News & Comment

Investment in large-scale science facilities is vulnerable in the present economic climate. Although some projects must end, and others are under threat, there is success to be enjoyed in 2011, and beyond.

Around the world, in developed and developing countries, there is reluctance to commit to the alleviation of climate change. But investment in clean energy is growing.

A successful year for the Large Hadron Collider has culminated in its first lead-ion collisions.

Achievement of the United Nations' Millenium Development Goals is by no means guaranteed, but there is heartening progress in the promotion of science for development.

Nature Physics is five years old. So we're celebrating, with a bumper issue and an online special.

Dark energy is a prime target in the proposed US astronomy programme.

Significant work in particle physics bears his name, but the list of Nobel winners does not.

The funding of higher education in the UK is under review, and facing a radical rethink.

At a time when no extra money is likely to be forthcoming, those appointed to lead European-Union-funded science must follow a more imaginative plan.

The 2010 Wolf Prize in Physics acknowledges research into the foundations of quantum mechanics.

We can publish only a small fraction of the papers that are submitted to Nature Physics. If you think we've got it wrong in declining your work, what should you do about it?

In 1960, no one guessed how great the impact of the laser would be. It's a reminder that the best returns on research funding don't always come from the obvious places.

The rich history of research involving photons is celebrated in a supplement to this month's Nature Physics.

In a time of recession, will a new UK government invest sufficiently in science?

The celebration of 50 years of the Aharonov–Bohm effect, and 25 years of Berry's phase, is a celebration of the elegance of physics.

Funding of the arXiv preprint server must now be shared by more of its users.

Science diplomacy matters, and there are capable advocates in the world's scientific societies.

Will Sesame Street, video games and robots get school children interested in science?

Japanese science is facing severe budget cuts that risk causing lasting damage.