News & Comment

As our metrology column turns ten years, there is no better way to celebrate than to look at the definitions of a year, finds Stefanie Reichert.

A recently proposed class of magnets, so-called altermagnets, combine features of ferromagnets and antiferromagnets. We discuss the scientific appeal of altermagnets, current controversies and challenges for their practical use.

How proteins — sequences of amino acids — fold determines their function. We discuss efforts towards the establishment of metrics traceable to the International System of Units that link the sequence of a protein to its structure and function.

Despite being derived from the unit of time, the hertz is a unit in its own right. It has remained a much beloved unit since its establishment almost one hundred years ago, as Karen Mudryk recounts.

Social connections can unlock opportunities that are advantageous to careers in physics. However, this resource is unevenly distributed, and its benefits can’t always overcome the negative effects of societal stereotypes and biases.

Elite women in physics wait longer than men for recognition. Once elected to the US National Academy of Sciences, however, their prominence surges — evidence that their work was undervalued all along.

The 2025 Nobel Prize in Physics has been awarded to John Clarke, Michel Devoret and John Martinis “for the discovery of macroscopic quantum mechanical tunnelling and energy quantisation in an electric circuit”.

Women in High Pressure, a community tackling gender imbalance in high-pressure research, is driving inclusion, visibility and systemic change — so every scientist can thrive, even under pressure.

Two decades ago this month, Nature Physics published its first issue. We reflect on the past and look into the future.

Names of measurement units often honour notable scientists and are seemingly immune to change. Richard Brown and Juris Meija explore the legacy of this tradition.

In our very first issue we published eight research papers, on topics ranging from condensed matter physics to atom interferometry. Two decades on, we look back at those works and hear from their authors.

In this comment, we consider how artificial intelligence tools are reshaping the way mathematical research is conducted and discuss how future developments of this technology will transform mathematical practice.

Improvements in qubit performance are essential for the development of large-scale quantum computing devices. Sustained progress requires a broad approach combining physics, materials science, and engineering mindsets.

The first direct observation of gravitational waves occurred on 14 September 2015. We look back at ten years of gravitational wave science.