Davide Castelvecchi is a staff reporter at Nature who has been obsessed with quantum spin for essentially his entire life. Follow him on X @dcastelvecchi
Sliding Scale: A Tour of More Extraordinary Micro-Vistas [Slide Show]
Scientific American presents a supplemental selection of outstanding images entered in the Olympus BioScapes Digital Imaging Contest by the great masters of the microscope
Hawking versus God: What Did the Physicist Really Say about the Deity?
The battle for eternity is fought on Larry King Live
Would Wiretapping Laws Spell the End of Quantum Encryption?
A new effort to ensure that the government can gain backdoor access to encrypted messages could thwart one of the most promising applications of physics for digital security
Just How Small Is the Proton?
New findings challenge a basic theory of physics that presumably had been settled
Quantum Light Switch: Single Atom Acts as a Transistor for Photons
Demonstration that an atom can control the passage of light could be crucial in quantum computing and communications
"Quantum Microphone" Puts Visible Object in Two Places at Once
Look Ma, No Junctions! Novel Transistor Design Reemerges After 85 Years
A radically simpler design avoids the standard p-n semiconductor junctions
Problem Solved, LOL
Blog comments point to a new, faster approach in math
Information-age math finds code in ancient Scottish symbols
Macro-Weirdness: "Quantum Microphone" Puts Naked-Eye Object in 2 Places at Once
A new device tests the limits of Schrödinger's cat
Problem Solved, LOL: A Complex Tic-Tac-Toe Puzzle Falls Thanks to Blog Comments
Community-based online efforts point to a new, faster approach in mathematics
Invasion of the Drones: Unmanned Aircraft Take Off in Polar Exploration
To study hard-to-reach places, scientists in Antarctica are relying on remote-controlled planes, including those from the hobby shop
Supersonic Bathtub Physics
Warp-Speed Algebra: New Algorithm Does Algebra in a Snap
New quantum algorithm can solve monster-size equations
Supersonic bathtub physics: What happens when discs are pushed through water?
New Map Reveals Tsunami Risks in California
The map, released close to the fifth anniversary of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, will be helpful in emergency response planning
With One Space Observatory Down, NASA Uses Another to Map CO2
Newly released data show carbon dioxide "more lumpy" than expected
Subcontinental Smut: Is Soot the Culprit Behind Melting Himalayan Glaciers?
Greenhouse gases alone cannot explain the warming climate in the Himalayas. New studies are pointing to soot
New Microscope Reveals the Shape of Atoms
Improved field-emission microscope images electron orbitals, confirming their theoretical shapes
Origins: The Start of Everything
Where do rainbows come from? What about flying cars, love and LSD?
Economic Thinking
Even apparently irrational human choices can make sense in terms of our inner logic
The Placenta
An eggshell membrane evolved into the organ that lets fetuses grow in the womb
Batteries
Their inventor may not have known how they actually work
The Eye
What was half an eye good for? Quite a lot, actually