A new analysis finds that data centers’ energy demands will drastically increase power plant emissions over the next decade. Renewables, though, could cut them while helping keep prices from rising.

Nematics are materials made of rod‑like particles that tend to align in the same direction. In active nematics, this alignment is constantly disrupted and renewed because the particles are driven by internal biological or chemical energy. As the orientation field twists and reorganises, it creates topological defects-points where the alignment breaks down. These defects are central to the collective behaviour of active matter, shaping flows, patterns, and self‑organisation.

In this work, the researchers identify an active topological phase transition that separates two distinct regimes of defect organisation. As the system approaches this transition from below, the dynamics slow dramatically: the relaxation of defect density becomes sluggish, fluctuations in the number of defects grow in amplitude and lifetime, and the system becomes increasingly sensitive to small changes in activity. At the critical point, defects begin to interact over long distances, with correlation lengths that grow with system size. This behaviour produces a striking dual‑scaling pattern, defect fluctuations appear uniform at small scales but become anti‑hyperuniform at larger scales, meaning that the number of defects varies far more than expected from a random distribution.

A key finding is that this anti‑hyperuniformity originates from defect clustering. Rather than forming ordered structures or undergoing phase separation, defects tend to appear near existing defects, creating multiscale clusters. This distinguishes the transition from well‑known defect‑unbinding processes such as the Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless transition in passive nematics or the nematic-isotropic transition in screened active systems. Above the critical activity, the system enters a defect‑laden turbulent state where defects are more uniformly distributed and correlations become short‑ranged and negative.

The researchers confirm these behaviours experimentally using large‑field‑of‑view measurements of endothelial cell monolayers which are the cells that line blood vessels. The same dual‑scaling behaviour, long‑range correlations, and clustering appear in these living tissues, demonstrating that the transition is robust across system sizes, parameter variations, frictional damping, and boundary conditions.

Do you want to learn more about this topic?

Active phase separation: new phenomenology from non-equilibrium physics M E Cates and C Nardini (2025)

The post A surprising critical state emerges in active nematic materials appeared first on Physics World.

Topological quantum computing is a proposed approach to building quantum computers that aims to solve one of the biggest challenges in quantum technology: error correction.

In conventional quantum systems, qubits are extremely sensitive to their environment and even tiny disturbances can cause errors. Topological quantum computing addresses this by encoding information in the global properties of a system: the topology of certain quantum states.

These systems rely on the use of non-Abelian anyons, exotic quasiparticles that can exist in two-dimensional materials under special conditions.

The main challenge faced by this approach to quantum computing is the creation and control of these quasiparticles.

One possible source of non-Abelian anyons is the fractional quantum Hall state (FQH): an exotic state of matter which can exist at very low temperatures and high magnetic fields.

These states come in two forms: even-denominator and odd-denominator. Here, we’re interested in the even-denominator states – the more interesting but less well understood of the two.

In this latest work, researchers have observed this exotic state in gallium arsenide (GaAs) two-dimensional hole systems.

Typically, FQH states are isotropic, showing no preferred direction. Here, however, the team found states that are strongly anisotropic, suggesting that the system spontaneously breaks rotational symmetry.

This means that it forms a nematic phase – similar to liquid crystals – where molecules align along a direction without forming a rigid structure.

This spontaneous symmetry breaking adds complexity to the state and can influence how quasiparticles behave, interact, and move.

The observation of the existence of spontaneous nematicity in an even-denominator fractional quantum Hall state is the first of its kind.

Although there are many questions left to be answered, the properties of this system could be hugely important for topological quantum computers as well as other novel quantum technologies.

The post Non-Abelian anyons: anything but easy appeared first on Physics World.

Europe’s Solar Orbiter is helping researchers understand what causes the Sun to blast out radiation and particles

Learn how long-term mate switching helps a small beluga whale population maintain genetic diversity.

Culling limits agency’s ability to tap independent advice

A future president could reverse many changes, but greater White House control of science agencies may be here to stay

Learn how researchers tested a cow’s behavior and what her tool use reveals about animal intelligence.

Learn how the shingles vaccine puts the brakes on aging by helping the immune system fight chronic inflammation.

‘Minibus’ shifts money to GPS, backs commercial services and cuts proposed MILNET constellation

The post Defense appropriations bill for 2026 funds Space Force at $26 billion, presses Pentagon on Golden Dome appeared first on SpaceNews.

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — Jan. 15, 2026 — Space Foundation, a nonprofit organization founded in 1983 to advance the global space community, today announced it will host Innovate Space: Finance […]

The post Space Foundation to Host Innovate Space: Finance Forum in Partnership With Texas Space Commission appeared first on SpaceNews.

Learn more about the difference between sugar in liquid and solid form and why skipping sweets altogether isn’t the solution either.

