News & Comment

Initially used to measure the brightness of radio sources, the jansky has spread to other areas of astronomy, as Natasha Hurley-Walker recounts.

Ensuring that a manuscript is vetted by experts is an important part of the editorial process, so we strive to choose the best reviewers to help us do this. How we manage the selection is a nuanced process.

A single equation can describe how fluids flow across a wide range of length scales, from ocean currents to swimming algae. The difference merely lies in the Reynolds number, says Julia Yeomans.

Articulating the case for investment in large-scale physics projects is rarely straightforward. If scientists are to continue to do so effectively in the future, they must learn to grapple with a host of issues that they have perhaps been lucky to be shielded from in the past.

Undergraduate labs are more effective and more positive for students if they encourage investigation and decision-making, not verification of textbook concepts.

The recent measurement of the muon’s anomalous magnetic moment increases the tension with predictions from theory. Or does it?

As the namesake of a variety of constants, distributions and equations, Ludwig Boltzmann has earned his place in the physics hall of fame. But as Ankita Anirban reveals, he cannot take sole credit for the most famous constant bearing his name.

The US Department of Justice’s ‘China Initiative’ is unfairly targeting Chinese American academics for their alleged ties with the Chinese government. A more proportionate approach is urgently needed.

What does it mean for an individual to be ‘important’ or for a connection to be ‘outstanding’? The answer depends on context, as Sarah Shugars and Samuel V. Scarpino explain.

Scientific progress has always been driven by the ability to build an instrument to answer a specific question. But spreading the news of how to replicate that tool is an evolving art, ripe for an open-source revolution.

Surface scientists love a good vacuum. The reason for this is captured by the work of Irving Langmuir and the little-known unit bearing his name, explains Daniel Payne.