School of Physics and Astronomy

Brian Murphy and Richard Cannon receive the prize in recognition of their proposal to expand planetary defence to humanity’s new frontiers.

The winning proposal, Untold Threats: A Worldwide Call to Defend New Frontiers, was developed by Brian Murphy and Richard Cannon who are based in the School’s Institute for Astronomy. Their work highlights emerging threats posed by meteoroid storms, asteroid ejecta, lunar impacts, and other hazards that could jeopardise the rapidly expanding ecosystem of satellites, communications systems, lunar infrastructure, and future space-based industries.

The proposal calls for establishing an International Commission on Space Infrastructure Resilience (ICSIR) to investigate these risks and develop recommendations for the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space. Ultimately, the authors envision creating a permanent international coordinating body, termed WARDEN (Warning-network for Asset Resilience from Dusts, Ejecta, and NEOs), to complement existing planetary defence organisations and coordinate the protection of humanity’s assets beyond Earth.

Brian Murphy said:

As civilisation becomes increasingly dependent on infrastructure in Earth orbit and cislunar space, we believe planetary defence must evolve accordingly. Our work seeks to ensure that humanity’s future expansion into space remains safe, sustainable, and resilient. We are deeply honoured to receive the Schweickart Prize and hope this proposal sparks broader international conversations about protecting these new frontiers.

The Schweickart Prize, a program of B612 Foundation, is an annual award that fosters a new generation of leaders in planetary defence and encourages ideas to help protect Earth from potential asteroid impacts. The prize is named after Russell “Rusty” Schweickart, Apollo 9 astronaut, co-founder of the Association of Space Explorers, and co-founder of B612.

B612 Foundation is a United States-based nonprofit, founded in 2002, which develops tools and technologies to understand, map, and navigate our solar system and protect our planet from asteroid impacts through its Asteroid Institute program and supporting educational programs.

Danica Remy, President of B612 said:

Rusty Schweickart taught us that planetary defence is ultimately an act of stewardship. This year’s winning proposal challenges us to think beyond protecting Earth alone and to consider how we safeguard the infrastructure and communities humanity will build throughout the Earth-Moon system. It is exactly the kind of bold, forward-looking thinking the Schweickart Prize was created to encourage.

Rusty Schweickart, Apollo 9 astronaut and co-founder emeritus of B612 Foundation said:

As human activity and vital interests rapidly expand into regions beyond the protective shield of our atmosphere, the number of passing objects capable of causing serious damage to both life and critical infrastructure increases dramatically. Our Schweickart Prize winners this year have called for a comprehensive and systematic examination of this emerging reality.

Leading physicists and astronomers gathered in Westminster this week to voice concerns over proposed reductions to UK research funding that could have significant consequences for astronomy, particle physics and nuclear physics.

Among those attending a parliamentary drop-in session on 15 June were particle physicist and science presenter Professor Brian Cox, University of Oxford astrophysicist and YouTuber Dr Becky Smethurst, The Sky at Night presenter Professor Chris Lintott, and Astronomer Royal for Scotland and University of Edinburgh Professor of Astrophysics Catherine Heymans. The event was organised by the Royal Astronomical Society and brought together early career researchers and senior academics from across the UK to discuss the potential impact of planned cuts to science funding.

Earlier this year, the Science and Technology Facilities Council announced proposals that could reduce spending on astronomy, particle physics and nuclear physics by as much as 30 per cent over the coming years. Researchers warn that the cuts could affect dozens of major international projects and disproportionately impact early-career scientists.

Particular concern has been raised about the impact on the next generation of researchers. A recent survey found that nearly 80 per cent of early-career researchers are considering leaving the UK following the funding proposals, while only a small minority would currently recommend the UK as a destination for scientific research (see link below).

Professor Catherine Heymans, Astronomer Royal for Scotland, and Professor of Astrophysics at the University of Edinburgh's School of Physics and Astronomy said:

When it comes to Nobel Prize-winning discoveries and the UK being a scientific giant on the world stage, this short-sighted decision is likely to leave us as a bit-part, minority player in a number of major international projects, with our reputation in tatters. Worse still, we risk losing a generation of young scientists, all for the sake of saving less than 1 per cent of the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) budget.

The proposed reductions could affect 48 UK-funded projects, including internationally significant collaborations such as the Vera C. Rubin Observatory and experiments at the CERN Large Hadron Collider.

