurs, but also determine which parts of the chemical environment are primarily responsible for decoherence. As a result, scientists can now map decoherence pathways and link molecular structure to quantum decoherence.

“Chemistry is built on the idea that molecular structure determines the chemical and physical properties of matter. This principle guides the modern design of molecules for medical, agricultural, and energy applications.” Using our strategy, we can finally begin to develop chemical design principles for emerging quantum technologies,” said Ignacio Gustin, a chemistry graduate student at the University of Rochester and lead author of the study.

Resonant Raman experiments: an important tool

The breakthrough came when the team realized that resonance Raman experiments provided all the information needed to study decoherence in its full chemical complexity. Although such experiments are routinely used to study photophysics and photochemistry, their usefulness for quantum decoherence had not been evaluated. The key insight was shared by David McCamant, an associate professor in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Rochester and an expert in Raman spectroscopy, and Jang Woo Kim, currently on the faculty at Chonnam National University in South Korea and an expert in quantum decoherence. This became clear from the discussion. He was a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Rochester.

Case study: Thymine decoherence

The researchers used their method to show for the first time how the superposition of electrons in thymine, one of the building blocks of humans, occurs. DNA, it takes only 30 femtoseconds (one femtosecond is one billionth of a billionth of a second) after absorbing ultraviolet light. They found that some vibrations within the molecule were dominant in the early stages of the decoherence process, while the solvent was dominant in the later stages. Furthermore, they found that chemical modifications to thymine significantly altered the decoherence rate, with hydrogen bonding interactions near the thymine ring resulting in more rapid decoherence.

Future implications and applications

Ultimately, the team’s research paves the way to understanding the chemical principles governing quantum decoherence. “We are excited to use this strategy to finally understand quantum decoherence in molecules of full chemical complexity and use it to develop molecules with robust coherence properties.” Franco said.

Reference: “Mapping the intramolecular electron decoherence pathway” by Ignacio Gustin, Chan Woo Kim, David W. McCamant, and Ignacio Franco, November 28, 2023. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2309987120

Source: scitechdaily.com