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Tech Xplore / Scientists demonstrate solar-powered plastic recycling at real-world scale

Researchers have demonstrated how to use the power of the sun to turn plastic waste, such as drink bottles, into clean hydrogen fuel at a scale large enough to be genuinely useful in the real world, using a scalable approach.

Jun 24, 2026
Phys.org / Do animal behavior experiments give a distorted view of cooperation?

When biologists study cooperation in animals, they usually offer just a single task at a time. But what happens when animals can choose among several opportunities to work together? Biologists at Utrecht University discovered ...

Jun 26, 2026
Phys.org / How ancient subduction zones helped create hotspots of mineral wealth

A study led by geoscientists at the University of Sydney has revealed why some ancient continental edges became fertile sites for major mineral deposits, while others with apparently similar geology did not.

Jun 25, 2026
Tech Xplore / BurgerAI creates custom burgers tailored for taste, health and the planet

Stanford researcher Ellen Kuhl estimates that there are some 1043 potential burger recipes in the world. And with BurgerAI, a new tool developed in her lab, artificial intelligence can now design the best one for you based ...

Jun 26, 2026
Phys.org / First complete map of world's seagrass offers warnings and hope for conservation

It's time we gave seagrass the credit it's due. This hero of a plant protects coastlines, stores vast amounts of carbon and supports ecosystems that people and wildlife depend on. But we don't often hear about it when it ...

Jun 24, 2026
Phys.org / Uranus, Neptune may be magma worlds, not ice giants

Uranus and Neptune remain two of the most mysterious objects in the solar system, primarily because they have been visited only by NASA's Voyager 2 spacecraft in 1986 and 1989, respectively. Their "ice giant" moniker comes ...

Jun 26, 2026
Phys.org / Hidden seismicity patterns before large earthquakes uncovered

When and where the next large earthquake will strike remains one of the most difficult questions in geoscience. Researchers from the GFZ Helmholtz Center for Geosciences led by Dr. Sadegh Karimpouli and Prof. Dr. Patricia ...

Jun 23, 2026
Phys.org / What really controls water chemistry in nanoscale spaces

Water is the most studied molecule on Earth, yet a surprisingly basic question has gone unanswered for decades: When water is squeezed into gaps just a few molecules wide—as happens inside nanoscale pores, membranes and biological ...

Jun 25, 2026
Phys.org / Poo emoji, earthworm castings and pasta all obey the same coiling theory, physicists find

Ask a child to draw some poo, and the shape will invariably be the same: a coil, broad at the base and pointy at the top, similar to a spiral swirl of soft-serve ice cream. In fact, the often-used poo emoji has this exact ...

Jun 22, 2026
Phys.org / Natural hallucinogens may have evolved as ecological tools, not chemical accidents

Natural hallucinogens, such as psilocybin, mescaline, N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT) and related compounds, have generally received attention for their effects on human perception, emotion and cognition. Recently, interest ...

Jun 25, 2026
Medical Xpress / New button battery technology shows promise, but swallowing remains an emergency

A recently released child-safety battery designed to reduce the danger from accidental ingestion is showing significant promise, but medical professionals should not alter their management protocols yet. In the first peer-reviewed ...

Jun 27, 2026
Medical Xpress / Coordinated brainstem slow waves may determine when it's time for REM sleep

Sleep is one of the most widely studied states of consciousness, known to play a role in physical recovery, the processing of memories and the regulation of immune functions. During sleep, the brain transitions between light ...

Jun 22, 2026