All News

Phys.org / Scents of the afterlife: Identifying embalming recipes by 'sniffing' the air around Egyptian mummies

If you have ever stood close to an ancient Egyptian mummy, you may remember a distinctive, lingering odor. For a long time, it was assumed that this was simply due to age and decay. However, scientists have discovered that ...

Feb 5, 2026 in Other Sciences
Phys.org / Physicists achieve near-zero friction on macroscopic scales

For the first time, physicists in China have virtually eliminated the friction felt between two surfaces at scales visible to the naked eye. In demonstrating "structural superlubricity," the team, led by Quanshui Zheng at ...

Feb 3, 2026 in Physics
Phys.org / 'Red Potato' galaxy discovered by astronomers

Using the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), an international team of astronomers has discovered a new massive and quiescent red galaxy, which they dubbed "Red Potato." The discovery was reported in a research paper published ...

Feb 4, 2026 in Astronomy & Space
Phys.org / Ultra-thin metasurface can generate and direct quantum entanglement

Quantum technologies, devices and systems that process, store, detect, or transfer information leveraging quantum mechanical effects, have the potential to outperform classical technologies in a variety of tasks. An ongoing ...

Feb 3, 2026 in Physics
Phys.org / New hybrid films could cut costs for direct X-ray detectors

In medicine, security, nuclear safety and scientific research, X-rays are essential tools for seeing what remains hidden. The materials used to create X-ray detectors can be rigid, expensive and laborious to produce. But ...

Feb 7, 2026 in Chemistry
Phys.org / From deer to chickadees: How fewer social encounters could raise extinction risk

Imagine an asteroid striking Earth and wiping out most of the human population. Even if some lucky people survived the impact, Homo sapiens might still face extinction, because the social networks humans rely on would collapse.

Feb 5, 2026 in Biology
Medical Xpress / Mental health and heart attacks: What a 22-million-person review suggests

The Department of Medicine at University of Calgary led an analysis comparing several clinical mental disorders with risk of acute coronary syndrome, a term that includes heart attack and emergency chest pain resulting from ...

Feb 4, 2026 in Psychology & Psychiatry
Phys.org / Three-way quantum correlations fade exponentially with distance at any temperature, study shows

The properties of a quantum material are driven by links between its electrons known as quantum correlations. A RIKEN researcher has shown mathematically that, at non-zero temperatures, these connections can only exist over ...

Feb 6, 2026 in Physics
Tech Xplore / Moltbook: AI bots use social network to create religions, but are some really humans in disguise?

A new social network called Moltbook has been created for AIs, allowing machines to interact and talk to each other. Within hours of the platform launching, the AIs appeared to have created their own religions, developed ...

Feb 8, 2026 in Machine learning & AI
Phys.org / When the interaction between fungi and bacteria becomes a dangerous alliance

Rivals or allies—how do bacteria and fungi interact in our bodies? Until now, bacteria on our mucous membranes were primarily considered to be antagonists of fungi, as they can inhibit their growth. However, an international ...

Feb 6, 2026 in Biology
Medical Xpress / Point-of-care hepatitis B DNA testing proves as accurate as lab tests

A clinical trial led by Kirby Institute at UNSW Sydney has found that point-of-care testing for hepatitis B DNA is as effective as traditional laboratory testing, paving the way for faster diagnosis and treatment in hard-to-reach ...

Medical Xpress / Catheter technique repairs failed mechanical aortic valves without open-heart surgery

A team led by the Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares (CNIC) and Hospital Clínico Universitario de Valladolid has developed and clinically applied a minimally invasive technique that, for the first time, ...

Feb 8, 2026 in Cardiology