After 80 years of painstaking experimentation, scientists have directly observed a sub-atomic particle that is its own antiparticle. The breakthrough promises a leap forward in quantum computing and potentially shows the path to finding dark matter. The particles are called the Majorana fermions, after the Italian scientist who proposed their existence back in 1937. Quantum theory was in its infancy... 

The quantum circuit used in the demonstration is a 3mm x 3mm chip with a 1mm x 1mm diamond in the middle. Scientists have created a working quantum computer inside a diamond that includes protection against ‘decoherence,’ noise that prevents it from functioning properly. Researchers of the University of Southern California, Iowa State University, University of California, Santa Barbara,...