Plants can be larks or night owls just like us

Plants have the same variation in body clocks as that found in humans, according to new research that explores the genes governing circadian rhythms in plants.

Super quantum simulator 'entangles' hundreds of ions

Physicists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have "entangled" or linked together the properties of up to 219 beryllium ions (charged atoms) to create a quantum simulator. The simulator is designed ...

Team invents new way to 'see' the quantum world

JILA scientists have invented a new imaging technique that produces rapid, precise measurements of quantum behavior in an atomic clock in the form of near-instant visual art.

Tic toc: Why pendulums swing in harmony

Almost 350 years ago, Dutch inventor and scientist Christiaan Huygens observed that two pendulum clocks hanging from a wall would synchronise their swing over time.

How sunflowers track the sun

Plants tell time. Not the way we do – for example, it's 3.40pm, time to pick up the kids. But like animals, plants can sense that winter is coming and it's time to drop leaves.

Countries consider time out on the 'leap second'

It's high noon for the humble leap second. After ten years of talks, governments are headed for a showdown vote this week on an issue that pits technological precision against nature's whims.

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