Daily briefing: What we know about autism and why it's on the rise

"Researchers have fine-tuned one of the most iconic experiments in physics - the double-slit experiment - using two single atoms as the slits. A photon fired at the atoms is scattered in a version of the familiar pattern that has graced a thousand physics textbooks: ripples of interference in some conditions (in this case, when the atoms were trapped in well-defined positions) or no interference (when they were not)."

"The experiment once again shows how light behaves as both a particle and a wave, while negating some of the concerns about experimental 'noise' that worried Albert Einstein. "I think this is a beautiful experiment and a testament to how far our experimental control has come," says physicist Thomas Hird. "This probably far surpasses what Einstein could have imagined possible.""

Decades of research identify complex, multifactorial causes of autism encompassing genetic contributions and environmental influences. Researchers have fine-tuned the double-slit experiment using two single atoms as slits to observe photon scattering that yields interference ripples when atomic positions are well defined and no interference when they are not. The experiment demonstrates light's wave-particle duality while reducing experimental noise concerns. The hydrothermal-vent worm Paralvinella hessleri accumulates arsenic in skin, which reacts with sulfide to form less-toxic orpiment biomineral, producing a bright yellow hue. Wild bees selectively visit flowers whose pollen matches their nutritional needs. Unicellular organisms provide clues about the origins of multicellular animal life.

Read at Nature