Reform’s rise speaks to a deep crisis in Establishment parties – but relies on appealing to social and economic grievances the left should make its own, argues NICK WRIGHT

WHAT if you could capture light in a box? Lasers work on that very principle. Light is a wave and any colour is described by a particular wavelength. To trap light in a box, mirrors are used, with the dimensions specially chosen so that the light can reflect off the mirrors and “resonate” at its own wavelength.
Just like a musical instrument, these resonant waves reinforce each other. For a musical instrument, these reinforced waves come out as a sound wave making a note at a particular frequency, which is related to the wavelength.
In the case of a laser, light is trapped at a high intensity, again at a singular frequency related to the wavelength of the light. Some of the light is allowed to burst out of the container, seen as a laser beam.

A maverick’s self-inflicted snake bites could unlock breakthrough treatments – but they also reveal deeper tensions between noble scientific curiosity and cold corporate callousness, write ROX MIDDLETON, LIAM SHAW and MIRIAM GAUNTLETT
Science has always been mixed up with money and power, but as a decorative facade for megayachts, it risks leaving reality behind altogether, write ROX MIDDLETON, LIAM SHAW and MIRIAM GAUNTLETT

