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Topology affects the crumpling of growing elastic sheets
Discovery could lead to new metamaterials
Critics deride US administration’s ‘golden age of science’ report
The document comes as the administration looks to cut the science budget for 2027
Research updates
AI sniffs out tuberculosis in breath’s chemical signature
Machine learning decodes the complex chemical signatures in human breath to deliver rapid, non-invasive tuberculosis diagnoses
Heat-transfer fins give phase change materials a boost
Modelling points the way towards optimal designs for systems that store and release heat
Pressurizing EV battery electrodes could make them last longer, if it’s done right
Extending the lifetime of electric-vehicle batteries could reduce the need for mining critical minerals
Cold radioactive molecules offer a tabletop route to new physics
Nuclear symmetry violations could show up in molecules containing pear-shaped radium nuclei
‘Photonic multi-lane highway’ enjoys insulator-free topological protection
New technology uses a photonic valley half-semimetal
Matter-antimatter symmetry measurement sets new precision record
CERN’s ALPHA collaboration pins down the ground-state hyperfine splitting of antihydrogen within four parts per million
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Bringing physics down to Earth through rocket science
Keith Cooper reviews It’s (Just) Rocket Science: Exploring Physics Through Spaceflight Missions by Trisha Muro
Tell us what science you need to know to be ‘cultured’
What ought a cultured human know of science? Robert P Crease seeks your ideas
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New material was created in Hiroshima nuclear explosion
Rapid cooling locked in unusual crystal structure in silicon-rich metal alloy
Read article: New material was created in Hiroshima nuclear explosion
Word wave puzzle no.7
Can you work out the word in this puzzle?
Read article: Word wave puzzle no.7
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’
Quiz of the week: what type of radiation travels on a photonic highway?
Have you been keeping up to date with physics news? Try our short quiz to find out
Read article: Quiz of the week: what type of radiation travels on a photonic highway?
Identifying maximum viscosity: a slide puzzle
Can you reconstruct an image of part of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge in this interactive slide puzzle?
Read article: Identifying maximum viscosity: a slide puzzle
Can a 16-year-old really understand quantum teleportation?
Leron Borsten and Shanti Pise report from a week-long event that sought to teach quantum physics to teenagers
Read article: Can a 16-year-old really understand quantum teleportation?
Geophysicist identifies a maximum practical viscosity
Boundary between materials that flow and those that don’t could shed light on Earth’s early history
Read article: Geophysicist identifies a maximum practical viscosity
Word wave puzzle no.6
Can you work out the word in this puzzle?
Read article: Word wave puzzle no.6
GPS particle detectors track space radiation over two decades
Cross calibration combines data from 25 satellites
Read article: GPS particle detectors track space radiation over two decades
Shaping the field of medical imaging: a fireside chat with Simon R Cherry and Xinchen Deng
Join us for an in‑depth conversation with Simon Cherry, former editor‑in‑chief of PMB
Read article: Shaping the field of medical imaging: a fireside chat with Simon R Cherry and Xinchen Deng
Quarks and qubits: how quantum computing could transform particle physics
This podcast also explores the intersection of general relativity and quantum information
Read article: Quarks and qubits: how quantum computing could transform particle physics
Nanopositioning, customization and control: opening new frontiers in optical computing
SmarAct and Akhetonics have developed a test platform for next-generation optical processors
Read article: Nanopositioning, customization and control: opening new frontiers in optical computing
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Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
For more than 60 years, the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) has applied science and technology to make the world a safer place. Its defining responsibility is ensuring the safety, security and reliability of the nation’s nuclear deterrent
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Changes in structure and ionic resistance of lithium-ion battery graphite electrodes
Join the audience for a live webinar at 3 p.m. BST/10 a.m. EDT on 5 August 2026
For modellers and experimentalists: discover how SEI formation and graphite expansion define Li‑ion transport in electrodes
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