A newly launched satellite aims to measure how Earth's rotation drags the fabric of space-time around itself - an effect of Einstein's general theory of relativity - ten times more accurately than ever before. The Laser Relativity Satellite 2 (LARES-2) launched from the European Space Agency (ESA) spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, on 13 July.

Matter is what makes up the universe, but what makes up matter? This question has long been tricky for those who think about it - especially for the physicists. Reflecting recent trends in physics, my colleague Jeffrey Eischen and I have described an updated way to think about matter.