From an almost perfect universe to the best of both worlds

It was 21 March 2013. The world's scientific press had either gathered in ESA's Paris headquarters or logged in online, along with a multitude of scientists around the globe, to witness the moment when ESA's Planck mission ...

Image: Our galaxy's heart

At first glance, this image may resemble red ink filtering through water or a crackling stream of electricity, but it is actually a unique view of our cosmic home. It reveals the central plane of the Milky Way as seen by ...

Hostility towards minorities can be contagious

Inter-ethnic conflicts often escalate surprisingly quickly. In a recent study, researchers have investigated the influence of the environment on peoples' hostility against minorities with the help of experiments. They found ...

Research enhances performance of Germany's new fusion device

A team of U.S. and German scientists has used a system of large magnetic "trim" coils designed and delivered by the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) to achieve high performance ...

Ears for Icarus

On 13 February, a Russian rocket carried the antenna of the Icarus mission to the International Space Station (ISS). The Icarus on-board computer was thus joined by another key component of the orbiting animal tracking system. ...

The kilogram gets a makeover

In Sèvres, a small commune on the outskirts of Paris, lies a gleaming lump of metal the size of a palm. Le Grand K, or Big K as they call the platinum and iridium alloy, sits underground in a high-security vault. It is held ...

A rapid transition of the world's energy systems

The world is changing but not quite fast enough. The warming of the Earth, caused by rising greenhouse gas emissions, has raised enough concern among the political leaders of the world for them to finally take action. The ...

Migration pays off for songbirds

It is estimated that there are over one-and-a-half billion songbirds living in Europe alone. Around half of them embark on their journey southwards in autumn over a period of less than twelve nights. It is warmer there and ...

How much does a kilogram weigh?

The kilogram doesn't weigh a kilogram any more. This sad news was announced during a seminar at CERN on Thursday, 26 October by Professor Klaus von Klitzing, who was awarded the 1985 Nobel Prize in Physics for the discovery ...

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