Japan launches sample-return mission to Mars’s moon Phobos
The Martian Moons eXploration mission will aim to return 10g of material back to Earth
Read article: Japan launches sample-return mission to Mars’s moon Phobos
News
Read article: Japan launches sample-return mission to Mars’s moon Phobos
Siloton secures £8.4m to speed development of portable retinal imaging system
Handheld optical coherence tomography device will make diagnosis and monitoring of eye diseases more affordable and accessible
Read article: Siloton secures £8.4m to speed development of portable retinal imaging system
Officials celebrate completion of gamma-ray telescope array in La Palma
The Large-Sized Telescope will provide new insights into the early universe
Read article: Officials celebrate completion of gamma-ray telescope array in La Palma
Quantum physicist Ignacio Cirac awarded 2026 Isaac Newton Medal and Prize
Cirac is honoured for contributions to modern quantum information science
Read article: Quantum physicist Ignacio Cirac awarded 2026 Isaac Newton Medal and Prize
Francis Halzen wins Nobel Prize in Physics
Astroparticle physicist wins for his work detecting cosmic neutrinos
Read article: Francis Halzen wins Nobel Prize in Physics
Inventors of optogenetics win Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
Karl Deisseroth, Peter Hegemann and Georg Nagel are joint winners of the 2026 prize
Read article: Inventors of optogenetics win Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
Research updates
Levitated nanoparticle detects single-atom collisions
Pressure sensors and particle detectors could benefit from research
Read article: Levitated nanoparticle detects single-atom collisions
Earth’s gravity and magnetism have unexpected effects on the human genome and mitochondria
Findings could have implications for space travel and for treating neurodegenerative diseases
Read article: Earth’s gravity and magnetism have unexpected effects on the human genome and mitochondria
To detect deepfake videos, researchers turn to the physics of light
New technique claims 97.8% accuracy and uses less energy than digital neural networks with similar performance
Read article: To detect deepfake videos, researchers turn to the physics of light
Astronomers propose solution for ‘little red dot’ mystery
Recently observed objects could be black holes that grew extremely quickly during an early stage of their lives
Read article: Astronomers propose solution for ‘little red dot’ mystery
Chiral bristlebot toys shed light on transport dynamics in active matter systems
Leaning in to the natural “handedness” of vibrating bots revealed “qualitatively new phenomena”, say physicists
Read article: Chiral bristlebot toys shed light on transport dynamics in active matter systems
One-positron quantum cyclotron could put the Standard Model to the test
Magnetic moment could be measured at unprecedented precision
Read article: One-positron quantum cyclotron could put the Standard Model to the test
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Features
Hofstadter’s butterfly turns 50: a fractal hiding in quantum matter
Indu Satija celebrates the golden anniversary of Hofstadter’s butterfly
Read article: Hofstadter’s butterfly turns 50: a fractal hiding in quantum matter
C V Raman: the physicist with a ‘Himalayan ego’ who went to Stockholm convinced he’d win a Nobel prize
Preetish Kakoty describes why India's only Nobel-prize-winning physicist went to Sweden on a whim
Read article: C V Raman: the physicist with a ‘Himalayan ego’ who went to Stockholm convinced he’d win a Nobel prize
How the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope will turn the sky into a dataset
Richard de Grijs looks at how the Roman Space Telescope will change astronomy forever
Read article: How the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope will turn the sky into a dataset
How scientific publishers are fighting back against fraudulent papermills
The growth of AI and papermills has caused publishers countless headaches
Read article: How scientific publishers are fighting back against fraudulent papermills
Theatre is bringing physics to new audiences but what is the definitive science play?
Chris Sinclair explores the plays that are bringing physics to new audiences
Read article: Theatre is bringing physics to new audiences but what is the definitive science play?
