Author: Subir Sarkar, Emeritus Professor, Department of Physics, University of Oxford According to our best understanding, the universe is expanding – and is doing so at an accelerating rate. This is believed to be caused by something called the “cosmological […]
Researchers at the University of Michigan have created a device that enables them to control the flow of electrons through a semiconductor using only laser light—no electrical power source required. This device was built to explore fundamental physics and realize […]
For decades, Alzheimer’s research has been dominated by a seemingly intuitive idea: the disease is largely explained by the accumulation of abnormal proteins in the brain, primarily beta-amyloid and tau. However, while this view has been useful, it has fallen […]
Building electronic devices often requires stacking different crystalline materials on top of one another with atomic precision. This process, called heteroepitaxy, works best when the two crystals share similar atomic patterns. When their symmetries differ, the upper crystal tends to […]
Auhtors: Samantha Lawler, Associate Professor, Astronomy, University of Regina and Aaron Boley, Professor, Physics and Astronomy, University of British Columbia A giant mirror to create “sunlight on demand” was just approved by the United States Federal Communications Commission (FCC), despite […]
As we saw in our last entry, we must grant Gabriel that he does not conceive of the spirit and spiritual as an “immortal soul” or any similar ghostlike entity, but rather as something grounded in human thought—more specifically, in […]
Condensed matter • DIPC Advanced materials • Materials • Quantum physics
When we study solid-state physics, we usually begin with crystals. In a crystal, atoms repeat in a strict and regular pattern, much like tiles on a bathroom floor. Because every small region looks the same as every other, electrons move […]
The relationship between experiences of bullying and serious mental health problems has been at the center of scientific debate for years. However, it is only in the last decade that longitudinal studies have made it possible to go beyond correlation […]
The Big Bang is often described as the explosive birth of the universe – a singular moment when space, time and matter sprang into existence. But what if this was not the beginning at all? What if our universe emerged […]
Condensed matter • DIPC Advanced materials • Materials • Quantum physics
Imagine a material where electrons glide through without any resistance, moving like a perfectly synchronized dance troupe. This phenomenon, known as superconductivity, allows electricity to flow with zero energy loss, holding immense promise for everything from ultra-efficient power lines to […]
Chimeric antigen-specific receptor (CAR) T-cell immunotherapy targeting B-cell maturation antigen (BCMA; BCMA-CAR T cells) has produced remarkable clinical responses in advanced multiple myeloma (MM), with a substantial fraction of patients achieving complete remission . However, many patients relapse within months […]
A few weeks after the invasion of Ukraine by the Russian army, many scientific institutions felt the need to issue public statements against that war. At the time, I was president of the Commission for the History of Physics within […]
Authors: Sergi Muria Maldonado, Professor de Didàctica de les Matemàtiques, Universitat de Barcelona; Anton Aubanell Pou, Professor de l’Institut de Formació Continuada i professor jubilat de Didàctica de les Matemàtiques, Universitat de Barcelona, and Jordi Font González, Professor de Didàctica […]
When energy storage is discussed in the context of the energy transition, the conversation almost invariably turns to electricity. Solar and wind power have made the temporal mismatch between energy production and energy demand one of the defining challenges of […]
Author: Chris Kirkland, Professor of Geochronology, Curtin University In the Pilbara of Western Australia, some of Earth’s oldest rocks lie beneath the sky, as they have for billions of years. They are dark, weathered volcanic rocks, close to 3.5 billion […]