Is this you? As a journalist, you can create a free Muck Rack account to customize your profile, list your contact preferences, and upload a portfolio of your best work.
Claim your profile
Articles by Zeeya Merali
Raport. Komputery kwantowe mają zrewolucjonizować kryptografię czy telekomunikację. Te obietnice mogą się spełnić. Albo nie
Wciąż dzielą nas lata od komputerów kwantowych zdolnych do realizacji praktycznych zastosowań niedostępnych dla komputerów klasycznych – twierdzą eksperci. Prawdziwym sprawdzianem – mówi jeden z nich – będzie ich zbudowanie i przekonanie się, że działają.
Komputery kwantowe mają zrewolucjonizować kryptografię czy telekomunikację. Te obietnice mogą się spełnić. Albo nie
Wciąż dzielą nas lata od komputerów kwantowych zdolnych do realizacji praktycznych zastosowań niedostępnych dla komputerów klasycznych – twierdzą eksperci. Prawdziwym sprawdzianem – mówi jeden z nich – będzie ich zbudowanie i przekonanie się, że działają.
Quantum computers’ first killer apps are closer than you think
The 21st-century fervor about building the first industrial-scale quantum computer, pioneering theoretical physicist Peter Zoller says, is akin to the 20th-century obsession with becoming the first to conquer Mount Everest. “When you’re climbing, you look around worrying, ‘Who is number one?’” he says.
Magnetic muon measurements and gene-therapy advances win $3 million Breakthrough prizes
This year's winners include hundreds of physicists across more than 30 institutions Researchers dedicated to a decades-long quest to measure the magnetic properties of the subatomic muon particle have won one of this year's US$3 million Breakthrough prizes.
Magnetic muon measurements and gene-therapy advances win $3 million Breakthrough prizes
The Muon g−2 ring sits in its detector hall amidst electronics racks, the muon beamline, and other equipment at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory in Batavia, Ill. (Reidar Hahn/Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory/DOE/UPI/Alamy Stock Photo) Researchers dedicated to a decades-long quest to measure the magnetic properties of the subatomic muon particle have won one of this year’s US$3 million Breakthrough prizes.
Magnetic muon measurements and gene-therapy advances win US$3 million Breakthrough prizes
David Hertzog and Katherine High were among the winners of this year’s Breakthrough prize.Credit: Dennis R. Wise & Colin Lenton Researchers dedicated to a decades-long quest to measure the magnetic properties of the subatomic muon particle have won one of this year’s US$3 million Breakthrough prizes.
‘Dark matter’, 'Big Bang' and ‘spin’: how physics terms can confuse researchers
Listen to episode 3 of What's in a name Categorizing things is central to science. And there are dozens of systems scientists have created to name everything from the trenches on the sea bed to the stars in the sky. But names have consequences. What’s in a name is a series exploring naming in science and how names impact the world.
Breakthrough Prizes Awarded to Obesity-Drug Pioneers and Large Hadron Collider Physicists
Five scientists who contributed to the development of the blockbuster weight-loss drugs Ozempic and Wegovy have picked up one of this year’s US$3-million Breakthrough prizes — the most lucrative awards in science. Originally developed to treat diabetes, these drugs work by mimicking a hormone called glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) that controls blood sugar levels and helps to curb appetite.
Obesity-drug pioneers and 13,508 physicists win US$3-million Breakthrough Prizes
Five scientists who contributed to the development of the blockbuster weight-loss drugs Ozempic and Wegovy have picked up one of this year’s US$3-million Breakthrough prizes — the most lucrative awards in science. Originally developed to treat diabetes, these drugs work by mimicking a hormone called glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) that controls blood sugar levels and helps to curb appetite.
Can We Turn Back Time?
It sounds like the cosmetics industry dream: discovering a way to resist time’s arrow. For centuries, scientists and philosophers have pondered why we move relentlessly from past to future. What is the origin of this flow? Can it be reversed or halted? Now physicists in the burgeoning field of “quantum thermodynamics”—which examines heat and energy transfer at the smallest scales—are investigating a peculiar set of circumstances in which time’s inexorable march may be slowed in some tiny systems.
