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Phys.org / Is listening to music while studying a helpful habit or hidden distraction?

New research from Edith Cowan University (ECU) has shed light on why so many students listen to background music while studying, and whether it helps or hinders their focus.

May 21, 2026
Phys.org / eROSITA discovers a 'changing-look' Seyfert galaxy

Astronomers have tracked a dramatic "changing-look" active galactic nucleus (AGN) whose central supermassive black hole appeared to switch off and then rapidly reignite. The galaxy, HE 1237−2252, dimmed in X-rays by a factor ...

May 17, 2026
Phys.org / Rare 567‑million‑year‑old fossils refine our understanding of early animal evolution

From butterflies to blue whales, corals and worms, Earth is home to an incredible diversity of animals. How all of these animals evolved from earlier, simpler ancestors is one of the most exciting stories in the history book ...

May 21, 2026
Phys.org / Forbidden friends become former friends after moms voice disapproval

It's a tale as old as time: parents don't like the company their children keep—and don't hesitate to say so. Often, parents openly state their disapproval, hoping that children will abandon unwelcome affiliates and seek out ...

May 20, 2026
Phys.org / Physicists create hybrid light-matter particles that interact strongly enough to compute

Eighty years ago, Penn researchers J. Presper Eckert and John Mauchly launched the age of electronic computing by harnessing electrons to solve complex numerical problems with ENIAC, the world's first general-purpose electronic ...

May 15, 2026
Phys.org / Food and drink plastics dominate marine litter across 112 nations, research reveals

Plastic food packaging, caps and lids, and plastic bottles are the planet's predominant items of marine litter, according to the world's first overview of marine litter by usage type.

May 20, 2026
Phys.org / Climate change spurs weight gain in owl monkeys

Azara's owl monkeys, a small primate species found in South America, are heavier today than those that lived a quarter-century ago, and evidence suggests that rising temperatures might have driven the weight gain, according ...

May 20, 2026
Phys.org / Could future Mars settlers print their own tools?

If humans one day settle Mars, they will need tools and parts to build structures on the planet. Carrying heavy, bulky supplies 34 million miles from Earth would be impractical. A better plan, says Zane Mebruer, a recent ...

May 20, 2026
Phys.org / El Niño could curb Atlantic hurricanes in 2026, with eight to 14 storms forecast

US forecasters on Thursday predicted the Atlantic hurricane season is likely to be "below normal" in 2026, but cautioned that "it only takes one."

May 21, 2026
Tech Xplore / Before carbon capture can clean atmosphere at scale, one bottleneck may decide whether it succeeds

In 2024, global average temperatures exceeded 1.5o C above pre-industrial levels for the first time. This threshold was set as an aspirational limit by the 2015 Paris Agreement and was considered a line beyond which the impacts ...

May 20, 2026
Medical Xpress / Saliva could flag one of the deadliest and most baffling cancers sooner

Scientists at the Sydney Brenner Institute for Molecular Bioscience (SBIMB) at Wits University are exploring whether bacteria in saliva could offer a low-cost warning signal for esophageal squamous cell carcinoma, where late ...

May 20, 2026
Phys.org / New eruption discovered in the Bismarck Sea

It's a truism among oceanographers that there is more accurate mapping of the surface of the moon and Mars than of the deep-ocean floor. That's especially true for the Bismarck Sea, a relatively deep body of water north of ...

May 21, 2026