The UK plays a leading role in both facilities. Researchers contribute to the development of cutting-edge instrumentation, data analysis and international collaborations that drive major discoveries about the Universe. Researchers warn that reductions in funding could limit the UK's ability to fulfil existing commitments and maintain its position as a global leader in physics research.

As discussions continue, researchers across the UK are emphasising the importance of sustained investment in fundamental science to support future discoveries, innovation and skills development.

Scientists have uncovered an unexpected mechanism that a key stem cell protein uses to regulate genes.

The study, led by researchers from the University of Edinburgh and the University of Glasgow, suggests that genes can be regulated - not only through chemical signals - but also through the physical organisation and movement of DNA itself.

Embryonic stem cells are the body's ultimate shape-shifters, capable of developing into any tissue. To maintain this flexible, blank-slate state, they rely on a protein called NANOG. Although scientists have known for years that NANOG binds to DNA, exactly how it influences gene activity has remained a mystery.

The research team discovered that NANOG molecules spontaneously assemble into sticky clusters that behave much like the rough side of a Velcro strip. When these rough hooks encounter DNA strands (the soft loop side), they latch on and cross-link multiple strands simultaneously, effectively creating a connected network. This interaction transforms what would otherwise be a fluid mixture of NANOG protein and DNA into a think gel-like material, changing the physical properties of the material.

The team also discovered that the NANOG-DNA network becomes increasingly rigid over time. As the structure ages, it develops a form of ‘mechanical memory’, making the DNA progressively less mobile and potentially helping cells maintain their identity over extended periods.

Rather than acting solely as chemical messengers, proteins such as NANOG may also function as architects of the genome, organizing DNA into structures that influence how genes behave.

The discovery opens a new avenue for understanding stem cell biology and could have implications for regenerative medicine, developmental biology, and diseases in which cellular identity becomes disrupted.

Scientists explored whether a future space mission can detect habitable conditions through the presence of liquid water.

A future space mission called the Large Interferometer for Exoplanets (LIFE) is in development to search for life beyond the Solar System. This mission would use mid-infrared interferometry to study Earth-like exoplanets and search for classic biosignature gases like ozone and methane. Researchers investigated its ability to map out habitable planets, by determining which ones have stable liquid water on the surface. 

Water is considered a key ingredient for life, making it a prime target in the search for habitable worlds. While visible-light telescopes may attempt to directly detect oceans through reflected sunlight, LIFE would instead look for the infrared signatures of water vapor in planetary atmospheres.

To test the mission’s capabilities, the team modelled Earth-like planets with water abundances ranging from extremely dry (Mars-like), to water-rich planets. They simulated how LIFE would observe these planets in the mid-infrared and then performed Bayesian atmospheric retrievals to determine how accurately water abundance could be inferred.

A key focus was how the amount of water vapor in an atmosphere varies with altitude, and three profiles were tested: a vertically constant water profile, an Earth-like profile where water decreases with altitude because of condensation and precipitation, and a diffusion and photochemistry profile, where upper-atmosphere water is controlled by transport and chemical reactions.

The team found that the ability for LIFE to detect water largely depends on the vertical profile assumed.

Planets with very little atmospheric water—comparable to Mars—would likely remain undetectable. At the opposite extreme, planets with extremely water-rich atmospheres could also prove challenging. In those cases, water vapor absorbs so much infrared radiation that it masks its own spectral signatures. The planets which produced the clearest atmospheric signatures are those where water levels are similar to those of Earth.

Thus, water detectability follows a ‘Goldilocks’ principle: too little water is invisible, too much water hides itself, and intermediate levels are easiest to characterise.

The researchers also discovered that assumptions about how water is distributed vertically in an atmosphere significantly affect the results. Simplified models often assume water is evenly mixed throughout the atmosphere, but more realistic Earth-like profiles show water concentrations decreasing with altitude because of condensation and precipitation. These physically realistic profiles allowed LIFE to detect water over a much wider range of conditions.

Although LIFE cannot directly image oceans, detecting water vapor in the atmosphere may be strong evidence for surface liquid water, since water is chemically reactive and would otherwise be removed by interactions with rocks and minerals.

The study concludes that LIFE should be capable of identifying atmospheric water, and this could make it one of the most powerful tools yet developed for identifying potentially habitable worlds beyond our Solar System.

The UK’s national academy of sciences announces new Fellows.

