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Scientists are rethinking the universe’s deepest mysteries using numerical relativity, complex computer simulations of Einstein’s equations in extreme conditions. This method could help explore what happened before the Big Bang, test theories of cosmic inflation, investigate multiverse collisions, and even model cyclic universes that endlessly bounce through creation and destruction.

Researchers developed a crystal that inhales and exhales oxygen like lungs. It stays stable under real-world conditions and can be reused many times, making it ideal for energy and electronic applications. This innovation could reshape technologies from fuel cells to eco-friendly smart windows.

Lithium battery recycling offers a powerful solution to rising demand, with discarded batteries still holding most of their valuable materials. Compared to mining, recycling slashes emissions and resource use while unlocking major economic potential. Yet infrastructure, policy, and technology hurdles must still be overcome.

It is with great sadness that the Faculty announces the death of Professor Tony Smith (A.T.H. Smith) on 18 August. Professor Smith was lecturer and fellow of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge from 1972-1981 and 1990-1996 and remained a Life Fellow there until his death. He became Professor of Criminal and Public Laws in the Faculty in 1996, a post he held until 2006. During that time he was Chair of the Law Faculty from 1999-2001. After his time in Cambridge, Tony was Pro-Vice Chancellor and Dean of the Faculty of Laws at Victoria University at Wellington. He returned to Cambridge for a stint as Goodhart Professor of Legal Science in 2015-2016. Professor Smith was a leading writer on the criminal law and criminal justice. His initial interest was criminal law in relation to the law of property, on which he wrote a big book entitled The Protection of Property through the Criminal Law in 1994. But by then the main thrust of his scholarship was directed towards those areas where the criminal law and public law intersect: free speech, media law, police powers and public order. In 1987 he published The Offences Against Public Order , inspired by the Public Order Act 1986. He then joined forces with the practitioners Anthony Arlidge and David Eady, whose book on contempt of court became Arlidge, Eady and Smith On Contempt from the 2nd edition onwards: a comprehensive work that is widely recognised as the authoritative text. In 2023 a Festschrift to mark his retirement was published by the Victoria University of Wellington Law Review. The quality and range of the many contributions reflect the affection and esteem in which Tony was widely held. To law students and would-be law students his name is better known for completely different work. From the 12th edition onwards, he was the editor of Glanville Williams’s popular introduction to law studies, Learning the Law . He was a founding member of the Cambridge Law Faculty’s online criminal discussion group, and remained so for many years after his return to New Zealand.

A team in Milan has developed a first-of-its-kind single-atom catalyst that acts like a molecular switch, enabling cleaner, more adaptable chemical reactions. Stable, recyclable, and eco-friendly, it marks a major step toward programmable sustainable chemistry.

By exploring positive geometry, mathematicians are revealing hidden shapes that may unify particle physics and cosmology, offering new ways to understand both collisions in accelerators and the origins of the universe.

For the first time, researchers have measured atomic temperatures in extreme matter and found gold surviving at 19,000 kelvins, more than 14 times its melting point. The result dismantles a 40-year-old theory of heat limits.

ETH Zurich scientists have levitated a tower of three nano glass spheres using optical tweezers, suppressing almost all classical motion to observe quantum zero-point fluctuations with unprecedented precision. Achieving 92% quantum purity at room temperature, a feat usually requiring near absolute zero, they have opened the door to advanced quantum sensors without costly cooling.

Researchers have synthesized a stable cyclo[48]carbon, a unique 48-carbon ring that can be studied in solution at room temperature, a feat never achieved before.

Scientists have, for the first time, experimentally proven that angular momentum is conserved even when a single photon splits into two, pushing quantum physics to its most fundamental limits. Using ultra-precise equipment, the team captured this elusive process—comparable to finding a needle in a haystack—confirming a cornerstone law of nature at the photon level.

Scientists in Finland have measured the heaviest known nucleus to undergo proton emission, discovering the rare isotope 188-astatine. It exhibits a unique shape and may reveal a new kind of nuclear interaction.

Researchers have unveiled a new quantum material that could make quantum computers much more stable by using magnetism to protect delicate qubits from environmental disturbances. Unlike traditional approaches that rely on rare spin-orbit interactions, this method uses magnetic interactions—common in many materials—to create robust topological excitations. Combined with a new computational tool for finding such materials, this breakthrough could pave the way for practical, disturbance-resistant quantum computers.

