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Astronomers have spotted the tiniest, most metal-based planet yet — an iron-rich world that is 9 parsecs away from Earth and zips around its star once every 8 hours. The planet, known as GJ 367b, is three-quarters the size of Earth, but much denser. Its temperature reaches a searing 1,500 ℃ during the day — nearly hot enough for its iron to begin to melt. The discovery demonstrates scientists’ prowess at finding extreme planets. “It’s pretty wild,” says astronomer Lisa Dang.
Physicists have created a physical simulation of an exotic and elusive state of matter first predicted in the 1970s, called a spin liquid. Spin liquids contain arrangements of electron spins — the subatomic equivalent of bar magnets — in a solid material that are intrinsically unstable, like the molecules in a liquid. Evidence for their existence is still preliminary, but researchers have now been able to simulate them using atoms suspended in a vacuum — a type of quantum computer that has received less attention than other technologies. Such ‘quantum simulations’ show promise as early applications of quantum computers.
Features & opinion
In 1942, facing a hepatitis outbreak in the US military, biomedical researchers launched human experiments that continued for decades after the war. They infected more than 1,000 people with viruses that cause hepatitis, including prison inmates, disabled children, people with severe mental illnesses and conscientious objectors performing community service. In her new book. historical sociologist Sydney Halpern explores the social, military and scientific context that led to research with consequences that can never be fully reckoned.
Futures: science fiction from Nature
In this week’s helping of short stories for Nature’s Futures series:
• A virus-hunter battles with their own mind in ‘Mnemovirus’.
• Time-travelling preservationists rescue information from oblivion in ‘The last library’.
Researchers are trying to develop nutritious diets that help to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions. Some of these sustainable diets are now being tested to see whether they work in local contexts without damaging livelihoods.
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