Over 90 outstanding researchers from across the world have been elected to the Fellowship of the Royal Society this year.

Among the list of elected Fellows is Professor Neil Turok FRS, Higgs Chair of Theoretical Physics, based in the School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Edinburgh.

Contributions to Theoretical Physics and the Globalisation of Science

Neil undertook studies in Cambridge and London and has held appointments as Professor of Physics at Princeton, Chair of Mathematical Physics at Cambridge and Director of the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics in Ontario, Canada.

Neil develops and tests theories of the universe and its basic laws, from the Big Bang to the far future. Several of his team’s predictions have been confirmed, including correlations between the distribution of galaxies and the cosmic microwave background radiation. He has recently proposed a new paradigm for cosmology, connecting particles and forces to dark matter, dark energy and primordial density variations. Its predictions will be tested in the coming decade.

In 2003, Neil founded the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences (AIMS), now Africa’s largest centre for postgraduate training and research in the mathematical sciences. Currently, AIMS operates six centres of excellence, in South Africa, Senegal, Ghana, Cameroon and Rwanda. AIMS has over 4,000 Master’s and 1,000 PhD alumni. In the coming decade, AIMS plans to open four additional centres of excellence and to graduate 10,000 students at Master’s level and beyond. 

For his research and for founding AIMS, Neil was awarded a TED Prize in 2008. In 2016, he was awarded the John Torrence Tate award of the American Institute of Physics for international leadership in physics. He is an Honorary Fellow of the UK Institute of Physics, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and an Officer of the Order of Canada.  

Mission of the Royal Society

The Royal Society’s fundamental purpose, reflected in its founding Charters of the 1660s, is to recognise, promote and support excellence in science and to encourage the development and use of science for the benefit of humanity. 

Sir Paul Nurse, President of the Royal Society, said:

I am delighted to welcome this newest group of exceptional scientists to the Fellowship of the Royal Society. Their contributions reflect the highest standards of scientific endeavour. Whether advancing our understanding of vaccines or exploring the transformative potential of mathematics and computation, their work exemplifies the enduring value of curiosity, creativity and rigorous inquiry. Our Fellowship is strengthened not only by individual distinction, but by the diversity of perspectives and experiences its members bring. This incoming cohort highlights the truly international character of contemporary science and underscores the vital role that plays in achieving breakthroughs that benefit us all.

The Fellows and Foreign Members join the ranks of Stephen Hawking, Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin, Albert Einstein, Lise Meitner, Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar and Dorothy Hodgkin.

Study hopes to help governments, regulators and health organisations improve equitable access to medicines.

A new study has mapped the private-sector network that supplies antimalarial medicines across Ghana, revealing a system shaped by a small number of powerful distribution hubs. 

The work is a unique collaboration between the School of Physics and Astronomy and various departments at the University of Cape Coast, Ghana.  It forms part of a wider project on substandard medicines in Africa coordinated by Professor Kate Hampshire at Durham University.

By analysing survey data from across the country, scientists found that the network has a clear “hub-and-spoke” structure, dominated by companies based in Accra, with a secondary hub in Kumasi. Other regional centres, including Tamale and Cape Coast, play a significant smaller role in moving medicines through the system.

The study shows that antimalarial drugs typically pass through three to four intermediaries before reaching patients. In many parts of the country, pharmacies can buy from several suppliers, sometimes via multiple intermediaries, which makes the network relatively resilient if one intermediary fails. However, the quality of medicines - measured using expiry date - tends to decline as the number of intermediaries increases. This suggests that longer supply chains may increase the risk of poorer-quality products reaching patients.

Research in Edinburgh, primarily led by MPhys Computational Physics student Chia-Lin Wang, along with supervisor Professor Graeme Ackland, applied mathematical tools from network science to analyse extensive fieldwork carried out by Cape Coast researchers led by Professor Osman Adams.

The study, published in PLOS ONE, identified important differences in how influence is distributed within the market. One company stood out because it supplies a large number of customers directly, giving it a dominant position in terms of visible connections. However, another company emerged as more influential when the researchers looked at indirect influence through intermediaries, showing that power in the supply chain is not always concentrated in the businesses with the most direct customers.

The analysis also revealed differences between the experience of sellers and buyers. On the supply side, the network follows a “scale-free” or Pareto-type pattern, which is typical of a relatively open and weakly regulated market where a few sellers dominate. On the purchasing side, the network appears more log-normal, suggesting that individual buyers have less freedom and fewer meaningful choices than the number of suppliers might imply. Remote regions in northern Ghana were a notable exception: they often had fewer intermediaries, but were also more dependent on shipments from a single supplier, creating a different kind of vulnerability.