Our Manifest Destiny-In Space
Templeton.org is in English. Only a few pages are translated into other languages. Usted está viendo Templeton.org en español. Tenga en cuenta que solamente hemos traducido algunas páginas a su idioma. El resto permanecen en inglés. Você está vendo Templeton.org em Português. Apenas algumas páginas do site são traduzidas para o seu idioma. As páginas restantes são apenas em Inglês. أنت تشاهد Templeton.org باللغة العربية. تتم ترجمة بعض صفحات الموقع فقط إلى لغتك. الصفحات المتبقية هي باللغة الإنجليزية فقط.
Life-Changing Cystic Fibrosis Treatment Wins $3-Million Breakthrough Prize Original
The triple-drug combination Trikafta has given a new lease of life to 90% of people with cystic fibrosis, an inherited disorder that affects the lungs and other organs. Now, the trio of researchers who spearheaded its development has won one of this year’s US$3-million Breakthrough prizes — the most lucrative awards in science.
Life-changing cystic fibrosis treatment wins US$3-million Breakthrough Prize
The triple-drug combination Trikafta has given a new lease of life to 90% of people with cystic fibrosis, an inherited disorder that affects the lungs and other organs. Now, the trio of chemists who spearheaded its development has won one of this year’s US$3-million Breakthrough prizes — the most lucrative awards in science.
Detecting an Atom's Breath: The Hunt for Dark Matter
“If you were blind and I told you that there are ‘magical’ particles of light called ‘photons’ all around you,” ponders Swati Singh, “what evidence would convince you that these photons are real?” It’s this kind of question that has inspired Singh, a quantum optical physicist and engineer at the University of Delaware, in Newark, and others, to search for novel ways to detect a different particle that is veiled from all our views.
AlphaFold Developers Win $3-Million Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences
The researchers behind the AlphaFold artificial-intelligence (AI) system have won one of this year’s US$3-million Breakthrough prizes—the most lucrative awards in science. Demis Hassabis and John Jumper, both at DeepMind in London, were recognized for creating the tool that has predicted the 3D structures of almost every known protein on the planet.
AlphaFold developers win US$3-million Breakthrough Prize
The researchers behind the AlphaFold artificial-intelligence (AI) system have won one of this year’s US$3-million Breakthrough prizes — the most lucrative awards in science. Demis Hassabis and John Jumper, both at DeepMind in London, were recognized for creating the tool that has predicted the 3D structures of almost every known protein on the planet.
New Phase of Matter Opens Portal to Extra Time Dimension Original
When the ancient Incas wanted to archive tax and census records, they used a device made up of a number of strings called a quipu, which encoded the data in knots. Fast-forward several hundred years, and physicists are on their way to developing a far more sophisticated modern equivalent. Their “quipu” is a new phase of matter created within a quantum computer, their strings are atoms, and the knots are generated by patterns of laser pulses that effectively open up a second dimension of time.
God, Dark Matter and Falling Cats: A Conversation with 2022 Templeton Prize Winner Frank Wilczek
Frank Wilczek, a Nobel Prize–winning theoretical physicist and author, has been announced as the recipient of the 2022 Templeton Prize, which is valued at more than $1.3 million. The annual award honors those “who harness the power of the sciences to explore the deepest questions of the universe and humankind’s place and purpose within it,” according to a press release from the John Templeton Foundation.
Was Our Universe Made for Us?
This story is Part I of a two-part series drawing from our recent research review on fine-tuning. Stay tuned for the release of Part II later this month. Some days Fred Adams is a frog. On others, he explains, he’s more of a bird. Adams, an astrophysicist at the University of Michigan, in Ann Arbor, is harking back to an analogy made by American mathematician Freeman Dyson.
The Black Hole in the Basement: Part I
This story is Part I of a two-part series drawing from our recent research review on emergence. Stay tuned for the release of Part II next week.
Over Gravity's Rainbow - John Templeton Foundation
An alternative framework of physics, in which light’s speed can vary By Zeeya Merali When was seven years old, his parents replaced their black and white television with a new set displaying a kaleidoscope of colors. “I’m old enough to remember my excitement as a whole new world opened up,” he says.
