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Phys.org / New alien-life test could help Mars and Europa missions read organic molecules

For decades, the search for life beyond Earth has revolved around a key question: What molecules should scientists be looking for on other planets or moons? A new study, published in Nature Astronomy, suggests that the more ...

May 11, 2026
Phys.org / Method for measuring energy amounts less than a trillionth of a billionth of a joule could boost quantum computing

The fundamentals of quantum mechanics are minuscule. Scientists constantly home in on finer resolutions to measure, quantify, and control these fundamentals, like photons that carry light and have no mass unless they are ...

May 12, 2026
Phys.org / For years, reading struggles seemed obvious. This massive analysis points to a very different cause

For decades, the common explanation for why children struggle to read has stayed remarkably consistent. Smart kids read well. Kids who don't simply aren't smart enough. And when children strain over a page, the assumption ...

May 7, 2026
Phys.org / Rapidly melting Antarctic ice shelves may cause global sea levels to rise far faster than expected

Global sea levels may rise faster than previously expected, suggests a new study in Nature Communications. The reason is that warming oceans appear to be melting Antarctic ice shelves from below much more rapidly than expected.

May 7, 2026
Phys.org / Buried in Sudan's desert, 280 vast stone circles reveal a vanished cattle-herding culture

Recent satellite remote sensing surveys have identified 280 stone structures spread across the Atbai desert in Sudan. Twenty of these structures were previously identified by fieldwork or informal surveys, but were not systematically ...

May 11, 2026
Phys.org / Why climate action stalls, despite widespread popular support

What's the link between the global economy and the climate? Consumption drives extraction and carbon emissions. But there is more. The inequalities of the global economy don't just shape what goes into the atmosphere. They ...

May 8, 2026
Phys.org / 4,000-year-old texts to reach new audiences in digital project

Researchers are transforming access to some of the world's oldest written records using digital technology and multilingual tools. As part of the project, called Access to Cuneiform Texts (CDLI‑ACT), researchers have developed ...

May 7, 2026
Phys.org / Can houseplants really purify the air in your home? What the science actually says

The question sounds simple. The answer, once you examine the actual measurement science behind it, is more interesting than either "yes" or "no."

May 7, 2026
Phys.org / Introducing ecotech, nature's innovation accelerator

An international research team has developed a roadmap for an emerging field of technology called ecotech, which aims to create scalable solutions to urgent environmental, social and economic challenges. The team describes ...

May 6, 2026
Phys.org / Urban trees cool the world's cities more than we thought—but we can't rely on them alone

Cities and towns are usually 1–3°C hotter than the surrounding countryside, because asphalt, concrete and brick absorb heat from the sun and radiate it slowly. Some cities can be as much as 7°C hotter. This effect is known ...

May 7, 2026
Phys.org / Resilient quantum sensor monitors Earth's magnetic field from space for 10 months

From navigation to solar weather forecasting, many different areas of research require space-based sensors to measure Earth's magnetic field as accurately as possible at any given moment. So far, however, existing sensors ...

May 11, 2026
Phys.org / More Star Wars-like worlds emerge as 27 planet candidates with two suns discovered

There's so little we know about circumbinary planets—planets that orbit two stars instead of one—that they can feel like the stuff of fantasy. And for good reason: to date, we've only confirmed the existence of 18 circumbinary ...

May 11, 2026