Phys.org news

Phys.org / Out of darkness, blind Mexican cavefish illuminate brain evolution

Deep within the dark caves of northeastern Mexico lives a fish that has spent hundreds of thousands of years adapting to a world without light. The blind Mexican cavefish (Astyanax mexicanus) has evolved in perpetual darkness, ...

Jun 24, 2026
Phys.org / How longer exciton lifetimes could ease efficiency trade-off in organic solar cells

Although the efficiency of organic solar cells has now risen to more than 20%, there are physical limits that make it difficult to further increase their performance. A research team from Linköping University in Sweden, the ...

Jun 24, 2026
Phys.org / Room-temperature laser hits record stability with 68-cm optical cavity

Scientists at NPL have demonstrated the best-reported laser frequency stability achieved with an optical reference cavity operating at room temperature, marking a major advance in ultrastable laser technology. The team's ...

Jun 24, 2026
Phys.org / Does the Netherlands feed the world? Study challenges a familiar view of Dutch agriculture

The Netherlands is a major agricultural exporter. But look beyond euros to land, animal feed, calories and protein, and a different picture emerges. In a study published in Nature Food, researchers at Wageningen University ...

Jun 24, 2026
Phys.org / Web archive lets you easily search millions of government documents

At the end of every presidential term, the End of Term Web Archive preserves that administration's web presence as a vast trove of documents and webpages. The archive began in 2008, with George W. Bush's second term, and ...

Jun 24, 2026
Phys.org / Solar blast's magnetic cloud grew by one-fifth en route to Earth, spacecraft reveal

A University of Iowa-led physics team has detailed the extreme expansion of a magnetic cloud that originated from a huge, gaseous explosion on the sun. In a new study, the researchers describe the inflated magnetic cloud ...

Jun 24, 2026
Phys.org / A nanotrap for HIV: Liposomes repurposed to trigger immune response

Medical advancements over the last several decades have made great strides in the treatment of HIV. Pharmaceutical treatments are able to contain and reduce a patient's viral load to the point where it is nearly undetectable. ...

Jun 24, 2026
Phys.org / What happens when environmental change outpaces life's ability to adapt?

When an animal's environment changes faster than the animal can adapt, its chances of survival can flatline. The same is true for populations and even entire species. Now, scientists at MIT and the University of Leicester ...

Jun 24, 2026
Phys.org / 'Collapsible scissored surfaces' complete trilogy of metamaterial design principles

Over the past decade, Professor L. Mahadevan's Soft Math Lab at the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) has helped establish how the ancient Japanese paper arts of folding or cutting ...

Jun 24, 2026
Phys.org / X-ray snapshots reveal how viral shells change shape as they dry out

When viruses travel through the air in tiny droplets, they can quickly start to dry out. Yet many viruses remain infectious after rehydration—something that is still not fully understood. Now, an international team of researchers ...

Jun 24, 2026
Phys.org / Machine learning rediscovers equations governing ocean biogeochemistry

Climate and ocean models use a series of equations to represent complex natural processes. However, the equations used in these models are often derived from limited observations and a series of assumptions.

Jun 24, 2026
Phys.org / Talking edible robot deepens human perception of food culture and ethics

A research group led by Associate Professor Yoshihiro Nakata from the Graduate School of Informatics and Engineering at the University of Electro-Communications, Japan, in collaboration with researchers from Doshisha University ...

Jun 24, 2026