Learn about a new UN report that suggests we are now in an era of global water bankruptcy that cannot be reversed.

Measure gives agency slight boost and blocks multiyear awards and cuts to indirect costs

After 12 years studying the Red Planet’s atmosphere, MAVEN has gone perilously quiet

This is the first recorded instance of a bovine using tools from her environment to relieve an itch—leaving scientists astonished.

Learn about J1007+3540, a black hole that has recently come back to life and is described as a “cosmic volcano.”

Learn how a decade of monitoring reveals why Antarctic penguins are breeding earlier than ever, and what those shifts may signal about life in one of the world’s fastest-warming regions.

Learn how the body’s earliest immune defenses can stop a common cold before symptoms appear.

Particle physicist Norbert Holtkamp has been appointed the new director of Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory. He took up the position on 12 January, replacing Young-Kee Kim from the University of Chicago, who held the job on an interim basis following the resignation of Lia Merminga last year.

With a PhD in physics from the Technical University in Darmstadt, Germany, Holtkamp has managed large scientific projects throughout his career.

Holtkamp is the former deputy director of the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory at Stanford University where he managedthe construction of the Linac Coherent Light Source upgrade, the world’s most powerful X-ray laser, along with more than $2bn of onsite construction projects.

Holtkamp also previously served as the principal deputy director general for the international fusion project ITER, which is currently under construction in Cadarache, France.

Holtkamp worked at Fermilab between 1998 and 2001, where he worked on commissioning the Main Injector and also led a study on the feasibility of an intense neutrino source based on a muon storage ring.

One of Holtkamp’s main aims as Fermilab boss will be to oversee the completion of the $5bn Long-Baseline Neutrino Facility-Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (LBNF-DUNE) at Fermilab, which is expected to come online towards the end of the decade.

LBNF-DUNE will study the properties of neutrinos in unprecedented detail, as well as the differences in behaviour between neutrinos and antineutrinos. The DUNE detector, which lies about 1300 km from Fermilab, will measure the neutrinos that are generated by Fermilab’s accelerator complex, which is just outside Chicago.

In a statement, Holtkamp said he is “deeply honoured” to lead the lab. “Fermilab has done so much to advance our collective understanding of the fundamentals of our universe,” he says. “I am committed to ensuring the laboratory remains the neutrino capital of the world, and the safe and successful completion of LBNF-DUNE is key to that goal. I’m excited to rejoin Fermilab at this pivotal moment to guide this project and our other important modernization efforts to prepare the lab for a bright future.”

Managerial experience

Fermilab has experienced a difficult few years, with questions raised about its internal management and external oversight. In August 2024 a group of anonymous self-styled whistleblowers published a 113-page “white paper” on the arXiv preprint server, asserting that the lab was “doomed without a management overhaul”.

Then in October that year, a new organization – Fermi Forward Discovery Group – was announced to manage the lab for the US Department of Energy. That move came under scrutiny given it is dominated by the University of Chicago and Universities Research Association (URA), a consortium of research universities, which had already been part of the management since 2007. Then a month later, almost 2.5% of Fermilab’s employees were laid off.

“We’re excited to welcome Norbert, who brings of a wealth of scientific and managerial experience to Fermilab,” noted University of Chicago president Paul Alivisatos, who is also chair of the board of directors of Fermi Forward Discovery Group.

Alivisatos thanked Kim for her “tireless service” as director. “[Kim] played a critical role in strengthening relationships with Fermilab’s leading stakeholders, driving the lab’s modernization efforts, and positioning Fermilab to amplify DOE’s broader goals in areas like quantum science and AI,” added Alivisatos.

The post Physicist Norbert Holtkamp takes over as head of Fermilab appeared first on Physics World.

January 20, 2026 – Washington, D.C.—The Commercial Space Federation (CSF) is pleased to welcome Max Space, Slingshot Aerospace, and Muon Space. Together, these companies strengthen CSF’s advocacy efforts across space […]

The post Commercial Space Federation (CSF) Welcomes 3 New Associate Members appeared first on SpaceNews.

A one-line change in the Dec. 18, 2025 Executive Order, Ensuring American Space Superiority, reopened a debate: should the United States charge satellite operators for basic space situational awareness (SSA) and civil space traffic coordination (STC) services? The order revised SPD-3 by removing the expectation that these services be provided “free of direct user fees,” […]

The post Free warnings, better catalogs: the real fix for space safety appeared first on SpaceNews.

The firm acquired Radome Services, which was rebranded as Outpost Mission Services to anchor a roll-up strategy in space ground services

The post Washington Harbour expands space investments with ground services acquisition appeared first on SpaceNews.

Sodern, a French manufacturer of star trackers and cameras, is expanding into the United States with a new production facility in Colorado.

The post Sodern to produce star trackers in Colorado appeared first on SpaceNews.