Editorials

Two big-science projects — the Large Hadron Collider and the Planck satellite — are set to deliver major results in the coming year.

Nuclear weapons, nuclear power and climate change are driving the march of the Doomsday Clock towards midnight.

The web blackout symbolized concern over potential legislation, which we share.

Social networks — what are they good for? We don't know for sure, but we're keen to find out.

Investment in science must be part of Europe's plan to rebuild its economies.

The Higgs boson is running out of places to hide.

Increasingly, scientists are expected to go beyond the traditional scientific paper to explain their research to a non-specialist readership. We offer some tips on writing popular science for a general audience.

The final bids are in to host a major radio telescope, the Square Kilometre Array.

A survey of researchers has canvassed opinion on the 'grand challenges' to be faced in physics research — asking what might become achievable if more collaborative efforts are supported.

NASA's space shuttle programme is at an end — as may be the funding for its next space telescope.

Particle physicists are strict about signals — five standard deviations is what's required. But discoveries may also emerge gradually from confusing effects that are initially of much lower significance.

One hundred and fifty years ago, James Clerk Maxwell presented a set of equations that describes virtually any manifestation of electromagnetism. Is it possible to find similarly compact descriptions — and is the search even worthwhile — in every branch of physics ?

The situation at Japan's Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant is dire, but should not turn the world off nuclear power.

Superconductivity may have reached its centenary, but if anything it's a more active field of research today than ever. From materials dull or shiny, to the race for the Higgs boson, superconductivity remains relevant and exciting.

It's time to give serious consideration to the notion of job-sharing in science.

The first tentative steps towards a comprehensive policy on scientific integrity, to guide scientists and politicians, are being taken in the US. Progress is slow, but should be encouraged.

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.