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Phys.org / Ultra-cold quantum sensors cut X-ray uncertainty, improving nuclear material assessments

To monitor the amount and type of nuclear material at power plants and weapons facilities, scientists look for a special signal—the unique pattern of gamma rays emitted by specific radioactive elements. However, some of these ...

Sep 10, 2026
Phys.org / Psychologist wins Ig Nobel for proving rich drivers are the worst

Paul K. Piff, UC Irvine associate professor of psychology, has officially been recognized for what millions of frustrated commuters have long suspected: The fancier the car, the worse the driver.

Sep 10, 2026
Phys.org / Gondwana really was a supercontinent—and it may have helped kickstart life on Earth

Some 550 million years ago, Earth looked very different than it does today. The Southern Hemisphere was dominated by an enormous single continent known as Gondwana.

Sep 10, 2026
Medical Xpress / Newly mapped brain circuit offers clues to how slow nasal breathing eases anxiety

A slow breath in and out does the trick for many people when calming their nerves and dealing with anxiety, a disorder that affects millions of people worldwide. Pranayama, Taoism and meditation have long used slow nasal ...

Sep 9, 2026
Phys.org / Cell wall transport disruption exposes weakness in antibiotic-resistant bacteria

Even highly antibiotic-resistant bacteria become more vulnerable when their cell wall transport system is disrupted, according to a new study from Umeå University. The discovery reveals a previously overlooked weakness that ...

Sep 10, 2026
Phys.org / The surprising place where giant dinosaurs incubated their eggs

Finding a fossilized dinosaur egg is exceptionally rare, but finding a stash of more than 250 shell fragments in the chilly southern reaches of the planet is even more surprising. The discoveries come from southernmost Patagonia ...

Sep 9, 2026
Phys.org / Himalayan glacial lakes are growing—and so is the downstream flood risk

Dozens of glacial lakes have formed across northern India in the last three decades, while existing lakes have expanded rapidly, highlighting the need to monitor a landscape reshaped by climate change.

Sep 10, 2026
Phys.org / Unveiling how nanoparticles create iridescence in ancient ceramics

Scientists led by the Universitat Politècnica de Barcelona and the ESRF, the European Synchrotron, have revealed the chemical reactions in nanoparticles that created a unique, shimmering effect in the painting on ninth-century ...

Sep 10, 2026
Phys.org / An unusual bacterium that penetrates and lives inside human cells may offer a new drug target

Research underway in the lab of Rebecca Alexander, a professor in Wake Forest University's Department of Chemistry, is shedding light on an unusual human bacterium, Mycoplasma penetrans. Alexander's work to understand how ...

Sep 10, 2026
Phys.org / Under pressure: How a deep-sea protein adapts to an extreme environment

Life in the deep sea is under immense pressure—literally. Such extreme conditions can disrupt the delicate structures of proteins essential to life. Yet somehow, the proteins in deep-sea creatures remain functional. This ...

Sep 10, 2026
Phys.org / A wandering black hole caught feeding on the run

Astronomers have found the first direct evidence that a wandering black hole can feed itself by dragging gas along in its wake as it moves through its galaxy. It's the first direct evidence of an accretion channel long predicted ...

Sep 9, 2026
Phys.org / Fossil flowers of ancient lianas preserved in amber reveal the evolution of tropical rainforests

Tiny flowers trapped in amber around 15 million years ago are offering scientists a rare glimpse into the plant life of a tropical rainforest in what is now Southeast China. Researchers have studied two exceptionally well-preserved ...

Sep 10, 2026