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Davide Castelvecchi

@castelvecchi.bsky.social

2.8K followers 200 following 340 posts

Writer at Nature magazine, covering physical sciences, technology, mathematics, and energy. DMs are disabled courtesy of the UK's so-called Online Safety Act

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Davide Castelvecchi @castelvecchi.bsky.social · Apr 11

Are topology and quantum physics a match made in heaven?
This latest @quantinuum.bsky.social result is the most complete implementation yet of a quantum algorithm for studying knots. But there is much more to this ... my latest story @nature.com — and monster 🧵 ahead
www.nature.com/articles/d41...

‘Mind blowing’: quantum computer untangles the mathematics of knots

Algorithms for studying knots and other topological objects could have a quantum advantage.

www.nature.com

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Davide Castelvecchi @castelvecchi.bsky.social · 1h

Metal-organic frameworks had long been tipped as a Chemistry Nobel candidate — and today it finally happened. My piece with Mira Naddaf
www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Chemistry Nobel for scientists who developed massively porous ‘super sponge’ materials

Susumu Kitagawa, Richard Robson and Omar Yaghi pioneered the creation of metal-organic frameworks, which can capture and store molecules such as carbon dioxide.

www.nature.com

Reposted by Davide Castelvecchi

Katharine Sanderson @kms163.bsky.social · 7h

the 2025 #Nobel prize in Chemistry for MOFs! Delighted to have dug into the potential of these amazing materials earlier this year www.nature.com/articles/d41...

World’s most porous sponges: intricate carbon-trapping powders hit the market

Metal-organic frameworks were the next big thing in chemistry when they were invented more than three decades ago. Now, these intriguing materials are becoming commercial tools for capturing carbon dioxide and harvesting water from the air.

www.nature.com

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Reposted by Davide Castelvecchi

Elizabeth Gibney @lizziegibney.bsky.social · 6h

Over at @naturepodcast.bsky.social we also made a super short vid on this year's physics Nobel Prize. Quantum phenomena at the macroscopic scale in two minutes... go! With me, and Ben Thompson & camera work by the fab @emzywb.bsky.social 🧪⚛️

www.youtube.com/shorts/krita...

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Reposted by Davide Castelvecchi

John Pfaff @johnpfaff.bsky.social · 15h

Um, ICE just coldly shot an unarmed PRIEST in the head w a pepper ball when he (and everyone around him) clearly posed no threat.

For the crime of … complaining about government policy.

Core 1A speech.

With cameras rolling, they’re sniping priests for sport.

Kurt @flglchicago.bsky.social · 17h

Here’s video of the incident

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Davide Castelvecchi @castelvecchi.bsky.social · 1d

John Martinis’ wife didn’t wake him in the middle of the night (California time) to tell him he had won a Nobel. “I got up a little bit before 6. Then I opened my computer and saw John and Michel’s and my pictures."
Story by @lizziegibney.bsky.social and me

www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Groundbreaking quantum-tunnelling experiments win physics Nobel

John Clarke, Michel Devoret and John Martinis discovered quantum physics on a macroscopic scale, paving the way for quantum computing.

www.nature.com

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Reposted by Davide Castelvecchi

Federico Levi @fdlevi.bsky.social · 1d

Very cool Nobel Prize this year. Quantum physics is (too) often reduced to the 100-year-old work of its pioneers. Back at @natphys.nature.com we celebrated experiments that took it from the 1920s to superconducting quantum computers www.nature.com/articles/s41... very much the spirit of this prize.