Rice University scientists have discovered a way to make tiny vibrations, called phonons, interfere with each other more strongly than ever before. Using a special sandwich of silver, graphene, and silicon carbide, they created a record-breaking effect so sensitive it can detect a single molecule without labels or complex equipment. This breakthrough could open new possibilities for powerful sensors, quantum devices, and technologies that control heat and energy at the smallest scales.

Researchers have found a clever way to make quantum dots, tiny light-emitting crystals, produce streams of perfectly controlled photons without relying on expensive, complex electronics. By using a precise sequence of laser pulses, the team can “tell” the quantum dots exactly how to emit light, making the process faster, cheaper, and more efficient. This advance could open the door to more practical quantum technologies, from ultra-secure communications to experiments that probe the limits of physics.

Scientists have developed a lightning-fast AI tool called HEAT-ML that can spot hidden “safe zones” inside a fusion reactor where parts are protected from blistering plasma heat. Finding these areas, known as magnetic shadows, is key to keeping reactors running safely and moving fusion energy closer to reality.

A groundbreaking quantum device small enough to fit in your hand could one day answer one of the biggest questions in science — whether the multiverse is real. This tiny chip can generate extreme electromagnetic fields once only possible in massive, miles-long particle colliders. Beyond probing the fabric of reality, it could lead to powerful gamma ray lasers capable of destroying cancer cells at the atomic level, offering a glimpse into a future where the deepest mysteries of the universe and life-saving medical breakthroughs are unlocked by technology no bigger than your thumb.

Scientists at SLAC unexpectedly created gold hydride, a compound of gold and hydrogen, while studying diamond formation under extreme pressure and heat. This discovery challenges gold’s reputation as a chemically unreactive metal and opens doors to studying dense hydrogen, which could help us understand planetary interiors and fusion processes. The results also suggest that extreme conditions can produce exotic, previously unknown compounds, offering exciting opportunities for future high-pressure chemistry research.

At the Large Hadron Collider, scientists from the University of Kansas achieved a fleeting form of modern-day alchemy — turning lead into gold for just a fraction of a second. Using ultra-peripheral collisions, where ions nearly miss but interact through powerful photon exchanges, they managed to knock protons out of nuclei, creating new, short-lived elements. This breakthrough not only grabbed global attention but could help design safer, more advanced particle accelerators of the future.

On 17 July 2025, Nabil H. Khabirpour (Affiliated Lecturer; Fellow and Director of Studies (Lucy Canvedish College)) was invited to meet with the Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer, to share insights from his work at the Law Corner and to discuss the state of access to justice across communities in the country. During the meeting, Nabil presented examples of recent casework undertaken by student interns over the past year, including some of the work done by Cambridge undergraduates relating to housing, consumer protection, education and equality. The Prime Minister welcomed this spirit of service and conveyed his government's commitment to supporting those working within local communities to effect meaningful societal change. He noted that new lines of action and funding will be put in place across all sectors in pursuit of this aim. The meeting took place ahead of the Civil Society Summit, which marked the launch of a new initiative to harness the collective power of communities, businesses, and government. As part of the ongoing collaboration, the Constituency Office of Sir Keir and the Law Corner will maintain a line of communication to chart future developments at the grassroots and monitor the evolving landscape of access to justice. The Law Corner is a pro bono and educational initiative based in the Somers Town neighbourhood. Its work is guided by a twofold aim. One is to offer to those of limited means high quality and timely advice by directly retaining and working with the client, much like a firm or chambers. The other is to provide opportunities for students and collaborators to learn more about the practice of law in the public interest and, in the process, build a network among like-minded peers, collaborators and wider society. The current coordination team includes Claudia Dolgetta, Francesca Meikle, Damon Neale, Ewan Jenkins Wendon, Alice Victoria Hayverova and Cambridge alumna Rosa Matarewicz (Lucy Cavendish). Nabil's work lies in the fields of EU Law, European Human Rights Law and Jurisprudence. His latest article, ' A Tale of Two Cases and a Story Yet Untold' was published in the Modern Law Review and explores the relationship between legal advice, the rule of law, and insights from capability theory under Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights. This research is situated within a broader inquiry into how remedial systems ensure not only the articulation of rights but also their effective enforceability, and why this is essential for the integrity and just operation of law in society.

Physicists have heated gold to over 19,000 Kelvin, more than 14 times its melting point, without melting it, smashing the long-standing “entropy catastrophe” limit. Using an ultra-fast laser pulse at SLAC’s Linac Coherent Light Source, they kept the gold crystalline at extreme heat, opening new frontiers in high-energy-density physics, fusion research, and planetary science.