Phys.org
Elections 2026Top News / Phys.org
Two cartoon characters appear on a screen. One belongs to a group of three, and the other to a group of two. Which character would you rather play with?
The internet can encounter a strange type of failure in which a router seems to function normally but silently drops some data packets. Network engineers refer to these issues as
From coral reefs in Papua New Guinea to chimpanzees in West Africa, grizzly bears in Canada and albatross colonies off Tasmania, some ecosystems are thriving despite climate change, habitat loss and other environmental pressures.
Powerful waves thrashed communities along California
A magnitude 7.7 earthquake jolted Panama on Friday, setting off panic in the capital city and warnings of dangerous tsunami waves.
Isaias weakened from a hurricane to a post-tropical cyclone early Saturday after it made landfall in northwestern Florida, where it lashed the U.S. Gulf Coast with heavy rain and strong winds, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) said.
Some insects, including honeybees and ants, live in highly organized colonies where individuals take on specific roles. In many ant societies, young adult workers typically care for developing young inside the nest before beginning to forage, or search for food, outside it. Some ant species, however, start hunting for food as soon as they reach adulthood, without undergoing a transition period.
Oxidative coupling of methane (OCM) is a chemical reaction that directly converts methane and oxygen, the main components of natural gas, into higher-value hydrocarbons such as ethane and ethylene. However, the reaction presents a fundamental selectivity challenge.
The largest city in the Brazilian Amazon, Manaus, closed public schools on Friday as smoke from hundreds of wildfires blanketed the metropolis amid an intensifying El Ni
Physicists in the Department of Physics at the University of Oxford have used a hybrid quantum computer, made up of qubits and quantum oscillators, to observe the Aharonov
Seventy-three years ago, Tenzing Norgay stood on top of Everest, known as Chomolungma in Tibetan, which roughly translates as
Mountains preserve evidence of ancient oceans, moving continents and tectonic processes that have shaped Earth over millions of years. Later deformation, erosion and burial, however, can obscure important parts of this geological record. An international research team led by Istanbul Technical University (ITU) has identified evidence of a previously unrecognized Late Cretaceous continental magmatic arc in northwestern Iran.
Every black hole hides a question at its center. Einstein
Drought is written into trees, appearing as narrow bands in their annual growth rings. But aspen may go farther, creating
NASA has taken the next step in the process of developing a new all-glass telescope for the LISA (Laser Interferometer Space Antenna) mission, a space observatory designed to detect ripples in space-time called gravitational waves.
A new study led by Paul Schulze-Lefert from the Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research in Cologne, in collaboration with Ricardo F.H. Giehl at the Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research in Gatersleben, revealed how Arabidopsis plants adapt their chemical communication with the bacterial root microbiota to maximize the acquisition of bio-unavailable iron from acidic or calcareous soils. The study is now published in Cell.
A novel nanovesicle-based platform developed at Institute of Science Tokyo can measure hydrostatic pressure by converting pressure-induced molecular changes into fluorescence signals.
The fact that ecosystems change is nothing new. What is new, however, is the speed and scale at which new species communities are emerging as a result of climate change. Processes that once unfolded over centuries or even millennia are now being observed within just a few decades.
Polar oceans may play an important role in storing carbon and supporting biodiversity, but current science and policy frameworks are not yet ready to fully recognize their potential.
Cornell researchers have designed a new, faster form of two-photon fluorescence imaging for observing cell metabolism in real time, a method that could enable quicker screening of new therapeutic treatments. The findings were published Sept. 4 in Science Advances. The co-lead authors are former postdoctoral researcher Lu Ling, Ph.D.
A new study of 4,200 adolescents revealed that cyberbullying rarely occurs in isolation; it almost always functions as an extension of physical and verbal aggression already present in the school environment. The study, conducted at the Federal University of S
Filmmaker and outdoorsperson Quinn Barabash recently made headlines when he found a swordfish carcass nearly two meters (6.6 feet) long on the remote shores of Haida Gwaii in northern British Columbia.
The European nightjar (Caprimulgus europaeus) is a nocturnal migratory bird that travels between Europe and southern Africa each year. However, its wings are not only used for long-distance journeys. When hunting insects, the nightjar must be able to slow down, turn sharply and fly at low speeds. Researchers at Lund University have now shown how this trade-off is reflected in the bird
Genetic analysis revealed that several seeds from a batch sold as Sidra were not, in fact, Sidra; their genetic profile was closer to that of Batian, a Kenyan variety.
