Read article: Laser controls chemical reaction rates Ultrafast science Research update Laser controls chemical reaction rates New technique could revolutionize catalysis
Read article: “Smust” soaks up ethane on Titan Telescopes and space missions Research update “Smust” soaks up ethane on Titan Ethane on Saturn's largest moon Titan could be bound up in dusty smog particles, or "smust".
Read article: Now you see it, now you don’t Quantum optics Research update Now you see it, now you don’t Danish physicists have managed to light-up a cloud of atoms using light teleported from a source half a metre away.
Read article: Virus boosts nanoparticle memory Soft matter and liquids Research update Virus boosts nanoparticle memory Computers of the future could be infected with the tobacco mosaic virus
Education and outreach Research update UK physics department faces closure University of Reading physicists are under threat
Mathematical physics Research update Physicist proves it’s location, location, location Statistical mechanics provides surprising insights into where people shop
Quantum optics Research update Quantum encryption sets long-distance record The absolute distance record for dispatching a quantum key has been exceeded by more than 50%.
Cosmology Research update Nobel prize shared for cosmic microwave background studies Mather and Smoot win Nobel Prize in Physics for shedding light on the origins of the Universe
Read article: Doughnuts cause stars to gain weight Stars and solar physics Research update Doughnuts cause stars to gain weight Astronomers find new evidence that could explain how massive stars are formed.
Read article: BECs confound at higher temperatures Ultracold matter Research update BECs confound at higher temperatures Bose--Einstein condensates sidestep convention
Optics & Photonics Briefing This issue explores lasers and detectors, solar power, medical imaging and high-resolution displays