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while asteroid impacts have a very low likelihood of happening, they could cause a lot of damage if they were to occur

US calls for asteroid-impact plan

UK public has little understanding of quantum technologies, says survey

Curiosity piqued as interviewees are told more about potential benefits of new devices

Water proves to be electrically dead at interfaces

The first ever measurements of the dielectric constant of confined water reveal far lower values than previously expected.

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Research news

Image showing a gas particle travelling through a 2D material

Frictionless flow in 2D channels

ViewRay MRI guides brachytherapy planning

Photo of tree in desert. Courtesy: tuarek [CC BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Light from plant growth shows carbon budget

Galaxy rotation study rules out modified gravity, or does it?

Independent studies of galaxy dynamics reach different conclusions

Machine learning classifies biomolecules

Researchers have applied data mining techniques to rapidly classify biomolecular structures directly from scattering data

Global mangrove soil carbon map aids conservation

Mapping at 30 m resolution pinpoints priority areas

Algorithm speeds medical image analysis

A machine-learning algorithm registers 3D images more than 1000 times faster than traditional systems

Chameleons inspire mechanochromic nanolaser

Stretchy device lases at different wavelengths thanks to hybrid quadrupole plasmons

Earthquakes could be detected using undersea telecoms cables

Laser-based technique could be a boon for seismologists

Physics World podcasts

Energy storage, LHC upgrade and low-cost radiotherapy

Football and its physics connections

Explore in depth

The peril of proposals

Dalmeet Singh Chawla investigates the complex and crucial grant-funding process, to see if it is time to revamp how academics apply for funding

Photo of farmer collecting silage in front of wind turbines. Courtesy: iStock/Stephen Meese

UK renewables: a ‘hostile environment’?

The good news is that renewables now supply nearly 30% of UK electricity. Yet the wider investment picture looks grim

UK space sector set for take-off

Joanna Hart from the Harwell Space Cluster outlines how the UK space industry has an international outlook

More than just teeth

Materials scientist Michele Barbour explains how the dental community is driving innovation in biomaterials

Riding the gravity wave

Benjamin Skuse reviews On Gravity: a Brief Tour of a Weighty Subject by Anthony Zee

100% biodegradable packaging company expands

Aiming to reduce plastic waste in food packaging, Sulapac joins forces with Fazer

The carrot and the stick

How intellectual property strategy can help start-ups attract investors and deter competitors

Nanotechnology in action

Read our special collection to explore some of the challenges and opportunities associated with turning advances in nanotechnology into commercial products

Video showcase

Photo of David Smeulders from TU Eindhoven

Testing the waters in New Orleans

Smart cities, the Dutch approach

Latest articles

Quantum computing with 1000 quibits

So what would you do with a 1000-qubit quantum computer?

Stonehenge builders used Pythagoras’ theorem, pastry goes missing at 16,000 metres, words of wisdom from famous scientists

Excerpts from the Red Folder

More than just teeth

Materials scientist Michele Barbour explains how the dental community is driving innovation in biomaterials

The peril of proposals

Dalmeet Singh Chawla investigates the complex and crucial grant-funding process, to see if it is time to revamp how academics apply for funding

UK renewables: a ‘hostile environment’?

The good news is that renewables now supply nearly 30% of UK electricity. Yet the wider investment picture looks grim

UK space sector set for take-off

Joanna Hart from the Harwell Space Cluster outlines how the UK space industry has an international outlook

3D printed biomaterial promotes tissue regeneration

A 3D printable, gelatin-based bioink promotes tissue regeneration in the bile duct

The power of images

Enrico Sacchetti says that photography can be an effective way to communicate science to the general public

Riding the gravity wave

Benjamin Skuse reviews On Gravity: a Brief Tour of a Weighty Subject by Anthony Zee

Friction has memory, say physicists

Discovery could boost our understanding of why earthquakes occur

Photoacoustic CT looks to replace mammography

A photoacoustic computed tomography scanner generates high-contrast, high-resolution breast images

The dark-energy deniers

20 years after discovering that the universe is expanding with increasing speed, scientists still argue about whether dark energy explains it. Keith Cooper explores the deba...

The carrot and the stick

How intellectual property strategy can help start-ups attract investors and deter competitors

Elekta Unity receives CE mark

The Elekta Unity high-field MR-linac is now CE marked for commercial sales and clinical use in Europe

Photo of the EcoLink wildlife overpass in 2014, soon after its construction. Courtesy: By Benjamin P. Y-H. Lee (University of Kent). [CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Smoke from El Niño fires subdued dawn chorus in Singapore

Acoustic recordings show biodiversity harm from 2015 haze pollution

Alternatives to plastic packaging by Sulapac.

100% biodegradable packaging company expands

Aiming to reduce plastic waste in food packaging, Sulapac joins forces with Fazer

Giant lasers pass new milestone towards fusion energy

Fusion energy output at NIF is double input kinetic energy

Compensator expands global access to advanced radiotherapy

A ring-based compensator system enables intensity-modulated radiotherapy without the need for complex multileaf collimators

International Day of Light

To celebrate the first ever International Day of Light, this special collection explores the success and commercial impact of research into optics, photonics and lasers

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