COVID advances win US$3-million Breakthrough prizes Original
NEWS 09 September 2021 Pioneers of mRNA vaccines and next-generation sequencing techniques are among the winners of science’s most lucrative awards. Techniques that have armed scientists in the battle against COVID-19 have scooped two out of five US$3-million Breakthrough prizes — the most lucrative awards in science and mathematics.
Q&A: The sci-fi optimist
Best-selling science-fiction writer Neal Stephenson's works cover everything from cryptography to Sumerian mythology. Ahead of next year's novel Seveneves, he talks about his influences, the stagnation in material technologies, and Hieroglyph, the forthcoming science-fiction anthology that he kick-started to stimulate the next generation of engineers. Hieroglyph Edited by: Ed Finn & Kathryn Cramer HarperCollins: 2014. 9780062204691 | ISBN: 978-0-0622-0469-1 What sparked your interest in science?
Quantum Mechanics Braces for the Ultimate Test
Summary Physicists are on a quest to build the ultimate quantum cryptography system: one that users could trust implicitly, even if they had bought it from their worst enemy. First, however, they have to plug a few stubborn holes in one of the bedrocks of modern physics: quantum mechanics. The microscopic world that quantum mechanics describes is a bizarre place where nothing is certain and the act of observation changes things.
Discoverer of neural circuits for parenting wins US$3 million Breakthrough Prize Original
Catherine Dulac showed that the protein galanin role is expressed in mouse neurons which acted as "an on-off switch" for parental behaviour.Credit: Rick Friedman/Corbis/Getty Discovering the “on-and-off switch” for good parenting in both male and female mouse brains has earned Catherine Dulac, a molecular biologist at Harvard University, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, one of this year’s US$3-million Breakthrough prizes — the most lucrative awards in science and mathematics.
Q&A: Space-time visionary
Thanks to theoretical physicist Kip Thorne, real science is embedded in Christopher Nolan's film Interstellar, in which explorers seek a new home for humankind. Thorne talks about what he learned from the film's unprecedented visualizations of black holes and wormholes, what it and his accompanying book can teach, and the likelihood of humans escaping the Solar System. Interstellar Directed by Christopher Nolan. Warner Brothers: 2014. How did Interstellar come about?
This Twist on Schrödinger's Cat Paradox Has Major Implications for Quantum Theory
What does it feel like to be both alive and dead? That question irked and inspired Hungarian-American physicist Eugene Wigner in the 1960s. He was frustrated by the paradoxes arising from the vagaries of quantum mechanics—the theory governing the microscopic realm that suggests, among many other counterintuitive things, that until a quantum system is observed, it does not necessarily have definite properties.
Not-quite-so elementary, my dear electron
Nature | News Sharing Fundamental particle ‘splits’ into quasiparticles, including the new ‘orbiton’. 18 April 2012 ANIMATE4.COM/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBARY Electrons in atoms behave like waves, and when researchers excite them to higher orbits, those waves can split up, revealing the constituent characteristics of the electron. In a feat of technical mastery, condensed-matter physicists have managed to detect the elusive third constituent of an electron — its 'orbiton'.
The source of all ball lightning?
Earth 8 February 2006 By Zeeya Merali WHILE on a camping trip in Netanya, Israel, Dora Jerby and her friends saw a football-sized orb emerge from near the seashore. “It seemed to be emitting light from its core,” she says. That was 50 years ago. Now, her son Eli Jerby has created a floating ball of flame in his lab, and thinks it might help explain the weird phenomenon of ball lightning.
Solving Biology's Mysteries Using Quantum Mechanics
There’s a fine line between being hailed as a visionary and being denounced as a crank, as Iraq-born physicist Jim Al-Khalili is only too aware. Seated in his office at the University of Surrey in the U.K. on a sunny day, he recalls a less tranquil time in his career, almost 15 years ago. Back then, he and his Surrey colleague, biologist Johnjoe McFadden, explored a strange mechanism to explain how DNA — the molecule that carries our genetic code — may mutate.
Creating a Universe in the Lab? The Idea Is No Joke
Physicists aren’t often reprimanded for using risqué humor in their academic writings, but in 1991 that is exactly what happened to the cosmologist Andrei Linde at Stanford University. He had submitted a draft article entitled ‘Hard Art of the Universe Creation’ to the journal Nuclear Physics B. In it, he outlined the possibility of creating a universe in a laboratory: a whole new cosmos that might one day evolve its own stars, planets and intelligent life.
Do We Live in the Matrix?
In the 1999 sci-fi film classic The Matrix, the protagonist, Neo, is stunned to see people defying the laws of physics, running up walls and vanishing suddenly. These superhuman violations of the rules of the universe are possible because, unbeknownst to him, Neo’s consciousness is embedded in the Matrix, a virtual-reality simulation created by sentient machines.
Is Einstein's Greatest Work All Wrong - Because He Didn't Go Far Enough?
Julian Barbour cuts an unlikely figure for a radical. We sip afternoon tea at his farmhouse in the sleepy English village of South Newington, and he playfully quotes Faust: That I may understand whatever binds the world’s innermost core together, see all its workings, and its seeds. His love of Goethe’s classic poem, about a scholar who sells his soul to the devil in exchange for unlimited knowledge, is apropos.
First Ever Picture of a Black Hole Scoops $3-Million Prize
The Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) team took humanity to the heart of darkness when it unveiled the world’s first direct image of a black hole in April. That feat has now earned the team one of this year’s six US$3-million Breakthrough prizes—the most lucrative awards in science and mathematics. The image shows the supermassive black hole at the centre of the galaxy Messier 87, which lies around 17 parsecs (55 million light years) from Earth.
First ever picture of a black hole scoops US$3-million prize
The Event Horizon Telescope network produced the first-ever direct image of a black hole and its event horizon in April.Credit: Event Horizon Telescope Collaboration The Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) team took humanity to the heart of darkness when it unveiled the world’s first direct image of a black hole in April1,2,3,4,5,6. That feat has now earned the team one of this year’s six US$3-million Breakthrough prizes — the most lucrative awards in science and mathematics.
Speculative 'Supergravity' Theory Wins $3 Million Prize
Whether the theory of supergravity, an attempt to unify all the forces of nature, is a true description of the world still hangs in the balance more than 40 years after it was proposed. Nonetheless it has now nabbed its founders one of the most lucrative awards in science: a shared US$3-million Special Breakthrough Prize in fundamental physics. Read Full Article » Show comments Hide Comments
Speculative ‘supergravity’ theory wins US$3-million prize
Peter van Nieuwenhuizen, Sergio Ferrara and Dan Freedman (left to right, in a picture from 2016) received a Breakthrough Prize for creating supergravity theory.Credit: CERN Whether the theory of supergravity, an attempt to unify all the forces of nature, is a true description of the world still hangs in the balance more than 40 years after it was proposed.
Will Our Universe Collide With a Neighboring One?
Relaxing on an idyllic beach on Grand Cayman Island in the Caribbean, Anthony Aguirre vividly describes the worst natural disaster he can imagine. It is, in fact, probably the worst natural disaster that anyone could imagine. An asteroid impact would be small potatoes compared with this kind of event: a catastrophic encounter with an entire other universe.
Back From the Future
Jeff Tollaksen may well believe he was destined to be here at this point in time. We’re on a boat in the Atlantic, and it’s not a pleasant trip. The torrential rain obscures the otherwise majestic backdrop of the volcanic Azorean islands, and the choppy waters are causing the boat to lurch. The rough sea has little effect on Tollaksen, barely bringing color to his Nordic complexion. This is second nature to him; he grew up around boats.
Revolutionary Microscopy Technique Nets Most Lucrative Prize in Science
A picture might be worth a thousand words—but inventing a way to take nanoscale pictures is worth US$3-million. The inventor of a ‘super-resolution’ microscopy technique that biologists are using to reveal the hidden molecular structures of cells is one of six big winners of this year’s Breakthrough Prizes—the most lucrative awards in science and mathematics. The winners were announced on 17 October.
