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Phys.org / A photon that challenges Einstein: According to current physics, it should never have reached Earth

How did a photon survive a journey of more than 2 billion light-years when, according to known physics, it should have been absorbed long before reaching Earth? This is the question at the heart of a new study by Giorgio ...

Sep 8, 2026
Phys.org / Big supernova dataset challenges dark energy theory

The most comprehensive catalog of exploding white dwarf stars ever assembled has revealed new clues about dark energy, the mysterious force driving the universe's accelerating expansion. Researchers at The University of Queensland's ...

Sep 8, 2026
Phys.org / Do black holes grow along with the universe? A new study says yes

We know the universe is constantly expanding. We also know that gravitationally bound objects, such as solar systems and black holes, seem to be immune to that expansion. But a new paper by theoretical physicists Valerio ...

Sep 8, 2026
Phys.org / Brain's ability to hear a musical beat remains distinctly human, study suggests

The seemingly trivial ability to hear a regular pulse in music is a remarkable—and perhaps distinctively human—feature of the brain. In a wide-ranging critical review, Gábor Háden of the HUN-REN Research Centre for Natural ...

Sep 11, 2026
Phys.org / 1,000 times faster operations bring reliable quantum computing a step closer

So far, quantum computers have been held back by their extreme sensitivity to errors and external disturbances. The longer a quantum operation takes, the greater the risk of computational errors.

Sep 10, 2026
Phys.org / There's nothing irrational about resisting AI

If you read about AI, you'll find a widespread belief: When people don't want to use AI, it's because they're afraid or just don't understand it. They're afraid of losing their jobs or of change generally. Or they don't understand ...

Sep 10, 2026
Phys.org / Scientists discover a strange new form of ice that could help explain the interiors of Neptune and Uranus

Scientists have discovered that there is ice deep inside planets like Neptune and Uranus and want to find out what form it takes and how it behaves. They cannot dig for it and transport it all the way back to Earth, so they ...

Sep 11, 2026
Phys.org / Southern Ocean may flip from carbon sink to carbon source under mitigation scenarios

Plans to limit the global temperature rise to 1.5°C above preindustrial levels depend on reaching net-zero emissions and, in many cases, actively removing carbon dioxide (CO2) from the air. While this helps limit extreme ...

Sep 12, 2026
Phys.org / Researchers pinpoint key early-universe measurement with record precision

An international team, including researchers from the University of Minnesota Twin Cities, has reached a major milestone in "precision cosmology" by measuring the amount of helium created in the universe's first five minutes ...

Sep 13, 2026
Phys.org / A 1,000-fold longer charge lifetime helps organic catalyst produce solar hydrogen faster

Researchers from the Ningbo Institute of Materials Technology and Engineering (NIMTE) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), in collaboration with researchers from the Technical Institute of Physics and Chemistry of CAS, ...

Sep 13, 2026
Phys.org / White is more than a color: How nature inspired a new sustainable way to make white, water-repellent materials

Look closely at Hokusai's The Great Wave off Kanagawa, one of Japan's most iconic masterpieces. The brilliant white of the waves, snow on Mount Fuji and clouds above contain no white pigment. Instead, their whiteness comes ...

Sep 9, 2026
Phys.org / Tiny 2D cracks creep through materials before triggering sudden fracture, experiments reveal

We have all seen something suddenly break: a phone screen cracks, a plastic object snaps or a piece of glass shatters. To our eyes, the failure seems to happen all at once. But what if the most important part of the break ...

Sep 9, 2026