Finally invented: A computer incapable of crashing

London scientists have created a machine that can repair its own damaged code

If you know what this feels like, this new advancement will make you very happy indeed.
(Image credit: Thinkstock)

Good news for folks who regularly find themselves mashing control+alt+delete until their fingernails hurt: Researchers at the University College London have invented a new "systemic" computer that automatically repairs corrupted data whenever it appears. In non-geek speak, all that means is that this gilded, Platonic ideal of desktop PCs never, ever crashes.

How does such a miracle machine even work? Its creators, naturally, turned to Mother Nature — more specifically, the random modeling that allows swarms of bees to scatter in unison around a honey-hungry bear or that allows atoms to bounce around until they find their proper place.

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Chris Gayomali is the science and technology editor for TheWeek.com. Previously, he was a tech reporter at TIME. His work has also appeared in Men's Journal, Esquire, and The Atlantic, among other places. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook.