Data

Researchers in Japan have clocked a new speed record for data transmission – a blistering 1.02 petabits per second (Pb/s). Better yet, the breakthrough was achieved using optical fiber cables that should be compatible with existing infrastructure.

As with most things, nature’s data storage system, DNA, far surpasses anything we’ve created. Now, researchers have doubled its already incredible storage capacity by adding extra letters to its “alphabet,” and developed a new way to read it back.

By deploying cutting-edge lasers, scientists at the University of Southampton have achieved a 5D optical data storage breakthrough that offers both incredible density and long-term archiving capabilities.

Most memory devices us electric signals, but an emerging technology uses light, so data can be read back just by checking if an LED is on or off. Now, researchers have developed a new device based entirely on perovskite that can do both at once.

The record for fastest internet speed has been shattered with a data transmission rate of 319 Terabits per second through optical fibers. The record was set over more than 3,000 km of fibers, and is compatible with existing infrastructure.

It may feel like 5G networks are only just becoming mainstream, but the next iteration, 6G, is already in the works. Samsung has now demonstrated its first prototype 6G system in an over-the-air test, using terahertz (THz) frequencies.

A quantum internet could one day allow quantum computers to team up and tackle some gigantic problems. Researchers at Toshiba are a step closer, demonstrating quantum communications sent over a record-breaking 600 km (373 miles) of optic fiber.

By leveraging the wonder material graphene, a group at the University of Cambridge is claiming an advance in data storage that resembles more of a leap than a step forward. The team says the technology enables a ten-fold increase in data density.

A browsable 3D map of just one millionth of the cerebral cortex has been created using 225 million images and a whopping 1.4 petabytes of data, illustrating the immense complexity of the human brain.

Liquid cooling is one of the most effective ways to keep computers from overheating. Microsoft has now put a unique spin on the technique, demonstrating a system to cool its cloud servers by dunking the computers into a tank full of boiling liquid.

Nokia and Vodafone have tested a new broadband technology that delivers a blistering 100 gigabits per second (Gbps). Conducted using the kind of network seen in the last mile between an ISP and a user, it could eventually be rolled out commercially.

How often do you clear out old photos on your phone or tidy up your email inbox? You just may be a digital hoarder, and researchers from Northumbria University have identified four distinct types.