Today's headlines
Smart band-aid senses and treats bacterial infections
A new paper-based adhesive plaster detects the presence of drug-sensitive and drug-resistant bacteria in wounds and treats them accordingly
Sand dunes repel each other as they move across a landscape
Laboratory study shows that dunes can interact over large distances without exchanging mass
Protein aggregation goes catalytic
Mathematical model describes how proteins self-assemble into the amyloid fibrils associated with diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson's
Research updates
Quantum diffusion of heavy defects defies Arrhenius’ law
“Massively heavy” atoms can move quantum mechanically within a crystalline material at cryogenic temperatures – a surprising result that contradicts currently-held notions
CERN physicists close in on antimatter–matter asymmetry
Precision measurement of the Lamb shift in antihydrogen reveals no deviations from its matter counterpart
Brain injury diagnosed with a finger prick and an optofluidic chip
An optofluidic device uses Raman spectroscopy to detect a biomarker in blood associated with traumatic brain injury
Novel perfusion machine can keep livers alive for a week
A team from Zurich has developed a new perfusion machine that can keep donor livers alive outside of the body for seven days
Smartphone camera enables hyperspectral imaging for skin analysis
The built-in RGB cameras in a smartphone can be used to create a hyperspectral imaging system for analysis and monitoring of skin features
Falling water drops power LEDs
The power generated by a drop of water falling onto a droplet-based electricity generator can light up 100 small LEDs
- Most read
Physics World podcasts
Explore in depth
Once a physicist: Julie Bellingham
Julie Bellingham is an award-winning garden designer based in Oxfordshire, UK
The secret to flying carbon-free
James McKenzie wonders how realistic it will be to de-carbonize air travel
A broader range of experiments
Anatole von Lilienfeld explains how machine learning is creating new opportunities for research across all areas of the physical sciences
More questions than answers
Qamar Scott reviews Extraterrestrial Languages by Daniel Oberhaus
Double slits with single atoms
Andrew Murray describes a new variant of the classic Young's double-slit experiments, but this time using photoelectrons emitted via two different paths from rubidium atoms ...
Queensgate: collaborating to push the boundaries of measurement science
The National Physical Laboratory and Queensgate share an unrelenting passion for better precision at the cutting edge of measurement science
Why do people still believe in conspiracy theories?
Robert P Crease wonders why so many people still get fooled by conspiracy theories
Medical physics and biophysics
Find the information you need from IOP Publishing’s world-leading medical physics and biophysics journals and books, dedicated to supporting and improving research across the field, from fundamental science through to novel applications and facilities.
Video showcase
Latest articles
Gravity-defying ski moguls and snowmaking in warmish weather
A physicist hits the slopes
The 10 most important future big-science facilities in physics
A meeting in Oxford discussed the past, present and future of large-scale facilities in physics
Plans for African Space Agency jeopardized by lack of progress
Funding issues and questions over how the agency will operate are set to delay its 2023 implementation date
Birds learn from watching TV, eye-catching science images and levitating blood
Excerpts from the Red Folder
Inquiry-led physics lab courses boost student engagement, finds study
Students have better attitudes to experimental physics if lab classes teach experimention skills, not reinforce lecture content
Emmanuel Sabonnadière describes technology trends within optoelectronics
The CEO of CEA-Leti speaks with Physics World at Photonics West 2020
Finding your pathway with the 2020 Physics World Careers guide
Discover the many, exciting careers that lie ahead for you, with the 2020 Physics World Careers guide
Quantum effects seen in collisions of ultracold ions and atoms
Buffer gas cooling could lead to atom-ion Feshbach resonances
Physicists place stringent limits on the neutron electric dipole moment
Researchers see no sign of charge imbalance in the neutron
CT traces disease progression in novel coronavirus
Ongoing investigation characterizes the most common CT findings associated with 2019-nCoV and identifies possible markers of disease progression
Terahertz waves create short and stable electron pulses
New generation technique could improve our understanding of ultrafast processes in matter
Introducing the π-ton, which could be the newest known quasiparticle
State arises via interactions between electron-hole pairs
Taking a tiger’s pulse, mending a broken heart and dancing your PhD
Excerpts from the Red Folder
Precision scaffolds tailor biomaterials to promote wound healing
Box-shaped 3D tissue scaffolds cause human macrophages to switch into a pro-healing type, for use in biomaterial-based wound dressings
An uncertain growth
Susan Curtis reviews Growth: From Microorganisms to Megacities by Vaclav Smil
Magnetized molecules monitor breast cancers
A new hyperpolarized carbon-13 MRI technique could identify the optimal treatment for individual breast cancer patients
Touch-responsive indium tin oxide is very thin and flexible
Normally brittle material can be rolled up like a tube
Tiny inorganic scintillator offers high-resolution radiotherapy dosimetry
With its minute sensitive volume, the new device achieves the high spatial resolution required for external and internal dosimetry in small-field radiotherapy
Quantum horizons
A new crop of quantum technologies is set to make waves in the commercial world. Get up to speed on what they are and what impact they will have in the future.
brightrecruits offers a range of opportunities for jobseekers with a background in physics or engineering. At all stages of your career, we can help find the job for you
University of Oxford
Oxford has a distinctive collegiate structure. Students and academics benefit from belonging both to the University, a large, internationally-renowned institution, and to a college or hall, a small, interdisciplinary academic community.
Tune into online presentations that allow expert speakers to explain novel tools and applications
What’s new in ultra-high vacuum technology?
In this webinar, which includes a panel discussion of audience questions, we will look at recent innovations that are helping physicists work at the frontiers of current science. The webinar will begin with a presentation of the challenges of ultra-high vacuum and how to achieve it.
Stay up to date with the latest international conferences, symposia and exhibitions for interdisciplinary scientists working across academic research and industry
Pittcon 2020
Join us for Pittcon, the world’s leading annual conference and exposition on laboratory science, from March 1-5 in Chicago, Illinois at McCormick Place. Pittcon attracts attendees from industry, academia and government from over 90 countries worldwide.
Copyright © 2020 by IOP Publishing Ltd and individual contributors