The most realistic picture yet of how galaxies formed and then evolved from the beginning of time has been revealed in a suite of new and unique audiovisual simulations. This data, published today in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, shows that the standard cosmological model can successfully explain the observed growth of galaxies, from the first billion years after the Big Bang to the present day, when key physics is included. Unlike earlier simulations, the COLIBRE 'virtual universes' model the cold gas and cosmic dust inside galaxies – the raw materials from which stars form and which strongly affect how galaxies look in telescopes. By including these previously missing ingredients and using far more computing power than ever before, the simulations successfully reproduce real galaxies, both in the present-day universe and in the early universe as seen by the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST).

Researchers from Aalto and Leipzig Universities created a new AI model that makes it possible to simulate muscle activations and used energy to work out how physically effortful smartphone interactions are for users.

New evidence shows melt ponds in the northern parts of the Arctic may be biological sources of ice-nucleating particles, a key ingredient for cloud formation that has been largely overlooked.

Controlling photon spin, or the handedness of light, is useful for storing and transmitting information. However, generating circularly polarized light typically requires complex or chiral structures. Researchers from the Tokyo University of Science show that hitting a gold nanorod slightly off-center with an electron beam causes the light around it to rotate. This method offers a simpler way to control photon spin and could accelerate the development of smaller, more efficient optical and quantum devices.