Science

What the Moon can teach us about the Earth

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What could a dedicated international panel to tackle inequality achieve?

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https://council.science/blog/what-could-a-dedicated-international-panel-to-tackle-inequality-achieve/?utm%5C_source=rss&utm%5C_medium=rss&utm%5C_campaign=what-could-a-dedicated-international-panel-to-tackle-inequality-achieve

First step to the Matrix?

The role of the Women in Physics working group: International Union of Pure and Applied Physics

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Carlos Alberto Vargas Jiménez: Latin American science must speak in its own voice

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MINSK, 7 April (BelTA) – The National Academy of Sciences of Belarus and the Institute of Optics and Electronics of China plan to open a joint laboratory within the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative. This was discussed at a meeting between First Deputy Chairman of the NASB Presidium Vitaly Zalevsky and Professor Zhu Xiao of the Institute of Optics and Electronics at Huazhong University of Science and Technology on 6 April, the NASB press service told BelTA.

The parties discussed prospects for bilateral scientific and technical cooperation, including in combined material-processing technologies, as well as opportunities for synergy between laser technologies and magnetic-pulse processing, which open new horizons for the creation of high-tech products. They also spoke about joint participation in the competition for flagship Belarus-China scientific and technical projects and in a major optics and electronics exhibition to be held in Wuhan in May 2026.

All cooperation agreements between Huazhong University of Science and Technology and the NASB Physical-Technical Institute were formalized in a protocol signed following the meeting by Zhu Xiao and Igor Smyaglikov, Deputy Director for Research of the Physical-Technical Institute.

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UNFCCC call for input from ISC members – mapping progress in filling climate change research gaps | Deadline: 15 April 2026

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Physicists have observed "holes" in light, known as optical vortices, moving faster than the light itself. This phenomenon does not break relativity as the vortices carry no mass, energy, or information. The achievement is a result of using electron microscopy to capture the motion of optical vortices in a two-dimensional material called hexagonal boron nitride.

Key points about the discovery:

• Optical vortices are whirlpools in a wave of light that can outrun the light they're embedded within
• The vortices carry no mass, energy, or information, so they don't break relativity
• The phenomenon was observed in a two-dimensional material using a specialized high-speed electron microscope
• The technique used can help study hidden processes in physics, chemistry, and biology
• The researchers used a new method called electron interferometry to enhance image sharpness and capture the motion of the vortices.
• The experiment showed that the vortices can reach superluminal speeds as they approach and annihilate each other.
• The discovery provides a powerful technological tool for mapping the motion of delicate nanoscale phenomena in materials.

Applications open for round three of the Asia-Pacific Academic Mentoring Program | deadline: 28 April

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2026 Call for nominations to the ISC Fellowship

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