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New observations from the James Webb Space Telescope reveal a concentration of heavy metals near the Milky Way's central black hole. The discovery deepens a mystery about why our black hole behaves the way it does.

Stellar-mass black holes should be in our neighbourhood within about 50 light years of the Solar System. But they're likely isolated, without much to feed on, making them difficult to find. Gaia found some candidates, but confirming them is tough.

Stellar-mass black holes should be in our neighbourhood within about 50 light years of the Solar System. But they're likely isolated, without much to feed on, making them difficult to find. Gaia found some candidates, but confirming them is tough.

Researchers at the Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) at the U.S. Department of Energy's SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory have measured the shortest high-energy X-ray pulses ever recorded at an X-ray free-electron laser (XFEL). The pulses had photon energies of about 9 kiloelectronvolts (keV) and clocked in at durations of 100 to 400 attoseconds—mere billionths of a billionth of a second. The results are published in Nature Photonics.

For the first time, scientists can make quantum measurements on a positron particle

In the early Universe, neutrinos interacted strongly with other matter before some of them "decoupled." The heaviest of these decoupled neutrinos may be the solution to the matter-antimatter cosmic mystery.

A new look at the uranium and heavy water used by the Nazis reveals whether they were close to making a reactor for an atomic bomb.

For the first time, Northwestern University physicists have coaxed a single positron—the antimatter counterpart of an electron—into an exquisitely controlled quantum state.

UFO investigator Jaime Maussan says camera traps recorded a large, mysterious animal in Mexico's Valley of Juárez, but authorities have not substantiated reports of attacks or missing livestock

Quantum networks, systems that connect devices and allow them to exchange information encoded in the quantum states of particles, could enable more secure communications. To build these networks, physicists need to devise strategies that allow distant particles to share quantum states, preserving them long enough to perform calculations or enable communication between devices.

Einstein's theory of relativity just got put to the test by the lightest binary neutron star system ever discovered.

The first experimental realisation of Floquet tensor monopoles provides a controllable platform for investigating non-equilibrium topology in four dimensions The post Controlling four-dimensional monopoles appeared first on Physics World.

Researchers have developed a multi-agent AI system that converts plain-language research questions into executed, checked and reproducible quantum simulations using several specialist software packages The post Using AI agents to run quantum simulations appeared first on Physics World.

In the early 1980s, scientists observed an anomaly. Embedded within cell membranes, they identified ion channels with extraordinarily high conductance. These so-called "BK" (Big K, or Big Potassium) channels had roughly 10 times the unitary conductance (i.e., conductance per individual channel molecule) of other potassium channels, enabling much more efficient, rapid transport of potassium ions. And while later structural characterization explained how this happened, no one could understand why. That is, until now.

Such devices could tackle problems beyond the reach of today’s most powerful computers, researchers say. Researchers from Rutgers,

Molecules can spontaneously organize into complex, ordered structures through a process known as self-assembly. Among these structures, soft quasicrystals display unusual patterns that do not repeat regularly like conventional crystals. However, producing such structures with a uniform orientation over large areas remains a major challenge.

Transmitting electricity without losing any energy may sound impossible, yet this is precisely the promise of superconductivity. For nearly 40 years, scientists have been working to understand materials that exhibit this remarkable property at relatively high temperatures. Unlocking their secrets could one day help make power grids more efficient, enhance medical technologies and support the development of quantum computing.

Siloton, which develops optical technology for medical imaging, has been awarded an £8.4 million ($11M) contract from Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation. The contract will accelerate development of its groundbreaking handheld eye imaging system, making detection and monitoring of retinal diseases more accessible to patients. Siloton team posing with their GiraffeOCT handheld retinal imaging device. Courtesy of Siloton. The contract will specifically help Siloton accelerate the design of the in-clinic and at-home versions of its GiraffeOCT optical coherence tomography (OCT) device, as well as complete trials on both systems. Siloton expects the funding could cut the development process by up to two years. Under the...

Light is one of the most powerful tools scientists have for probing matter. By interacting with electrons, light reveals how atoms, molecules and materials are structured and how they evolve in time. Highly energetic ultraviolet and X-ray photons are particularly attractive because they can access electrons located close to atomic nuclei, where each chemical element carries its own distinctive electronic fingerprint.

Tiny atoms and molecules are constantly bombarding each other all around us. While we regularly measure the large-scale effects of these interactions, measuring the effect of each individual collision is far more difficult. But now, researchers have managed to measure how tiny gas particles affect a single silica particle in the lab. In their new study, published in Physical Review Letters, the team describes how they detected the momentum transfers of individual collisions of gas particles with a nanoparticle levitated in laser light.

