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Phys.org / Major earthquakes are just as random as smaller ones

For obvious reasons, it would be useful to predict when an earthquake is going to occur. It has long been suspected that large quakes in the Himalayas follow a fairly predictable cycle, but nature, as it turns out, is not ...

Feb 12, 2026 in Earth
Phys.org / 100 beavers set to be reintroduced to the UK this year, with more to come

Centuries after they were wiped out, the reintroduction of beavers to the UK is gathering pace. Following a government announcement allowing beavers to be released in the wild, a flurry of reintroductions are planned for ...

Feb 12, 2026 in Biology
Phys.org / Basic research on Listeria bacteria leads to unique cancer therapy

After nearly 40 years of research on how Listeria bacteria manipulate our cells and battle our immune system to cause listeriosis, Daniel Portnoy and his colleagues have discovered a way to turn the bacteria into a potent ...

Feb 12, 2026 in Biology
Phys.org / Social media feeds: Algorithm redesign could break echo chambers and reduce online polarization

Scroll through social media long enough and a pattern emerges. Pause on a post questioning climate change or taking a hard line on a political issue, and the platform is quick to respond—serving up more of the same viewpoints, ...

Feb 10, 2026 in Other Sciences
Phys.org / New study maps where wheat, barley and rye grew before the first farmers found them

Using advanced machine learning and climate models, researchers have shown that the ancestors of crops like wheat, barley, and rye probably were much less widespread in the Middle East 12,000 years ago than previously believed. ...

Feb 12, 2026 in Other Sciences
Phys.org / 'Virgin' frescoes emerge from Pompeii suburb

Amid the remains of a sumptuous villa near Pompeii, the hard-hatted conservationist scraped away centuries-old ash to reveal a vibrant red fresco.

Feb 12, 2026 in Other Sciences
Phys.org / Only humans have chins: Study shows it's an evolutionary accident

Dashiell Hammett mentioned Sam Spade's jutting chin in the opening sentence of his novel, "The Maltese Falcon." Spade's chin was among the facial features Hammett used to describe his fictional detective's appearance, but ...

Feb 11, 2026 in Biology
Phys.org / Gravitational lensing technique unveils supermassive black hole pairs

Supermassive black hole binaries form naturally when galaxies merge, but scientists have only confidently observed a very few of these systems that are widely separated. Black hole binaries that closely orbit each other have ...

Feb 12, 2026 in Astronomy & Space
Phys.org / Cutting down on quantum-dot crosstalk: Precise measurements expose a new challenge

Devices that can confine individual electrons are potential building blocks for quantum information systems. But the electrons must be protected from external disturbances. RIKEN researchers have now shown how quantum information ...

Feb 12, 2026 in Physics
Phys.org / Photonic integrated circuits enable programmable non-Abelian 'braiding' of light states

A research team has successfully implemented a programmable spinor lattice on a photonic integrated circuit (PIC). This platform enables the realization of non-Abelian physics, in which the outcome of operations depends on ...

Feb 12, 2026 in Physics
Phys.org / New experiments suggest Earth's core contains up to 45 oceans' worth of hydrogen

Scientists have long known that Earth's core is mostly made of iron, but the density is not high enough for it to be pure iron, meaning lighter elements exist in the core, as well. In particular, it's suspected to be a major ...

Feb 11, 2026 in Earth
Phys.org / New 3D printing ink uses 70% lignin and recycles with water

Additive manufacturing (AM) methods, such as 3D printing, enable the realization of objects with different geometric properties, by adding materials layer-by-layer to physically replicate a digital model. These methods are ...

Feb 12, 2026 in Chemistry