The ABC of cQED - Nature Physics

The combination of microwave photons with superconducting quantum circuits offers promise for quantum technologies and the fundamental study of quantum light–matter interactions. This month, a Focus issue explores this field of research.

www.nature.com

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Reposted by Davide Castelvecchi

Federico Levi @fdlevi.bsky.social · 1d

rdcu.be/eJQYt Free-to-read link

Quantum Josephson junction circuits and the dawn of artificial atoms

Nature Physics - In 1985, experiments revealed the quantum behaviour of a macroscopic degree of freedom: the phase difference across a Josephson junction. The authors recount the history of this...

rdcu.be

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Davide Castelvecchi @castelvecchi.bsky.social · 5d

Wolfgang Pauli played a central role in the development of quantum mechanics — much of it behind the scenes. But the exclusion principle, which he stated 100 years ago "in the form of the Ten Commandments”, has Pauli's name stamped on it.
My brief essay for @natrevphys.nature.com
rdcu.be/eJkam

Nobel 1945: the exclusion principle - Nature Reviews Physics

80 years ago, the Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded to Wolfgang Pauli.

www.nature.com

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Reposted by Davide Castelvecchi

Karen Attiah @karenattiah.bsky.social · 5d

Washington Post dismantled the platform Jamal wrote on. Discarded the fellowship they created in his memory.

They fired me unjustly for speaking the truth.

But I’ll never stop talking about my friend, writer, and amazing human, Jamal Khashoggi.

RIP, Jamal.

open.substack.com/pub/karenatt...

Jamal Khashoggi, the Washington Post, and the Cost of Speaking Out

As Saudi Arabia hosts comedians and courts gamers, the silenced voice of Jamal Khashoggi still echoes.

open.substack.com

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Dan Fox @danjfox.bsky.social · 7d

Check out these brilliant kirigami parachutes youtu.be/6rrDW6YIbXI

This parachute is full of holes and that's a good thing

YouTube video by nature video

youtu.be

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Reposted by Davide Castelvecchi

Physics Magazine @physicsmagazine.bsky.social · 8d

Researchers have discovered why contact electrification—commonly known as static electricity—is poorly understood: The charge dynamics are too fast for some previous studies to be meaningful.

Charge Transfer Happens Too Fast to See

A new experiment on static electricity casts doubt on previous ones.

physics.aps.org

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Davide Castelvecchi @castelvecchi.bsky.social · 7d

Welcome to the United Kingdom, land of the Online so-called safety act

Reposted by Davide Castelvecchi

Auke Hoekstra @aukehoekstra.bsky.social · 10d

I'm glad that @christianonre.bsky.social increasingly includes nuclear in his analysis, if only to show that adding nuclear is really more expensive than a system running completely (100%) on renewables.

Christian Breyer @christianonre.bsky.social · 12d

1/ New @lut.fi study in collaboration with European partners finds prioritising nuclear power expansion over renewable energy (RE) leads to 71–84% higher annual system costs in Finland by 2050 compared to a cost-optimised RE system. doi.org/10.1016/j.en...

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Reposted by Davide Castelvecchi

Sarah Murphy @13sarahmurphy.bsky.social · 17d

British media pumps out daily propaganda pieces for Farage, fails to offer *any scrutiny* and basically legitimises rampant racism, then puts on its ‘innocent face’ and clutches its pearls at the rise of the far right…
What a grim betrayal of our democracy.
www.thelondoneconomic.com/politics/how...

Reform, with 0.7% of all MPs, featured in 25% of BBC's recent 10pm news bulletins

Astonishingly, a party with 18 times as many MPs as Reform has received one-third less coverage on BBC News at 10.

www.thelondoneconomic.com

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Elizabeth Gibney @lizziegibney.bsky.social · 20d

Remember DeepSeek's R1 model that crashed the US stock market in Jan? DeepSeek has said it did not boost the model by training on OpenAI outputs. This and much more (eg $$ to train & technical details) revealed in the firm's peer reviewed paper out in Nature today 🧪🤖 www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Secrets of DeepSeek AI model revealed in landmark paper

First peer reviewed study shows how a Chinese start-up firm made the market-shaking LLM for US$300,000.

www.nature.com

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Reposted by Davide Castelvecchi

Michael Liebreich @mliebreich.bsky.social · 24d

Part I concludes by demolishing Tony Blair's recent call for a climate reset, which he also couched as a need for pragmatism. Again, yes to pragmatism, but not the false pragmatism of Direct Air Capture, CCS and nuclear SMRs as a climate solution. 10/n
about.bnef.com/insights/cle...

