In the short time since then, however, scientists have followed the particle paradigm to build an impressively robust picture of the physical Universe, first characterizing atoms, electrons and nuclei, the positron and other antiparticles, quarks and a zoo of baryons formed as combinations thereof, and also discovering the powerful but still rather perplexing machinery of quantum field theory.

The researchers recorded jumps of Gigantometra gigas (pictured), the world’s largest water strider, in its natural habitat. They observed that after an initial surface-tension phase, the insect’s midlegs break the water surface and get immersed in the water, with air pockets forming around them. During the ensuing drag phase, the midlegs’ downward motion pushes the water strider’s body upwards, eventually

A technique known as determinant quantum Monte Carlo has been used to identify interesting models that do not suffer from this negative sign problem. Among these are exotic examples of unconventional superconductivity and quantum criticality, raising the question of what states of matter can be captured with ‘sign-problem-free’ models. However, Ori Grossman and Erez Berg have now presented evidence

Claims of a room-temperature, ambient-pressure superconductor recently kicked up a storm on social media. As the dust settles, we take stock of what this experience can teach us.

Originally invented to improve cornering techniques in race driving, speed traps contribute to road safety. Robert Wynands introduces us to tools of traffic metrology.

First-generation students have to overcome obstacles other students don’t. Every academic can help.

Regarded as a sophisticated and innovative filmmaker, Nolan surged from the independent scene to the high-budget films that made his fortune, all the while preserving his auteur status. He embodies an unusual – if somewhat nostalgic – form of filmmaking that privileges the practicality of visual effects, in stark contrast to the green-screen fests that Hollywood generates at a blistering pace. At the

Now, Gabriella Agazie and colleagues have reported evidence of this background from the 15-year dataset recorded by the North American Nanohertz Observatory for Gravitational Waves (NANOGrav) (Astrophys. J. Lett. 951, L8; 2023). The NANOGrav Collaboration published details of the analysis as well as a study of potential alternatives of the signal’s origin to inspiralling supermassive black holes in

Now, Young-Gwan Choi and colleagues have demonstrated the orbital Hall effect (OHE) in titanium thin films (Nature 619, 52–56; 2023). In the orbital Hall effect, electrons in the sample are deflected perpendicular to an applied electric current, depending on their orbital rotation direction, in the process accumulating orbital angular momentum at the boundaries (pictured). The team detected the magnetic

Dark stars are exotic objects. They are diffuse and puffy, and much cooler than regular stars as no fusion is happening. But they are also large — up to ten million solar masses — and can shine at up to ten billion solar luminosities. They form at the centre of proto-galaxies, where it has been predicted that a large amount of dark matter can coalesce and provide the heat source.

Radionuclides have a myriad of applications, ranging from nuclear energy to environmental studies. Carine Michotte illustrates the importance of radionuclide metrology for nuclear medicine.

The common practice of naming equations, effects, constants and units after individual scientists has its downsides, and it’s time to rethink it.

Look closely and almost any natural phenomenon — from the structure of a natural fibre to the flow of honey down a sloped surface — reveals some rich and puzzling aspects. It’s through close observation of the seemingly mundane that science has advanced, from Leonardo da Vinci, who first noted capillary action, to the self-taught German chemist Agnes Pockels, who created the science of surfaces in

Sharing Our Science: How to Write and Speak STEM Brandon R. BrownMIT PRESS: 2023. 316PP. $26.95