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Phys.org / Compact electron accelerator offers new approach for treating PFAS-contaminated water

So-called forever chemicals or PFAS compounds are a growing environmental problem. An innovative approach to treating PFAS‐contaminated water and soil now comes from accelerator physics: high‐energy electrons can break ...

Jan 21, 2026 in Earth
Phys.org / Plastics everywhere, and the myth that made it possible

If there's one material that defines modern life more than any other, it's plastic: present from the moment we're born in newborn stool, in product packaging, in the soil beneath our feet and the air we breathe.

Jan 22, 2026 in Earth
Phys.org / Saturday Citations: A weird, extinct life form; cholesterol hacking; interspecies prosociality of whales

It's Saturday! This week, in an eminently practical analysis of the Boltzmann brain conjecture, physicists put constraints on the idea that memories could arise from random fluctuations in entropy rather than reflecting the ...

Jan 24, 2026 in Other Sciences
Phys.org / It started with a cat: How 100 years of quantum weirdness powers today's tech

A hundred years ago, quantum mechanics was a radical theory that baffled even the brightest minds. Today, it's the backbone of technologies that shape our lives, from lasers and microchips to quantum computers and secure ...

Jan 20, 2026 in Physics
Medical Xpress / Single gene found to influence gut bacteria balance and IBD susceptibility

Two recent studies from the University of California, Riverside, published in the same issue of Gut Microbes highlight the role of a gene called PTPN2 in protecting the gut from harmful bacteria linked to inflammatory bowel ...

Jan 24, 2026 in Gastroenterology
Phys.org / Hubble tension: Primordial magnetic fields could resolve one of cosmology's biggest questions

A Simon Fraser University cosmologist believes his team's new research may bring them a step closer to cracking one of science's biggest questions—the Hubble tension.

Jan 20, 2026 in Astronomy & Space
Phys.org / Western governors called to Washington as Colorado River impasse drags on

With western states deadlocked in negotiations over how to cut water use along the Colorado River, the Trump administration has called in the governors of seven states to Washington to try to hash out a consensus.

Jan 23, 2026 in Earth
Phys.org / Most men do not subscribe to toxic masculinity traits, study finds

A growing niche space, the manosphere, has been taking shape in today's online forums and social media, preaching an aggressive definition of what it means to be a man. It promotes traits such as misogyny, dominance, and ...

Jan 23, 2026 in Other Sciences
Phys.org / World on track to breach 1.5°C target by 2030

Global average temperature increases could pass the 1.5 degrees Celsius threshold outlined in the Paris Agreement by the end of the decade, according to the EU's Copernicus Climate Change Service, putting the world at greater ...

Jan 21, 2026 in Earth
Phys.org / Snow is vital for the Pyrenees, and it's disappearing fast

Snow is a defining feature of mountain ranges, and of winter itself for much of the world. But beyond its scenic value, snow plays a vital role in mountain ecosystems, as well as a range of human socioeconomic activity, and ...

Jan 21, 2026 in Earth
Phys.org / How much of 'us' is really 'us'?

Some time around 1683, amateur Dutch scientist Antonie van Leeuwenhoek scraped the plaque from between his teeth and peered at it through a home-made microscope.

Jan 20, 2026 in Biology
Phys.org / Rats demonstrate ability to replay episodic memories in complex experimental settings

In a new study Indiana University researchers observed episodic memory in rats to a degree never documented before, suggesting that rats can serve as a model for complex cognitive processes often considered exclusively human. ...

Jan 24, 2026 in Biology