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Quantum Lab Claims and Canadian Tech Sell-offs Fuel Intelligence Race

Austere editorial image representing the Pressure Systems edition “Quantum Lab Claims and Canadian Tech Sell-offs Fuel Intelligence Race”.

As the US government accelerates its 2028 deadline for functional quantum computing, academic critiques of Microsoft’s Majorana hardware reveal a widening gap between corporate marketing and physical reality. In Canada, the privatization of public tech assets by financial elites mirrors a broader trend of cybersecurity mission creep, where state actors reframe economic and scientific policy as urgent national security imperatives.

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    The weirdness of neutrinos could completely rewrite particle physics

    New scientist2026-07-01

    A philosopher has put forward an argument for rethinking how particles are defined within the standard model of particle physics

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    Can video games help us better understand quantum mechanics?

    New scientist2026-06-26

    The world of quantum video games is vast – there are hundreds that are either inspired by quantum mechanics or use quantum computers in their development. Columnist Karmela Padavic-Callaghan explores how these could change our understanding of quantum physics, or even help us make better devices

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    The universe is less uniform than we thought – cosmology may need a radical rethink

    The Conversation2026-06-30

    Authors provided/based on DESI data, CC BY-SA Modern cosmology rests on a simple assumption: if we look on large enough scales, matter should be distributed evenly, with no preferred direction within the cosmos. This is known as the cosmological principle. Now, as new telescopes both on Earth and in…

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    A new quantum computer sets a high watermark for accuracy – are we on the verge of a big breakthrough?

    The Conversation2026-06-24

    In a laboratory in Broomfield, Colorado, 98 atoms are suspended in mid-air, held in place by electric fields and cooled to temperatures close to absolute zero. Each atom is far smaller than anything the naked eye could ever see, yet each carries information in a form that has no counterpart in class…

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    A new paper argues Microsoft exaggerated its quantum claims a year ago

    The Verge2026-06-24

    Microsoft’s Majorana 1 processor. | Image: Microsoft A critique published in Nature Wednesday calls the basic technology behind Microsoft's "breakthrough" quantum computing chip the Majorana 1 into question. Microsoft unveiled the chip in February 2025 and said it featured a brand-new technology kno…

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    US government wants to have a useful quantum computer by 2028

    New scientist2026-06-29

    The US government is trying to speed up the development of quantum computers so it can have one sooner

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    Cybersecurity Mission Creep in the US

    Bruce Schneier2026-07-02

    Interesting paper: “Cybersecurity Mission Creep.” Abstract: Cybersecurity is experiencing mission creep. Policymakers are casting more and more problems as issues of cybersecurity. So reframed, wildly different policy issues, from misinformation, to child social media safety laws, to antitrust regul…

    • Cybersecurity
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    Carney is Selling Off Canada’s Publicly Owned Tech Gem. Why?

    The Tyee2026-06-25

    Leading the charge is Build Canada and a broligarchy of AI boosters. Second in a series.