A Vienna team has shown how to send encrypted data to a quantum computer. But a stable and powerful quantum computer remains a long way off.

Imagine, for a moment, that the promise of powerful, super-fast quantum computers has materialized. In the beginning at least, there will only be a few of them, housed in special facilities.

Users who want to harness their quantum capabilities will need to send data to a remote location, allow the computer to do its magic and send back the results. Quantum physicists have now shown that there's a way to do this that's absolutely securely - meaning the remote quantum computer will never understand the true data even while it is manipulating it.

When it comes to pouring champagne, long, skinny flutes and short, wide coupes have existed side by side for generations. But neither is really the ideal for enjoying a glass of top-shelf bubbly, new research shows.

While beers and wines generally have glasses designed to highlight their taste characteristics, when it comes to champagne the flute and coupe have happily co-existed. Glassmakers, however, may have to rethink their stemware recommendations after reading research published Wednesday in the online journal PLoS ONE.

The agricultural region around Spain's Almería is home to thousands of illegal immigrants living in slum-like conditions. Amid the economic crisis, many want to return to Africa, but lack the means to get home.

A regional court in Düsseldorf ruled on Thursday that electronics giant Samsung may continue to sell its Galaxy Tab 10.1 N tablet computer in Germany, rejecting a bid by arch-rival Apple to have sales banned.

US-based consumer electronics producer Apple on Thursday failed to stop the sale of rival Samsung's new tablet computer Galaxy Tab 10.1 N which was made especially for the German market.

A regional court in Düsseldorf argued that consumers were unlikely to confuse the redesigned tablet device with Apple's iPad.

UK researchers have shown that cab drivers who learn the layout of the capital city - 'the Knowledge' - exhibit growth in the brain, challenging the notion that children are the only ones with 'plastic' minds.

AFP - A consumer advocacy group on Wednesday filed a lawsuit to try to derail Google's plan to merge user data from YouTube, Gmail, Google+ and other services in individual comprehensive profiles.

The Electronic Privacy Information Center urged a federal court to block Google from implementing the change on March 1 as planned and to direct the Federal Trade Commission to intervene.

A woman went to the police this week after receiving violent threats from fans of online lad's mag "Unilad". Like many, I was shocked and disturbed by the vitriolic attacks on women by the website and its supporters. Little did I expect that a few days later I would also be on the phone to the police, reporting online threats and harassment.

Back in 2010, self-styled "breastaurant" Hooters applied for a licence to open in Bristol. The Bristol Feminist Network and Bristol Fawcett launched a campaign objecting to the licence. We believe that Hooters contributes to the normalisation of the sexual objectification of women - a normalisation that negatively impacts on women's self-esteem and leads to an increased tolerance of sexual harassment and violence. Our campaign was unsuccessful. We were told by the licensing committee that a business whose USP is scantily clad women serving hot wings offered "something really different to Bristol". However, just over a year later, Hooters announced that it had closed.