A Jupiter-sized world just 7.5 light-years away is cloudy, chemically complex and, it turns out, more like home than anyone expected. Using the James Webb Space Telescope, Brittany Miles, assistant astronomer at the University of Arizona
Today, the discussions of sports analytics in the 2011 movie
Finding a single cancer cell in a tube of blood is a bit like finding a needle in a haystack. As researchers seek to detect ever-smaller and rarer targets, from viruses to circulating tumor cells in blood, the demand for ultrasensitive, robust sensors that are practical for real-world samples continues to grow.
Localized pitting corrosion can cause sudden failure in aluminum components even when overall corrosion rates are low. Steam coating offers a water-vapor-based route to protective boehmite films, but processing simultaneously changes film thickness, surface morphology, crystallinity and substrate defects.
Feeling secure in a relationship is not only about how people connect with their partners today. It may also depend on how confident they are that the relationship will continue into the future. Feelings of closeness, trust and connection, together with a sense that the relationship is stable and has a future, can shape how people experience their romantic relationships.
The threat of cyberattacks against American agriculture and food systems is growing, and Washington State University researchers are helping to lead a call for a national consortium of land-grant universities to study and combat the threat.
For highly fragile quantum information systems, the ability to store quantum information is vital
Majestic African antelopes known as gemsbok have been roaming the U.S. Southwest since their introduction in the 1960s and 1970s. Brought to New Mexico as a game species for hunting, gemsbok quickly settled in, expanding more than 100 kilometers (62 miles) from their introduction point. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign researchers say that
U.S. colleges and universities have long struggled to increase the racial diversity of their faculty.
You have probably noticed it on a hot summer day: A basement feels cool even when the air outside is baking. The ground does not heat up and cool down as fast as the air does. A few hundred feet down, it stays close to the local yearly average all year, which can be around 50 degrees Fahrenheit (10 degrees Celsius).
Silicon-based microelectronics have powered the digital revolution, but their performance and efficiency are starting to reach limits imposed by the fundamental properties of silicon itself.
The fall of 2026 is a moment when energy takes center stage, as geopolitics unfolding far away shows up in Americans
Many naturally occurring molecules such as menthol or limonene exist in two mirror-image forms, known as enantiomers, that look almost identical but can differ greatly in smell, taste or effect on the body.
When the COVID-19 pandemic brought human activity to a standstill around the world in the first half of 2020, wildfire incidents also declined by more than 12%. A new study published in Cell Reports Sustainability reveals the complex role humans play in shaping global fire patterns, both as a source of fire and in helping keep fires in check.
Scientists have discovered a previously unknown microorganism that has the smallest genome ever found and may be able to replicate and express its own genetic information.
A team of engineers has designed a new line of multicolored tattoo inks that switch on and off with different kinds of light. Described in a study published in Matter
University of Glasgow researchers are part of an international collaboration that could lead to a new generation of quantum sensors. The team, which included researchers from the University of Tokyo, University of Glasgow, University of Sheffield and Kobe University, has for the first time used light to read out the magnetic spin of electrons trapped inside a porous crystalline material known as a metal-organic framework (MOF).
A new study suggests that expanded financial audit reporting is having a significant impact on the behavior of multinational corporations. Specifically, the study finds that requiring more detailed analysis in financial audits appears to be curbing the corporate practice of shifting money internationally to pay less in taxes.
Fragmented bones and skull pieces found in hearths, beneath floors and in other domestic settings in early Scandinavian settlement sites are providing fresh insights into Iron Age and Viking Age violence.
Millions of people worldwide watched as the Sydney Olympics came to a close in 2000. Meanwhile, thousands of bogong moths (Agrotis infusa) were airborne, making their annual migration to the Australian Alps.
Many fascinating phases in quantum materials emerge when electrons, atoms and other microscopic components begin to act collectively. But these phases do not necessarily appear out of nowhere when a material crosses a transition temperature. Before long-range order develops, microscopic fluctuations can already be present.
Humans can move their limbs very rapidly and coordinate their movements with high precision to tackle specific manual tasks. While robots have become increasingly advanced in recent years, many of them remain less agile than humans and struggle to interact with moving objects of different shapes, weights and textures.

25 C