A similar study is underway in Tanzania.  Comparable self-organising and lightly regulated medicine supply networks operate in many low- and middle-income countries.

Better understanding how these networks function could help governments, regulators and health organisations improve equitable access to medicines, strengthen oversight, and reduce the circulation of substandard or falsified drugs.

Congratulations to Professor Donal O’Connell who has won the College of Science and Engineering Teacher of the Year award at the Edinburgh University Students’ Association (EUSA) 2026 Teaching Awards ceremony.

Professor O’Connell received the award in recognition of his teaching on the Quantum Field Theory course, taken by final year MPhys and MSc students. Despite being widely regarded as one of the most challenging courses in the School of Physics and Astronomy, students praised the course for being clear, engaging, and well-structured.

The EUSA Teaching Awards results announced that:

Quantum Field Theory is widely recognised as one of the most challenging courses in the School of Physics and Astronomy, yet students described it as made remarkably clear and engaging through Donal’s teaching. He restructured the course in a fresh and thoughtful way, developing original notes and materials to support understanding of even the most complex ideas. His dedication, responsiveness and deep subject knowledge created an inspiring learning environment that left a lasting impression on students.

In addition to his teaching recognition, Professor O'Connell is the recipient of an advanced grant from the European Research Council (ERC) to pursue ground-breaking research in Quantum Field Theory. This grant highlights his expertise in the subject matter, enabling him to answer student queries with authority and depth. With strength in both research and teaching excellence, he thereby enhances the learning experience for students.

Organised annually by the Edinburgh University Students’ Association, the Teaching Awards provide students with an opportunity to thank staff - from lecturers to tutors to support staff - for their hard work, whilst celebrating the best of teaching and support at the University.  

Over 2,000 nominations were received, which were reviewed by Sabbatical Officers and around 100 student volunteers. Winners were announced at a ceremony at Teviot Student Union. 

An international research team has achieved an important milestone for astrophysics. At GSI/FAIR (Facility for Antiproton and Ion Research) in Germany, scientists were able to measure nuclear reactions at extremely low energies for the first time, mirroring the conditions inside stars.

In the extreme environments of stars, nuclear processes often occur at very low energies. These so-called ‘sub-MeV energies’ (below one megaelectronvolt) are difficult to replicate in the laboratory because the probability of atomic nuclei interacting at such low speeds is exceptionally small. In the FAIR storage ring CRYRING@ESR, researchers were able to lower the energy available for the nuclear reaction in the center-of-mass frame of the two particles down to 403 kiloelectronvolts. This marks a new record: it is the lowest energy at which a nuclear reaction has ever been measured in a heavy-ion storage ring.

This novel experimental approach lays the foundation for decoding the formation of elements in the universe with even greater precision in the future.

The findings were recently published in The European Physical Journal A.

Dr Jordan Marsh, member of the Nuclear Physics research group, and first author of the paper said:

The biggest challenge in achieving nuclear reactions at such low energies in storage rings is the very low beam lifetime. At lower energies, ions are far more likely to be lost through atomic processes such as electron stripping, leaving fewer particles available for the reactions we want to study. Overcoming this demands both extreme-high vacuum conditions and the skill of beam operators, who create tightly focused, electron-cooled ion beams.

In their experiment, the international team investigated reactions of nitrogen ions colliding with protons, among other processes. To achieve this, an ion beam was injected into CRYRING@ESR, brought to the desired energy, and aligned with extreme precision using a so-called electron cooler. Inside the ring, the beam then intersected a cryogenic hydrogen gas target. The high-resolution measurement system CARME (CRYRING Array for Reaction Measurements) was used to detect the reaction products generated during this process. The collected data aligns perfectly with theoretical predictions, proving that the experimental method works exceptionally well.

This success, part of the FAIR Phase-0 research program, opens the door for a multitude of future experiments. Going forward, exotic atomic nuclei that play a central role in stars will also be used at CRYRING@ESR. Since CRYRING@ESR has its own ion source, further experiments will take place there later this year. The combination of high-precision storage rings and state-of-the-art detector technology will help to solve lingering mysteries in nuclear astrophysics.