Some supermassive black holes rapidly consume surrounding matter while simultaneously firing powerful streams of plasma into space at nearly the speed of light. However, this creates a physical puzzle: rapid feeding is expected to form a cold, flat accretion disk around the black hole, which prevents powerful jets from forming.

For nearly a century, physicists have relied on the Born rule to calculate the chances of different outcomes when they measure a quantum system. Yet despite decades of effort, nobody has managed to derive the rule from more basic mathematical principles without making assumptions about probability along the way.

The three-day event created a fun, vibrant and collaborative environment for ten teams of hackers to explore real-world problems that support business growth while also benefitting the wider world The post From space to folk music: quantum hackathon explores diverse use cases appeared first on Physics World.

For scientists, breakthroughs often stem from unexpected turns. A research team led by Oscar Dahlsten, an associate professor in the Department of Physics at City University of Hong Kong (CityUHK), set out to prove a theoretical limitation, only to discover a quantum solution. The finding breaks traditional physical constraints and introduces a strategy for harvesting energy from fluctuating sources.

A discovery in tiny algae led to a Nobel Prize-winning breakthrough that allows scientists to switch brain cells on and off using light. The revolutionary technique has already helped researchers activate memories and is opening new possibilities for restoring vision and treating brain disorders.

Scientists have achieved a quantum breakthrough by creating an ultra-clean surface where individual molecules can maintain their delicate quantum properties at the fundamental limit. The discovery could unlock unprecedented control over molecules and help drive the next generation of quantum technologies.

Error correction creates qubits that glitch only 5 out of a million times, the first step toward a new phase for quantum computing.

When picturing a star, typically people think of giant balls of burning gas in the sky that emit enough light they are hard to miss. Planets, on the other hand, come in one of two general categories - rocky worlds like Earth or gas giants similar to Jupiter. But there is a third category of astronomical object that doesn’t really fit either of those descriptions, and also doesn’t exist in our own solar system. Known as a brown dwarf, they are sometimes called a “failed star” as they form the same way stars do, but never reach the critical mass of material to create active fusion in the cores. They are also much too massive to be considered a regular planet. But a new paper from researchers led by Brittany Miles of the University of Arizona describes one similarity between the coldest known brown dwarf and some of the planets in our solar system - it has

The U.S. hasn’t detonated a nuclear weapon since 1992. Now a fusion start-up whose co-founders include former national lab scientists could help conduct experiments that make sure the stockpile works

The once-fringe quantum Many Worlds theory now seems much more likely

Magnetic moment could be measured at unprecedented precision The post One-positron quantum cyclotron could put the Standard Model to the test appeared first on Physics World.

Join the audience for a live webinar on 10 November 2026 sponsored by IOP Publishing's journal, Plasma Physics and Controlled Fusion The post The roadmap for runaway electron-induced plasma facing component damage in tokamaks appeared first on Physics World.

Scientists have unveiled a new theory on the birth of the cosmos, suggesting the early universe was shaped by an ancient particle that has been overlooked for decades.

The gas orbiting Sagittarius A (Sgr A*), the supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way galaxy, is rich in metals, researchers at McGill University's Trottier Space Institute have found. The metal enrichment probably resulted from stars that exploded and released material into the black hole's surroundings over time, they said.

The aurora is among nature's most visually striking phenomena. It occurs when charged particles from the sun are funneled by Earth's magnetic field into the upper atmosphere, where they collide with atoms and molecules and produce distinctly colored curtainlike patterns of light.

Voltage fluctuations, light fluctuations, temperature fluctuations—any fluctuations are troublesome and thus undesirable. They don't just cause discomfort; in engineering and medical applications, they affect the accuracy of measurements or introduce errors in controls. Even at the minute level of quantum phenomena, fluctuations are considered undesirable.

The Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science (KRISS) has remeasured a key transition frequency of the strontium (Sr) atom for the first time in 88 years, since 1938, using a photonic grating chip. It has established a new absolute frequency value with a measurement uncertainty reduced by more than 50 times. By providing an accurate reference value for next-generation quantum technologies, this achievement is expected to contribute to the precise control and miniaturization of quantum devices, including atomic clocks and neutral-atom quantum computers. The work is published in the journal Metrologia.

Supermassive black holes power tremendous jets that extend far beyond their galaxy. A new study finds how they can also warm material at the outer edge of a galaxy and reduce the rate of star production over time.

