More than a million years ago, on a hot savannah teeming with wildlife near the shore of what would someday become Lake Turkana in Kenya, two completely different species of hominins may have passed each other as they scavenged for food.

Scientists know this because they have examined 1.5-million-year-old fossils they unearthed and have concluded they represent the first example of two sets of hominin footprints made about the same time on an ancient lake shore. The discovery will provide more insight into human evolution and how species cooperated and competed with one another, the scientists said.

Short explanation by Andi

Here is a simplified explanation of the research described in the article in about 240 words: The researchers were exploring a new kind of exotic state of matter called a "topological time crystal." This is a material where the atoms exhibit unusual coordinated behavior that repeats in time in a special way. Specifically, they were using a quantum computer made of superconducting circuits to simulate the behavior of a topological time crystal. They arranged 18 superconducting qubits (quantum bits) in a square lattice pattern and carefully programmed them to mimic the theoretical model of this exotic state of matter. The key signature they were looking for was that when they measured certain nonlocal properties of the system, they would see oscillations that repeated not at the period at which they were driving the system, but at twice that period. This "discrete time translation symmetry breaking" is the defining property of a time crystal. Remarkably, they observed this period doubling when they looked at nonlocal operators spanning multiple qubits, indicating the coordinated exotic behavior. But local measurements on single qubits did not show any unusual oscillations. This proves the nonlocal topological nature of this exotic state. They further demonstrated the robustness of this unusual coordinated behavior and its topological properties by adding small perturbations. Their observations provide evidence for realizing this novel out-of-equilibrium phase of matter in a real quantum simulator. The results showcase exciting progress in exploring exotic quantum states using quantum computers.

Monitoring plastic pollution: key elements for a science-based framework for a global plastics treaty

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https://council.science/blog/monitoring-plastic-pollution-key-elements-for-a-science-based-framework-for-a-global-plastics-treaty/?utm%5C_source=rss&utm%5C_medium=rss&utm%5C_campaign=monitoring-plastic-pollution-key-elements-for-a-science-based-framework-for-a-global-plastics-treaty

We need an urgent reform of our Climate COP’s to enable real climate action

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https://council.science/blog/we-need-an-urgent-reform-of-our-climate-cops-to-enable-real-climate-action/?utm%5C_source=rss&utm%5C_medium=rss&utm%5C_campaign=we-need-an-urgent-reform-of-our-climate-cops-to-enable-real-climate-action

Scientists call for stronger science-policy collaboration in global transformations

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https://council.science/news/world-science-forum-declaration/?utm%5C_source=rss&utm%5C_medium=rss&utm%5C_campaign=world-science-forum-declaration

I like the idea that it might become regular maintenance to get our brains unclogged.

I'm not familiar with eLife but this publication model is crazy. (They aren't giving editors the choice to reject/publish -it's all published with open access reviews and an article classification by the editors of general quality (based on reviews). Surprising that they didn't see a change in volume or submissions or decline in reviews.

Call for feedback on the ISC’s interpretation of the right to participate in and benefit from science

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https://council.science/news/call-feedback-right-to-science/?utm%5C_source=rss&utm%5C_medium=rss&utm%5C_campaign=call-feedback-right-to-science

The urgent need for data to tackle climate disasters

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https://council.science/blog/the-urgent-need-for-data-to-tackle-climate-disasters/?utm%5C_source=rss&utm%5C_medium=rss&utm%5C_campaign=the-urgent-need-for-data-to-tackle-climate-disasters

Making sense of science in the 21st century – trust, repair, dialogue, and engagement

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https://council.science/blog/making-sense-of-science-in-the-21st-century-trust-repair-dialogue-and-engagement/?utm%5C_source=rss&utm%5C_medium=rss&utm%5C_campaign=making-sense-of-science-in-the-21st-century-trust-repair-dialogue-and-engagement

The right to participate in science

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https://council.science/blog/the-right-to-participate-in-science

Unpacking the ‘right to science’ – from origins to ISC advocacy

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https://council.science/blog/unpacking-the-right-to-science-from-origins-to-isc-advocacy/?utm%5C_source=rss&utm%5C_medium=rss&utm%5C_campaign=unpacking-the-right-to-science-from-origins-to-isc-advocacy

ISC supports the COP29 Declaration on Green Digital Action at first-ever Digitalisation Day

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https://council.science/news/cop29-declaration-green-digital-action/?utm%5C_source=rss&utm%5C_medium=rss&utm%5C_campaign=cop29-declaration-green-digital-action

Call for nominations of experts and resources to inform the work of the UN Secretary-General’s Scientific Advisory Board

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https://council.science/news/call-for-experts-resources-un-sg-sab/?utm%5C_source=rss&utm%5C_medium=rss&utm%5C_campaign=call-for-experts-resources-un-sg-sab

COP29: how to overcome political and financial gridlock? Scientists urge local and national strategies

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https://council.science/news/cop29-how-to-overcome-political-and-financial-gridlock/?utm%5C_source=rss&utm%5C_medium=rss&utm%5C_campaign=cop29-how-to-overcome-political-and-financial-gridlock