All articles by Philip Ball
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OpinionThere are no life lessons to be learned in AI’s Chinese Room
There’s a lot more lab work to do before we understand the ‘language of life’
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OpinionWhat are the limits of life?
In search of design principles that would apply to living systems evolved anywhere in the universe
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OpinionA high-pressure insight into the structure of water
The hydrogen-bonded network in liquid water resists compression; density increases instead arise from molecules moving into voids
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OpinionA broader view of condensates
Exquisite insight into chromosome separation reveals the intricate relationships between molecular changes and large-scale cell processes
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OpinionEnormous enzymes expand the limits of molecular biology
Identifying the PKZILLAs, used by algae to make toxins, stretched the capabilities of current analytical methods – and the limits of our preconceptions
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OpinionTriggering a nuclear chain reaction
How Leo Szilard’s concept emerged from a rich interchange of ideas across disciplinary silos
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OpinionA common misunderstanding about wave-particle duality
Instead of treating quantum particles as shape-shifters, we should think in terms of probability distributions
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OpinionThe 1920s chemists who thought they’d achieved the alchemists’ dream
The now-forgotten transmutation controversy hung on apparent evidence of mercury transforming into gold
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OpinionHeated crystals jump to enantiomeric separation
Chiral asparagine monohydrate crystals can segregate by handedness – if you arrange them carefully first
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FeatureSmall molecules that switch up cell development could transform medicine
Turning mature somatic cells back into flexible stem cells using small molecules could revolutionise medicine, especially for regeneration and cancer. Philip Ball reports
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OpinionAn unprecedented supramolecular structure brings new complexities to life
The transcription factor FOXP3’s interactions with DNA present more evidence of the importance of disorder
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OpinionAtmospheres conducive to life
Researchers propose a new biosignature that could hint at habitable exoplanets
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ResearchMolecular movie captures DNA repair from start to finish
Study spans pico- to microsecond timescales to uncover enzymatic process
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OpinionSearching for new physics using ultracold molecules
‘Clock transitions’ could make it possible to discover if a flaw in the Standard Model exists – without the need for high-energy particle colliders
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OpinionWill the assembly theory imbroglio do anything for evolution?
A claim to have explained selection has caused a stir, and it’s worth asking why, says Philip Ball
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OpinionMoving beyond protein structure
Efforts to understand how intrinsically disordered regions interact have produced a variety of answers
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OpinionWhy Roman concrete is still stronger than RAAC (and other modern concretes)
Researchers are searching for ways to replicate the self-healing properties of the ancient material
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OpinionShape is not enough to distinguish life from abiotic systems
No morphological differences between living and non-living systems are yet known