From student to scientist – how to build a career with physics
Tushna Commissariat and Matin Durrani guide physics students through the maze of career options
Read article: From student to scientist – how to build a career with physics
From the blog
Why it’s hard to know if students understand a piece of physics
Joshua Biro wonders how we know if a student has really understood a piece of physics
Read article: Why it’s hard to know if students understand a piece of physics
Open-access journal AI Horizons looks to expand the outlook of artificial intelligence
Shiyi Chen, the journal’s editor-in-chief, shares his views
Read article: Open-access journal AI Horizons looks to expand the outlook of artificial intelligence
When Doi met Peliti: physicists celebrate 50 years of the Doi-Peliti theory
A week-long meeting in Cambridge celebrated Masao Doi’s and Luca Peliti’s pioneering framework to study random processes
Read article: When Doi met Peliti: physicists celebrate 50 years of the Doi-Peliti theory
Why supporting international colleagues is everyone’s responsibility
International researchers can face many challenges when trying to settle in another country
Read article: Why supporting international colleagues is everyone’s responsibility
Scottish artist marks 100 years of Schrödinger equation with new installation
Work will go on display at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow
Read article: Scottish artist marks 100 years of Schrödinger equation with new installation
Particle physicist Hideki Yukawa: Japan’s first Nobel laureate
Yukawa laid the foundation for an active post-war generation of particle physicists in Japan
Read article: Particle physicist Hideki Yukawa: Japan’s first Nobel laureate
Analysis
From space to folk music: quantum hackathon explores diverse use cases
The three-day event created a fun, vibrant and collaborative environment for teams of hackers to explore real-world problems that support business growth while benefitting the wide...
Read article: From space to folk music: quantum hackathon explores diverse use cases
Custom spectrometers rise to the analytical challenge
By combining in-house manufacturing with engineering expertise, Torrent Photonics works with systems developers to create spectrometry solutions that meet the needs of demanding ap...
Read article: Custom spectrometers rise to the analytical challenge
Scintillating technology: how advanced lanthanum bromide crystals are transforming radiation detection
Innovative scintillation detectors are pushing the boundaries of radiation detection, unlocking unprecedented speed, accuracy and clarity in a range of fields
Read article: Scintillating technology: how advanced lanthanum bromide crystals are transforming radiation detection
Opinion and reviews
Cosmic chronicles: the impact of celestial instabilities on human history
Emma Chapman reviews Ripples on the Cosmic Ocean: How the Solar System Shaped Human History – And May Help Save Our Planet by Dagomar Degroot
Read article: Cosmic chronicles: the impact of celestial instabilities on human history
Industry should invest in developing and practising storytelling
Scientists must be rewarded for clearly explaining difficult concepts, says Mark Procter
Read article: Industry should invest in developing and practising storytelling
The unsavoury rise of ‘populist physics’: here’s how best to respond
Robert P Crease sees three ways to respond to attacks on physics
Read article: The unsavoury rise of ‘populist physics’: here’s how best to respond
Demon in the AI machine: bias, bad data and the burden of proof
Andrew Glester reviews the film Mercy, directed by Timur Bekmambetov
Read article: Demon in the AI machine: bias, bad data and the burden of proof
The secret world of tribology
Honor Powrie pays tribute to the work of tribologists
Read article: The secret world of tribology
Illuminating, beautiful and disturbing: a photographic record of the Trinity atomic test
Margaret Harris reviews Trinity: an Illustrated History of the World’s First Atomic Test
Read article: Illuminating, beautiful and disturbing: a photographic record of the Trinity atomic test
Interviews
Ask me anything: Tania Kendrick – ‘There’s something really satisfying when everything starts to click’
Tania Kendrick is a civil servant in the UK’s Cabinet Office
Read article: Ask me anything: Tania Kendrick – ‘There’s something really satisfying when everything starts to click’
Ask me anything: Kiefer Vermeulen – ‘We had to figure everything out on a shoestring budget and on a really challenging timescale’
Kiefer Vermeulen is research team lead at Delft Circuits in the Netherlands
Read article: Ask me anything: Kiefer Vermeulen – ‘We had to figure everything out on a shoestring budget and on a really challenging timescale’
Ask me anything: Kristian Dominek Barajas – ‘I’m able to take a really complicated problem and give it my best guess’
Kristian Dominek Barajas is head of quantum theory at Oxford Ionics, an IonQ company
Read article: Ask me anything: Kristian Dominek Barajas – ‘I’m able to take a really complicated problem and give it my best guess’
From galaxies to groceries: how Sarah Bridle made the switch from cosmology to food
Gleb Yakubov talks to Sarah Bridle a physicist who has studied food at the University of York
Read article: From galaxies to groceries: how Sarah Bridle made the switch from cosmology to food
Ask me anything: Mary Bishai – ‘For a self-professed nerd like me, doing big science is heaven’
Mary Bishai is an experimental neutrino physicist at Brookhaven National Laboratory in the US
Read article: Ask me anything: Mary Bishai – ‘For a self-professed nerd like me, doing big science is heaven’
Institute of Physics president Paul Howarth outlines his vision for physics
Paul Howarth is set to be IOP president until 2029
Read article: Institute of Physics president Paul Howarth outlines his vision for physics
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