Today's computer technology, based on silicon chips, is slowly reaching its physical limits. Components cannot be miniaturized indefinitely, and clock speeds cannot be increased indefinitely. At the same time, huge AI data centers are being built in many places, and these consume an immense amount of electricity. This is why scientists around the world are searching for novel materials that can replace or complement silicon technology and consume significantly less electricity.

Nature is the foremost international weekly scientific journal in the world and is the flagship journal for Nature Portfolio. It publishes the finest peer-reviewed research in all fields of science and technology on the basis of its originality, importance, interdisciplinary interest, timeliness, accessibility, elegance and surprising conclusions. Nature publishes landmark papers, award winning news, leading comment and expert opinion on important, topical scientific news and events that enable readers to share the latest discoveries in science and evolve the discussion amongst the global scientific community.

Nature is the foremost international weekly scientific journal in the world and is the flagship journal for Nature Portfolio. It publishes the finest peer-reviewed research in all fields of science and technology on the basis of its originality, importance, interdisciplinary interest, timeliness, accessibility, elegance and surprising conclusions. Nature publishes landmark papers, award winning news, leading comment and expert opinion on important, topical scientific news and events that enable readers to share the latest discoveries in science and evolve the discussion amongst the global scientific community.

Universal Quantum, a quantum computing company, has raised more than $100 million in Series A funding in around co-led by DCVC and Firgun Ventures. The funding will enable the company to scale globally and accelerate the development and commercialization of its modular technology, advancing a path towards fault-tolerant quantum computing. The capital will also support Universal Quantum’s recently announced expansion in Singapore, where it is establishing its first R&D center outside Europe, as well as expansion in the U.S., Japan, and across its German hub in Hamburg. Universal Quantum’s trapped-ion quantum computing system. Courtesy of Universal Quantum. Universal Quantum's approach links together, or tiles, many...

Claude’s Quantum Circuit Designs Cutting the estimated cost of simulating FeMoco, the iron-sulfur cluster bacteria use to fix

Universal Quantum, a quantum computing company, raised over $100 million in Series A funding in a funding round co-led by DCVC and Firgun Ventures. Universal Quantum’s trapped-ion quantum computing system. Courtesy of Universal Quantum. The funding will enable the company to scale globally and accelerate the development and commercialization of its modular technology, advancing a path towards fault-tolerant quantum computing. This capital will also support Universal Quantum’s recently announced expansion in Singapore, where it is establishing its first R&D center outside Europe, as well as expansion in the United States, Japan, and across its German hub in Hamburg.

This is the first of a two-part feature on quantum biology. In the second part, Songi Han and

Some quantum systems are so complex that even the most powerful supercomputers struggle to simulate their behavior. One solution is quantum simulation: building a controllable quantum system in the lab and tuning it to mimic the one researchers want to understand.

Atlant Bieri made this video about his experience on the day he and his team were awarded an Ig Nobel Prize. The 2026 Ig Nobel Soil Science Prize was awarded to Franz Bender, Marcel van der Heijden, Atlant Bieri, and Pia Viviani, for burying 1000 identical pairs of underpants in more than 25 countries, and […]

Whether we are waiting for a car windshield to defrost in winter or a warm drink to cool down, how long it takes for an object to settle into a stable, even temperature within its environment (thermal equilibrium) depends on numerous factors. These can include surface area, the material properties of an object and airflow.

The satellites that orbit the Moon and Mars have provided scientists with a wealth of information about the

Astronomers have uncovered compelling evidence of two supermassive black holes spiraling toward a potentially spectacular collision at the center of galaxy Mrk 501. A previously unseen jet of particles revealed the likely presence of a second black hole, with observations suggesting the pair completes an orbit every 121 days. Depending on their masses, these cosmic giants could merge in as little as 100 years.

Physicists have uncovered a hidden third form of magnetism that challenges more than 100 years of established physics. Called altermagnetism, the discovery could transform future computing and electronics while opening an entirely new frontier in quantum research.

Physicists have discovered a strange new state of quantum matter in which ultracold atoms defy familiar organizational rules, forming a highly excited yet surprisingly orderly configuration called a "fractional Fermi sea." The discovery challenges established quantum theories and hints at exotic quasiparticles that scientists have dubbed potential "super-Fermions."

Researchers have developed and demonstrated a new hybrid photonic platform that integrates quantum emitters with photonic devices, providing a way to reliably control the interaction between photons and quantum information carriers. The chip-based platform, which combines gallium phosphide (GaP) with a diamond substrate, could help make quantum networks more practical by providing a way to connect quantum devices over long distances.

The Artemis II crew have joined an impressive list of honourees, including Buzz Aldrin, Jane Goodall and David Attenborough.

