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Phys.org / The origin of magic numbers: Why some atomic nuclei are unusually stable

For the first time, physicists have developed a model that explains the origins of unusually stable magic nuclei based directly on the interactions between their protons and neutrons. Published in Physical Review Letters, ...

Feb 11, 2026 in Physics
Tech Xplore / Water-based electrolyte helps create safer and long-lasting Zn-Mn batteries

Many countries worldwide are increasingly investing in new infrastructure that enables the production of electricity from renewable energy sources, particularly wind and sunlight. To make the best of these energy solutions, ...

Feb 11, 2026 in Engineering
Phys.org / How a tiny shrimp could hold the clue to better armor

Modern armor systems do not do a good enough job of protecting humans from blast-induced neurotrauma (brain and eye damage). To improve them, we may have to look to nature. In particular, a tiny shrimp that is able to protect ...

Feb 11, 2026 in Biology
Tech Xplore / Bio-inspired chip helps robots and self-driving cars react faster to movement

Robots and self-driving cars could soon benefit from a new kind of brain-inspired hardware that can allegedly detect movement and react faster than a human. A new study published in the journal Nature Communications details ...

Feb 11, 2026 in Hardware
Phys.org / Ancient DNA suggests hunter-gatherers in Europe's lowlands endured until 2500 BCE

Researchers at the University of Huddersfield have used ancient DNA to reveal that hunter-gatherers in one part of Europe survived for thousands of years longer than anywhere else on the continent—and have uncovered the ...

Feb 11, 2026 in Other Sciences
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
Medical Xpress / Single DMT dose treats stress-induced depression more effectively than Prozac in mice

Psychedelics are psychoactive substances that trigger unusual mental states, also referred to as "trips," altering the perceptions, thoughts, and emotions of those taking them and typically inducing hallucinations. Over the ...

Feb 11, 2026 in Psychology & Psychiatry
Phys.org / China's emissions policies are helping climate change but also creating a new problem

China's sweeping efforts to clean up its air have delivered one of the biggest public health success stories of recent decades. Since the Air Pollution Prevention and Control Action Plan was launched in 2013, coal-fired power ...

Feb 10, 2026 in Earth
Phys.org / NOvA maps neutrino oscillations over 500 miles with 10 years of data

Neutrinos are very small, neutral subatomic particles that rarely interact with ordinary matter and are thus sometimes referred to as ghost particles. There are three known types (i.e., flavors) of neutrinos, dubbed muon, ...

Feb 11, 2026 in Physics
Phys.org / Captured on camera for the first time: How tiny marsupials crawl to their mother's pouch

For the first time, scientists have recorded how baby dunnarts, tiny carnivorous marsupials from Australia, reach their mother's pouch not long after being born. While much is known about how many other marsupial babies go ...

Feb 11, 2026 in Biology
Phys.org / Electronic friction can be tuned and switched off

Researchers in China have isolated the effects of electronic friction, showing for the first time how the subtle drag force it imparts at sliding interfaces can be controlled. They demonstrate that it can be tuned by applying ...

Feb 11, 2026 in Nanotechnology
Phys.org / Ammonia leaks can be spotted in under two seconds using new alveoli-inspired droplet sensor

Researchers from Guangxi University, China have developed a new gas sensor that detects ammonia with a record speed of 1.4 seconds. The sensor's design mimics the structure of alveoli—the tiny air sacs in human lungs—while ...

Feb 11, 2026 in Chemistry