Revolutionary microscopy technique nets most lucrative prize in science
Xiaowei Zhuang has won a US$3-million Breakthrough prize in life sciences for her work on microscopy.Credit: Cheryl Senter/HHMI A picture might be worth a thousand words — but inventing a way to take nanoscale pictures is worth US$3-million. The inventor of a ‘super-resolution’ microscopy technique that biologists are using to reveal the hidden molecular structures of cells is one of six big winners of this year’s Breakthrough Prizes — the most lucrative awards in science and mathematics.
Pulsar discoverer Jocelyn Bell Burnell wins $3-million Breakthrough Prize
Fifty years after discovering pulsars — compact rotating stars that emit beams of radiation — astrophysicist Jocelyn Bell Burnell has been awarded one of the most lucrative prizes in science: a US$3-million Breakthrough Prize.
Can Buddhism Help Guide Physics and Cosmology?
Can Buddhism Help Guide Physics and Cosmology? There is a story that the Buddha was once addressing his sangha, the monastic community who had gathered around to listen to him preach, when one of his bright young followers posed a series of questions. What, he asked his spiritual leader, is the origin of the Universe? Is the cosmos infinite? Is it eternal, or did it have a beginning?Read Full Article »
Can Buddhist philosophy explain what came before the Big Bang?
There is a story that the Buddha was once addressing his sangha, the monastic community who had gathered around to listen to him preach, when one of his bright young followers posed a series of questions. What, he asked his spiritual leader, is the origin of the Universe? Is the cosmos infinite? Is it eternal, or did it have a beginning? After the student had finished, he looked up to the Buddha to hear his pearls of wisdom, but the older man was silent.
Doughnut-shaped Universe bites back
Astronomers say Universe is small and finite. The doughnut is making a comeback – at least as a possible shape for our Universe. The idea that the universe is finite and relatively small, rather than infinitely large, first became popular in 2003, when cosmologists noticed unexpected patterns in the cosmic microwave background (CMB) – the relic radiation left behind by the Big Bang.
Universe’s Baby Picture Wins $3 Million
Astrophysicists who captured an image of the Big Bang’s afterglow—and confirmed the standard model of cosmology—won a US$3-million Breakthrough Prize on 3 December. The team behind NASA’s Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) provided key evidence backing the theory that the cosmos is composed mainly of dark energy and dark matter, with a small serving of ordinary matter.
The Idea of Creating a New Universe in the Lab Is No Joke
Physicists aren’t often reprimanded for using risqué humour in their academic writings, but in 1991 that is exactly what happened to the cosmologist Andrei Linde at Stanford University. He had submitted a draft article entitled ‘Hard Art of the Universe Creation’ to the journal Nuclear Physics B. In it, he outlined the possibility of creating a universe in a laboratory: a whole new cosmos that might one day evolve its own stars, planets and intelligent life.
The Idea of Creating a New Universe in the Lab Is No Joke
Physicists aren’t often reprimanded for using risqué humour in their academic writings, but in 1991 that is exactly what happened to the cosmologist Andrei Linde at Stanford University. He had submitted a draft article entitled ‘Hard Art of the Universe Creation’ to the journal Nuclear Physics B. In it, he outlined the possibility of creating a universe in a laboratory: a whole new cosmos that might one day evolve its own stars, planets and intelligent life.
Bookshelf - CERN Courier
One of the most intriguing works in the philosophy of science is Wigner’s 1960 paper titled “The Unreasonable Effectiveness of Mathematics in the Natural Sciences”. Indeed the fact that so many natural laws can be formulated in this language, not to mention that some of these represent the most precise knowledge we have about our world, is a stunning mystery.
'A Big Bang In A Little Room' Explores How Scientists Could Create A New Universe
British journalist and scientist Zeeya Merali isn't content writing about easy subjects. Merali is a theoretical cosmologist, and her latest book tackles the possibility that scientists are getting closer to the day when they may be able to create a tiny universe in the laboratory.
Show More
loading
Actions
Is this you?
As a journalist, you can create a free Muck Rack account to customize your profile, list your contact preferences, and upload a portfolio of your best work.Get in touch with Zeeya
Contact Zeeya, search articles and posts on X, monitor coverage, and track replies from one place.
Learn more about Muck Rack