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Phys.org / Observing key material properties atom by atom for the first time

Many material properties depend on how electrons are arranged inside a material. Their distribution determines, for example, whether a material conducts electricity or displays magnetic behavior. Understanding how electrons ...

Aug 6, 2026
Phys.org / Researchers demonstrate first fully solution-processed solid-state polariton laser

Researchers have demonstrated a solid-state organic laser microcavity fabricated entirely by solution processing. The device operates in the strong light–matter coupling regime, where light and matter form hybrid states called ...

Aug 6, 2026
Phys.org / Charting the galaxy: Milky Way Mapper survey releases latest all-sky spectra

The Sloan Digital Sky Survey V (SDSS-V) has announced its 20th public data release (DR20), delivering a dramatic expansion of the Milky Way Mapper (MWM) scientific survey—the most detailed spectroscopic map yet assembled ...

Aug 6, 2026
Phys.org / From mountain peaks to microclimates, new maps bring satellite big data down to Earth

Zooming from her office, Michigan State University researcher Kelly Kapsar showed satellite images from across the United States. In some, different colors revealed the precise heights of the forested ridges in the Sierra ...

Aug 7, 2026
Tech Xplore / 'Chameleon' chip adapts to changing data speeds, cutting prediction errors by up to 40-fold

AI semiconductors are becoming more programmable. KAIST researchers have developed a device whose response characteristics can be programmed to process data that changes at different speeds. The technology reduced prediction ...

Aug 7, 2026
Phys.org / Tiny vortices discovered on the sun's surface

Researchers from the U.S. National Science Foundation National Solar Observatory (NSF NSO), the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research (MPS) in Germany, and the High Altitude Observatory (HAO) in the U.S. have made ...

Aug 5, 2026
Phys.org / Hidden hormone–habitat relationship revealed in reef fish

In the animal kingdom, only those that adapt to their environment survive. This adaptation takes a wide range of forms, from invisible internal shifts in gene expression to dramatic anatomical changes, such as tadpoles growing ...

Aug 7, 2026
Phys.org / First complete songbird genome exposes missing genes and chromosome architecture

The zebra finch is one of the best-studied songbirds and a model for understanding the biology and neuroscience of vocal learning. Now, researchers have produced the first complete genome assembly of the species, revealing ...

Aug 6, 2026
Phys.org / A 21-hour dip could help explain Tabby's star's decade-long dimming mystery

Since 2016, an ordinary-looking F-type star called KIC 8462852, nicknamed Tabby's star, has behaved anything but ordinarily. In a new study published in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society on July 6, researchers ...

Aug 3, 2026
Phys.org / A new species of Ice Age toad discovered at La Brea Tar Pits: The spadefoot toad Spea labreae

For the first time, researchers have discovered a new species of extinct amphibian from Ice Age Los Angeles at La Brea Tar Pits: a spadefoot toad they have named Spea labreae. Only one other extinct Pleistocene amphibian ...

Aug 5, 2026
Phys.org / One snail, five slimes: Collagen and calcium reshape mucus for different jobs

Snails are particularly active after a rain shower. Even on the Max Planck Campus in Potsdam-Golm, common brown-lipped snails (Cepaea nemoralis) leave behind shiny trails of mucus. Researchers from the "Biomaterials" department ...

Aug 7, 2026
Phys.org / Mitochondria act as sensors for essential iron molecule, study reveals

Heme, a bioactive form of iron, has numerous essential functions in the cell. As a key component of hemoglobin, it enables oxygen transport in the blood. In addition, it performs important functions in other proteins in processes ...

Aug 6, 2026