Quantum teleportation is a process by which quantum information can be transmitted from one place to another, and scientists have long sought to prove it is possible.

Two separate DARPA-funded studies by physicists based in China and Calgary, Canada have now confirmed that not only is quantum teleportation a real phenomenon but they also demonstrated that it's a workable technology that could one day help build an unhackable quantum communication systems to span great distances.

However, the breakthrough doesn't mean that sci fi-style human teleportation is any closer as the photons aren't actually disappearing from one place and appearing in another.

Instead, it's the information that's being teleported through a phenomenon called 'quantum entanglement', which Albert Einstein called "spooky action at a distance".