Dr Marsh said:

I am particularly excited about applications to Big Bang Nucleosynthesis (BBN), the process by which the light elements were formed in the first minutes after the Big Bang. At the CRYRING@ESR, we plan to study nuclear reactions involving deuterium, a key isotope in BBN which will hopefully enable us to better understand the conditions of the early Universe.

Professor Davide Marenduzzo joins the new intake of Fellows who are recognised for their commitment to advancing knowledge for the benefit of society as a whole.

The Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE) has announced its 2026 intake of Fellows. Nominated for their individual excellence in a wide range of fields, they will be joining the 1,800 current Fellows of the RSE, Scotland’s National Academy.

Professor Marenduzzo works in the area of biological physics and soft condensed matter physics.  

His interests include modelling DNA and chromatin. He uses large scale computer simulations, and collaborates with experimentalists in Edinburgh, UK and Europe. Davide is a strong supporter of interdisciplinary collaborations (most recently with the Institute of Genetics and Cancer), and plays an important role in the new Edinburgh Centre for Biomedical Physics.

He also has interests in modelling cell motility, cytoskeletal dynamics, the physics of self-propelled particles and active matter, liquid crystals and related materials. Within soft matter, he has developed large scale simulation methods to study emulsions, as well as colloid-liquid crystal composites.

The RSE was founded in 1783 and leverages the combined knowledge of its Fellowship to tackle the most pressing issues facing society, provide independent expert advice to policymakers and inspire the next generation of innovative thinkers.

Telescope unexpectedly captures comet splitting into four.

Comet K1 (whose full name is Comet C/2025 K1 (ATLAS)) had just passed its closest approach to the Sun and was heading out of the Solar System when the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope managed to capture K1 as it fragmented into at least four pieces, each with a distinct coma, the fuzzy envelope of gas and dust that surrounds a comet’s icy nucleus.

The odds of that happening while Hubble viewed the comet are extraordinarily small: researchers had proposed many Hubble observations to catch a comet breaking up, but these are very difficult to schedule, and previous attempts were unsuccessful.

Before it fragmented, K1 was likely a bit larger than an average comet, probably around 8 kilometres across. The team estimates the comet began to disintegrate eight days before Hubble viewed it. Hubble took three 20-second images, one on each day from 8 November to 10 November 2025. As it watched the comet, one of K1’s smaller pieces also broke up.

Hubble’s images were taken just a month after K1’s closest approach to the Sun, called perihelion. The comet's perihelion was inside Mercury’s orbit, about one-third of the distance from the Earth to the Sun. During perihelion, a comet experiences its most intense heating and maximum stress. Just past perihelion is when some long-period comets like K1 tend to fall apart.

Because Hubble’s sharp vision can distinguish extremely fine details, the team could trace the history of the fragments back to when they were one piece. That allowed them to reconstruct the timeline. But in doing so, they uncovered a mystery: Why was there a delay between the comet breaking up and the bright outbursts seen from the ground? When the comet fragmented and exposed fresh ice, why didn’t it brighten almost instantaneously?

The team has some theories. Most of a comet’s brightness is sunlight reflected from dust grains. But when a comet cracks open, it reveals pure ice. Perhaps a layer of dry dust needs to form over the pure ice and then blow off. Or maybe heat needs to get below the surface, build up pressure, and then eject an expanding shell of dust.

The team is looking forward to finishing the analysis of the gases that come from the comet. Already, ground-based analysis shows that K1 is chemically very strange — it is significantly depleted in carbon, compared with other comets. Spectroscopic analysis from Hubble’s instruments is likely to reveal much more about the composition of K1 and the very origins of our Solar System.

Astronomers are aware that long-period comets such as K1 are more likely to fragment than their short-period cousins, but it is not known why. Launching towards the end of the decade, ESA’s (European Space Agency) Comet Interceptor will be the first mission to visit a long-period comet.

Professor Colin Snodgrass of the Institute for Astronomy, and an Interdisciplinary Scientist for the Comet Interceptor mission, said:

Hubble’s chance observation of K1 will help us understand why some long-period comets split apart and give us a first view of their interiors. These new results will complement the detailed view of a long-period comet that we will obtain from ESA’s Comet Interceptor, as well as helping astronomers to select the mission’s target.

At present, the comet K1 is now a collection of fragments about 400 million kilometers from Earth. Located in the constellation Pisces, it is heading out of the Solar System, and is not likely to ever return.