Today’s physics news: The secrets behind winning a Nobel Prize and Earth-size planet found in neighbouring solar system

Here’s the physics news for Thursday 18 October.

The secrets of my prize winning research

Serge Haroche, co-winner of the 2012 Nobel Prize in Physics, warns against the growing trend towards short-termism in science funding. Our experiments could only have succeeded with the reliable financial support provided by the institutions that govern our laboratory, supplemented by international agencies inside and outside Europe, he says.

Nature

Earth-size planet found in solar system neighbouring the sun

A planet similar in size to the Earth has been found orbiting a star in the Alpha Centauri system, the Earth’s next-door neighbour in space. The mystery world circling Alpha Centauri B is thought to be much too hot to support life, with surface temperatures of about 1,500C (2,732F). But scientists say it is likely to be part of a more extensive solar system containing other planets, one or more of which might be habitable.

The Guardian

Declining investment could trigger irreversible loss of British prestige

Universities in the UK worry that their global position will be irrevocably eroded as a result of underinvestment, the chair of the Russell Group is to tell a higher education conference in the US. David Eastwood, speaking in his role as vice-chancellor of the University of Birmingham, is also expected to argue that one characteristic of successful universities in developed higher education systems is their partnerships with the private sector.

Times Higher Education