After several years as a subsidiary of Western Digital, Sandisk split from the parent company earlier this year. Former WD head David Goeckeler, now Sandisk CEO, has some ambitious projects in the works.
Category: computing – Page 24
Could gravity be evidence that the universe is a computer simulation? My new study suggests why this might be so
We have long taken it for granted that gravity is one of the basic forces of nature – one of the invisible threads that keeps the universe stitched together. But suppose that this is not true. Suppose the law of gravity is simply an echo of something more fundamental: a byproduct of the universe operating under a computer-like code.
That is the premise of my latest research, published in the journal AIP Advances. It suggests that gravity is not a mysterious force that attracts objects towards one another, but the product of an informational law of nature that I call the second law of infodynamics.
It is a notion that seems like science fiction – but one that is based in physics and evidence that the universe appears to be operating suspiciously like a computer simulation.
Particles can be measured jointly without bringing them together—an advance for quantum communication and computing
But such measurements are notoriously challenging: the instruments used are themselves governed by quantum laws, and their interaction with particles can alter the very properties they are meant to observe.
“The field of quantum measurements is still poorly understood because it has received little attention so far. Until now, research has mainly focused on the states of quantum systems themselves, which feature properties—like entanglement or superposition—that are more directly applicable to areas such as quantum cryptography or quantum computing,” explains Alejandro Pozas Kerstjens, Senior Research and Teaching Assistant in the Department of Applied Physics, Physics Section, at the UNIGE Faculty of Science.
Study Suggests Quantum Entanglement May Rewrite the Rules of Gravity
A new study proposes that quantum information, encoded in entanglement entropy, directly shapes the fabric of spacetime, offering a fresh path toward unifying gravity and quantum mechanics.
Published in Annals of Physics, the paper presents a reformulation of Einstein’s field equations, arguing that gravity is not just a response to mass and energy, but also to the information structure of quantum fields. This shift, if validated, would mark a fundamental transformation in how physicists understand both gravity and quantum computing.
The study, published by Florian Neukart, of the Leiden Institute of Advanced Computer Science, Leiden University and Chief Product Officer of Terra Quantum, introduces the concept of an “informational stress-energy tensor” derived from quantum entanglement entropy.
How bacteria in our aging guts can elevate risk of leukemia and perhaps more
New findings in Nature reveal how age-related gut changes fuel the growth of pre-leukemic blood cells. Scientists at Cincinnati Children’s along with an international team of researchers have discovered a surprising new connection between gut health and blood cancer risk — one that could transform how we think about aging, inflammation, and the early stages of leukemia.
As we grow older — or in some cases, when gut health is compromised by disease — changes in the intestinal lining allow certain bacteria to leak their byproducts into the bloodstream. One such molecule, produced by specific bacteria, acts as a signal that accelerates the expansion of dormant, pre-leukemic blood cells, a critical step to developing full-blown leukemia.
The team’s findings — published April 23, 2025, in the journal Nature — lay out for the first time how this process works. The study also suggests that this mechanism may reach beyond leukemia to influence risk for other diseases and among older people who share a little-known condition called clonal hematopoiesis of indeterminate potential (CHIP).
Switchable singlet fission: pH triggers molecules to split or emit light for sensors
An international team of researchers has successfully controlled the flow of energy in a molecule with the help of its pH value. The results of the study, led by Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU), could contribute to the development of new sensors for medical diagnostics, for example.
The findings are also of interest for building more efficient solar cells and for use in quantum computing. The results have been published in the journal Nature Communications.
A process called singlet fission is at the center of the study. In future generations of solar cells, it should improve the utilization of light and thus increase efficiency. Until now, a large proportion of the energy that shines onto solar cells is lost and released as heat.