Qubits, the quantum equivalent of digital bits, are fragile and prone to errors. That makes building reliable quantum computers extremely difficult. One fix has been to use traditional magic state distillation, which filters out flaws, but it is extremely resource-intensive.

Quantum computers represent a next step in the fast-paced evolution of technology. Using quantum bits (qubits), they have the potential to run certain calculations exponentially faster than conventional computers. However, developing and fine-tuning quantum computers requires an enormous number of repetitive tests. To accelerate quantum technology development, we need a method that can read quantum states at ultrafast speeds.

Researchers have developed and tested a new locking method for gravitational wave detectors that will advance the discovery of distant black holes and neutron stars colliding.

Atoms confined to a single line can bind into clusters called Bethe strings. A new experiment points to a mix of many such clusters, though the evidence is still indirect.

Researchers used the European XFEL to create X-ray flashes that were not only extremely short but also reached record intensity for this type of pulse. The researchers focused the X-rays to an area roughly 100,000 times smaller than the cross section of a typical human hair. This concentrated the X-ray light into a tiny but extremely powerful spot. The method could enable detailed studies of how electrons behave in atoms and molecules and, in the long term, could even allow researchers to control electrons during chemical reactions. The team has now published the results of the experiment, carried out in April 2026, in the journal Optica.

Changes in our genes affect health risks from heart disease to cancer, but how those genes are turned on and off is just as crucial to health. What's more, almost all genes occur as two copies—one from each parent—that aren't necessarily turned on and off in sync. When that differential gene regulation goes awry, it can cause serious health problems.

Neutrinos come in three different flavors. A new study finds that neutrino flavor could play a significant role in whether a dying star becomes a supernova or collapses directly into a black hole.

The researchers in the Quantum Detection Microscopy group at CIC nanoGUNE, in collaboration with chemists at CiQUS of the University of Santiago de Compostela, have demonstrated that adding or removing a single molecule from a quantum chain can fundamentally change its interaction with a superconductor.

Astronomers have discovered a star being torn apart by a massive black hole more than 1,000 parsecs from the center of its host galaxy. The tidal disruption event, TDE 2023mfm, was first discovered by ZTF and then studied with a wide range of telescopes, including Keck, Lick, Hubble, Swift, Chandra, XMM-Newton and the VLA. The discovery paper was posted to the arXiv preprint server on Sept. 28.

Scientists have discovered that black holes of vastly different sizes appear to launch powerful jets according to the same universal rule. The breakthrough could explain why some black holes suddenly erupt years after devouring a star and help astronomers predict when these spectacular outbursts will happen.

Scientists discovered that atomic steps just one atom high can guide quantum vortices through superconductors, making them move more than 1,000 times more easily in one direction than another. This remarkable control over quantum motion could lead to a new generation of ultra-efficient superconducting electronics.

Glimpses of the "gallium anomaly" were first seen in the mid-1990s, but it was first clearly discovered and stated in 2007 by neutrino physicist Carlo Giunti of Italy. The problem is simple to state but potentially very important: about 20% fewer electron neutrinos were seen to be captured by gallium nuclei than expected.

Author(s): Marric StephensA technique known as ghost imaging has been adapted so that an object can be imaged by discarding all photons that interact with it. [Physics 19, s127] Published Thu Oct 15, 2026

By Alius Noreika Key takeaways The deadline is next week, and it is not the one most people

New materials and catalysts have the potential to transform everything from food production and medicine to batteries and stainless steel. Computer simulations help scientists narrow down promising candidates before testing them in a lab, but those simulations can be unreliable, especially for molecules that contain multiple metals.

Humanity's ongoing disruption of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO₂) concentrations, temperatures, and global nutrient cycles is starving the oceans of oxygen. Although we can measure ongoing changes to ocean circulation and marine life, we still don't know how far the oxygen loss and the damage to ocean ecosystems could go. One way to foresee the oceans' future is to look back at how our seas and their inhabitants responded to higher CO₂ levels and warmer climates in the past.

Silicon spin qubits are a promising platform for building scalable quantum computers as they are compatible with the semiconductor manufacturing technologies used to produce today's computer chips. However, they have an important weakness: silicon spin qubits typically lose accuracy when several qubits are under parallel control. To be useful, quantum computers will need to operate many qubits simultaneously without compromising the accuracy of their operations.

When corals are stressed by pollution, high water temperatures or other environmental changes, they can lose the microscopic algae living inside them and on which they depend for food. As a result, they turn white, a phenomenon known as coral bleaching. They will not die straight away, but it will be game over if the stress continues long enough for them to starve.

