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Quantum computers are heralded as promising tools for performing computations that are beyond the reach of supercomputers and every other technology currently at our disposal. But we are in the early days of quantum computing, and there are still basic questions left to answer: How do you know that a clever programmer won’t develop a revolutionary method that allows traditional computers to run circles around the upstart quantum newcomers? And if a quantum computer has solved a problem that no other available technology can, how can you be sure that it’s even right?

A new study by University of Maryland astronomers shows that comet Bernardinelli-Bernstein (BB), the largest comet ever discovered, was active long before previously thought, meaning the ice within it is vaporizing and forming an envelope of dust and vapor known as a coma. Only one active comet has been observed farther from the sun, and it was much smaller than comet BB.

A new University of Maryland study conducted in a neighboring Prince George’s County community suggests that creating safer Black and Latinx neighborhoods doesn’t require more policing, but more investment. The research examined outcomes of a four-year crime reduction project in Langley Park, demonstrating that more streetlights, mental health services, youth outreach and public art are as important—and possibly more effective—at boosting community safety in immigrant neighborhoods than programs designed to build trust with local police.