Issues

As Earth’s frozen soils thaw, they’ll have a significant effect on the global mercury cycle.

Two research groups demonstrate the coherent interaction between the spin of a single electron and a single microwave photon.

A turbulent, laser-generated plasma can amplify magnetic fields to cosmic scales.

Record numbers of scientists are fleeing persecution and conflict. Host universities and communities can benefit from the brain gain.

Basic research in astrophysics and other fields also would be set back by the reprioritizing of the Department of Energy’s weapons program.

With the end of the Cold War, most physicists turned their attention away from the nuclear threat. It is now time for us to reengage in the debate over how to reduce the dangers from nuclear weapons.

By carefully orchestrating atomic-scale interactions, one can coax hard surfaces to slide against one another with virtually no resistance.

A mix of proteins, polymers, lipids, and tightly bound but fluid shells of water molecules may account for a healthy joint’s ultralow friction.

The Event Horizon Telescope will combine data from a worldwide network of radio telescopes to image the shadow that a black hole casts on the surrounding plasma.