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NEWS

Concept of “hypercosmic God” wins Templeton prize French physicist and philosopher of science Bernard d’Espagnat has won this year’s £1 million prize for studies arguing that quantum physics implies that reality must be partially unknowable, or “veiled”

PHYSICS

Faster-than-light tachyons may be impossible Relativity does not rule out a realm of particles that can only travel faster than light, but a new study suggests such particles may be fundamentally impossible

PSYCHOLOGY

Personality tests reveal the flip side of comedy Climbing up on stage to tell jokes to a bunch of strangers may seem like the most extrovert of activities, but comedians have revealed a surprising shy side

NETWORKS

Society’s vital networks prone to “explosive” changes Systems like the internet or the network of global flight connections have the potential for unprecedented extreme behaviour, computer scientists warn. Learning more about their capacity for sudden “flips” could help make the internet more efficient

VIRTUAL REALITY

Immersion in the ultimate virtual cocoon Researchers are attempting to simulate all five senses simultaneously to create the ultimate virtual reality experience, indistinguishable from the real thing. Watch a video showing a crude version of the concept

ENVIRONMENT

Personal carbon allowance for all? Limiting rich people’s emissions, no matter what country they live in, could lead to a fairer climate deal, according to researchers at last week’s climate change congress in Copenhagen