Liebreich: The Pragmatic Climate Reset - Part I | BloombergNEF

As the tide on clean energy turns, Michael Liebreich makes a strong case for a pragmatic climate reset.

about.bnef.com

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Davide Castelvecchi @castelvecchi.bsky.social · 20d

My latest
www.nature.com/articles/d41...

‘Revolutionary’ AI tools rescue old weather data to improve climate models

Specialist machine-learning models are helping researchers to transcribe centuries-old handwritten records.

www.nature.com

Reposted by Davide Castelvecchi

David @daverino.bsky.social · 22d

"The vaccines cost $79 billion to develop & deliver..provided health & economic benefits globally worth between $5 trillion & $38 trillion in the 1st year based on avoided infections, hospitalisations & deaths. That is a ROI of between $60 & $475 per $ invested"
www.newscientist.com/article/2496...

Covid-19 vaccine benefits worth up to $38 trillion in first year alone

The global health and economic benefits of covid-19 vaccines came to between $5 trillion and $38 trillion in their first year, showing an incredible return on investment

www.newscientist.com

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Davide Castelvecchi @castelvecchi.bsky.social · 20d

That was my thought, too. And it had a timeline suspiciously suitable to making a certain billionaire feel like he was going to see this thing happen in his lifetime

Reposted by Davide Castelvecchi

Flora Graham @floragraham.bsky.social · 21d

Oh I am so on board for this week's @nature.com editorial! Take it from someone who grew up without trains, and took a 13-hour train journey on Monday: they are the frikkin best 🚅 www.nature.com/articles/d41...

What if there were a technology that could help to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions, air pollution and environmental degradation, while improving health, reducing social inequality and boosting economic growth? There is, and this month it turns 200.

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Reposted by Davide Castelvecchi

Philip Ball @philipcball.bsky.social · 21d

Well. The RS is clearly feeling the heat. They could have saved themselves the embarrassment months ago. How did they ever imagine this wasn't going to get even worse?

James Ball @jamesrball.com · 21d

Royal Society president Sir Adrian Smith: “I am sure that many of you will share my concern at the events of the last week and the growing tendency to resort to the language of violence…including, unfortunately, an address to the recent London rally from a Fellow of the Royal Society.”

Royal Society to debate throwing out Elon Musk

One of the most prestigious scientific bodies in the world is considering expelling Musk after his appearance at Tommy Robinson’s extremist London rally

www.thenewworld.co.uk

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Davide Castelvecchi @castelvecchi.bsky.social · 22d

Ah yes, the "good old days" of lynching that the anti-"woke" people romanticize so much about

Reposted by Davide Castelvecchi

Deborah Blum @deborahb.bsky.social · 22d

Sigh.

The Onion @theonion.com · 23d

Pulitzer Feeling Increasingly Out Of Place In Washington Post Office

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Davide Castelvecchi @castelvecchi.bsky.social · 25d

I hope you will be shipping overseas! 🤩

Reposted by Davide Castelvecchi

David Roberts @volts.wtf · 26d

This is so crucial. When people think about these land comparisons, they don't think about the entire sprawling infrastructure behind FF.

Yellow Dot Studios @weareyellowdot.bsky.social · 27d

"0.3 per cent of the world’s land area – yes, just the land – would be needed to meet the current energy demand from solar alone, which is LESS THAN THE CURRENT LAND FOOTPRINT OF FOSSIL FUEL INFRASTRUCTURE."

Why solar power is the only viable power source in the long run

Not only is solar more than capable of supplying all the world’s energy, in the long term it is the only power source that won’t fry the planet

www.newscientist.com

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