Happy new year to all Physics World readers and welcome to 2022!

We couldn’t quite decide late last year whether to put a feature by Keith Cooper about the James Webb Space Telescope on the cover of the new January 2022 issue of Physics World magazine, which is now out in print and online.

We know you love astronomy and space, but just as we were finalizing the magazine – and putting the finishing touches to Cooper’s feature – NASA kept pushing the launch date back.

The JWST had already been delayed so many times during its troubled development that it didn’t seem wise to run a cover with a picture of this amazing telescope – just in case the mission was postponed yet again or, even worse, blew up or faced some other trouble.

Thankfully, the mission all seems to be going well after its successful launch on 25 December. Still, I’m glad we went with a cover image of another great feature from the January issue, which examines how proteins can be turned into music.

It’s written by Markus Buehler and Mario Milazzo from the Massachusetts institute of Technology, who have studied a wide range of biomaterials, from amino acids and viruses to spider silk. In the article, they explain how they have been able to explore new avenues of research by translating living structures directly into sound. Do check it out as I’m sure you’re intrigued.

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For the record, here’s a rundown of what else is in the issue.

• Macroscopic entanglement bags award – The Physics World 2021 Breakthrough of the Year goes to work on the fuzzy interface between the quantum and classical worlds, as Hamish Johnston reports

• Building bridges between big science and industry – Delegates at a recent Big Science Summit in Malmö, Sweden, discussed how best to boost the economic impact of Europe’s research facilities. Joe McEntee reports

• What’s in a name? – Naming phenomena after discoverers is traditional, but not necessarily permanent says Matin Durrani

• Contaminating the night sky – Karel Green says that while private space endeavours are to be welcomed, we should not ignore the social and ethical concerns that they raise

• Space for all – With launch costs plummeting fast, James McKenzie examines the huge commercial potential of the space sector

• Your holiday secrets – Robert P Crease reveals readers’ favourite holiday-physics problems – and outlines some new teasers too

Read more

Quantum 2.0 technology: the revolution starts in the December 2021 edition of Physics World

• A new cosmic dawn – As NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope gears up to open its eyes on the universe, Keith Cooper explores the mission’s troubled past, its technological advances and the exciting future ahead for astronomy

• A matter of sound – Often called the universal language, music may well represent life itself. Having studied a wide range of biomaterials, from amino acids and viruses to spider silk, Markus Buehler and Mario Milazzo explain how they have been able to explore new avenues of research by translating living structures into sound

• Going global: the world the Web has wrought – Thirty years after the World Wide Web first expanded from Europe to North America, Michael Riordan reveals how physicists and programmers played important roles in shaping the current wave of globalization

• The twin streams of time – Sidney Perkowitz reviews The Janus Point: a New Theory of Time by Julian Barbour

• Indefatigable wonder – Laura Hiscott reviews the new television show Universe, presented by Brian Cox, which was broadcast in October and November last year and is now available on BBC iPlayer

• Bringing physics into hospital clinics – Suman Shrestha, who is doing a PhD in medical physics in the US, tells Tami Freeman how the devastating earthquake that hit Nepal in 2015 has made him determined to one day bring his new-found skills and expertise back home

• Ask me anything – Careers advice from Giulia Grancini, an expert in next-generation materials for photovoltaic cells at the University of Pavia

• New year, new physicist – Laura Hiscott reveals physicists’ new-year’s resolutions