The work could help improve quantum computers’ accuracy in complex calculations

Physicists at Auburn University have used flashes of laser light to bring order to tiny electrically charged "islands" inside a crystal. The discovery helps answer a decades-old question about how the material organizes itself and shows how light could be used to control its behavior—a step toward exploring new technologies for processing and storing information.

Space-based solar power has the potential to meet Earth's energy needs many times over. Will it see the light of day?

When light hits a tiny defect embedded in a solid material like diamond or silicon carbide, it can kick the defect's electrons into an excited state. These spin defects have the potential to be used as stable, readable qubits for quantum technologies, for example, quantum sensing. But modeling the full physics of their energetics over time—a key step in developing spin defects into new technologies—is a challenging task.

The Large-Sized Telescope will provide new insights into the early universe The post Officials celebrate completion of gamma-ray telescope array in La Palma appeared first on Physics World.

Germany Ties Fusion Money to Milestones Germany will pay fusion startups only as they prove progress, and it

Quantum pioneer calls for more investment in Europe’s quantum industries The post Ignacio Cirac: Newton Medal winner looks to the future of quantum technology appeared first on Physics World.

New study places a quantum limit on how fast a system can reach a state of thermal equilibrium The post Your beer can only cool so fast. Blame quantum mechanics appeared first on Physics World.

Einstein's theory of general relativity describes gravity as the bending of spacetime, a mathematical model that combines three-dimensional space and time into a single, four-dimensional continuum. The theory also predicts that a rotating object, such as Earth, slightly drags the surrounding spacetime as it rotates, a phenomenon known as frame-dragging.

Finding particles of interest in an air pollution particulate matter sample can be harder than finding a needle in a haystack. It's a time-consuming process that requires scientists to manually locate and scan thousands of microscopic particles across a large sample area, often taking several days.

Siloton, which develops optical technology for medical imaging, has been awarded an £8.4 million ($11M) contract from Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation. The contract will accelerate development of its groundbreaking handheld eye imaging system, making detection and monitoring of retinal diseases more accessible to patients. Siloton team posing with their GiraffeOCT handheld retinal imaging device. Courtesy of Siloton. The contract will specifically help Siloton accelerate the design of the in-clinic and at-home versions of its GiraffeOCT optical coherence tomography (OCT) device, as well as complete trials on both systems. Siloton expects the funding could cut the development process by up to two years. Under the...

Author(s): Sophia ChenAn ultrafast optical technique uncovers new clues to the origin of bulk polarization in quantum ferroelectric materials. [Physics 19, s132] Published Wed Oct 14, 2026

Fine particulate matter consists of tiny particles with diameters in the nanometer range. They are produced, for example, by fuel combustion, remain suspended in the air and can penetrate deep into the respiratory tract. There, they can trigger oxidative stress, a process that promotes inflammation and, over the long term, can lead to serious health problems such as respiratory or cardiovascular diseases. Scientists call this harmful property the particles' oxidative potential.

Flat is fine for a sheet of paper, but many of the most useful molecules need depth. Now, researchers from Japan have found a way to give them that depth using nothing more than a single carbon atom.

A research team led by Haruki Watanabe, a professor in the Department of Physics and the Jockey Club Institute for Advanced Study (IAS) at The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST), in collaboration with professor Yukitoshi Motome and graduate student Sena Watanabe from the University of Tokyo, has developed a unified theory that predicts when two states of matter are genuinely distinct and when they are actually the same.

Studying rare processes is part and parcel of particle physics, providing stringent tests of the Standard Model. At the recent International Conference on High Energy Physics (ICHEP), the CMS and LHCb collaborations presented their latest research into one such process: the transformation of a beauty quark into a strange quark, a muon and the oppositely charged antimuon (b→sμ⁺μ⁻).

An international collaboration led by a research group from GSI/FAIR in Darmstadt, Germany, has achieved the first measurement of the chemical stability of a superheavy element compound.

Organizations are unprepared for the risks posed by quantum computing, IBM's Europe and Africa vice president Alessandro Curioni told AFP Wednesday, referring to the high-speed technology that could crack security encryptions and enable large-scale cyberattacks.

A major software advance could aid the creation of bigger, more reliable quantum computers, a study suggests. Researchers have developed an algorithm that enables off-the-shelf computers to run quantum simulations previously only possible using the world's most powerful supercomputers.

Quantum information systems could one day shape everyday life through faster computing, sharper sensing and more secure communication. A new result from the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U. of I.) marks an important step toward enabling magnetic spins—a quantum property of matter that can be used to store and manipulate information—to play a role in the future of quantum information processing.