Gravity measured in the quantum world for the first time

An international team including Roger Penrose directly measured gravity's effect on the quantum phase of falling rubidium atoms, confirming Einstein's equivalence principle in the quantum regime in a study published in Science Advances. In other advances, researchers created a photonic time crystal from a plasmonic metamaterial, discovered a 'Pac-Man' enzyme that degrades bioplastics, and Hubble spotted a new decagon encircling Saturn's south pole.

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Gravity's effect on falling quantum atoms measured for first time An international team including Nobel laureate Roger Penrose used a Quantum Galileo Interferometer with ultracold rubidium atoms, confirming Einstein's equivalence principle in the quantum regime. The result, published in Science Advances, neither unifies gravity with quantum mechanics nor proves gravity is quantum, but opens new tests with heavier objects. 1

Plasmonic metamaterial makes a new photonic time crystal The structure's properties oscillate in time rather than space, offering a new platform for controlling light and exploring non-equilibrium physics. 2

New 'Pac-Man' enzyme degrades bioplastics and may confer antibiotic resistance University of Konstanz researchers found the enzyme in the 'plastisphere' microbial community; its wide-open active site lets it break down polyesters and bioplastics. The discovery, published in The ISME Journal, also hints the enzyme may provide bacteria with antibiotic resistance. 3 4

AI-designed proteins enable a new generation of RNA transporters Helmholtz Munich researchers report AI-designed proteins that enable a new generation of RNA transporters, potentially improving delivery of RNA-based therapies. 5

Bacterial enzyme reads eight DNA letters, including four synthetic ones UC San Diego-led work showed RNA polymerase efficiently incorporates hachimoji bases P, Z, B and S, suggesting cells' machinery can handle letters evolution never wrote. The test-tube reactions ran in seconds, though synthetic letters were incorporated at roughly half the rate of natural ones. 6

Electric fish brain circuit reveals how neurons filter signal from noise A connectome of the elephantnose fish's hindbrain—5,016 cells and 29,694 synapses—shows fast- and slow-learning neurons paired together to cancel the fish's own electric pulses while hunting. 7

Hubble spots new decagon encircling Saturn's south pole The 10-sided jet stream is a previously unseen atmospheric feature, joining Saturn's famous north-polar hexagon among the planet's long-lived patterns. 8

Proposed neutrino laser is probably impossible, new analyses find Two mathematical investigations by Wolfgang Ketterle's team dash hopes of building a laser from ultracold radioactive atoms in a Bose-Einstein condensate. 9