Phys.org news

Phys.org / Rivers and tidal currents keep 80% of microfibers from reaching oceans, study suggests

Every time we do a load of laundry, tiny fibers of polyester escape from our clothes and slip down the drain. These microfibers, so small they can be invisible to the naked eye, are among the most common forms of microplastic ...

Mar 20, 2026
Phys.org / A new entanglement-enhanced quantum sensing scheme

Over the past decades, quantum scientists have introduced various technologies that operate leveraging quantum mechanical effects, including quantum sensors, computers and memory devices. Most of these technologies leverage ...

Mar 20, 2026
Phys.org / New AI model predicts record high dipole moments in unexpected molecules

Chemists may soon have one less rigorous step to worry about when searching for the right molecules to accomplish their highly specific innovation needs. Scientists have now built a new machine learning model that can predict ...

Mar 20, 2026
Phys.org / ShadowCam search casts doubt on abundant lunar ice

New observations by a team of US astronomers have cast fresh doubt on whether the lunar surface could host abundant water ice. Publishing their results in Science Advances, a team led by Shuai Li at the University of Hawaii ...

Mar 20, 2026
Phys.org / Researchers uncover gut-liver serotonin pathway that limits nanoparticle and viral delivery

A new study has for the first time elucidated the gut-liver immune regulatory axis jointly maintained by intestinal commensal bacteria and the intestinal endocrine system, and uncovered the fundamental mechanism underlying ...

Mar 20, 2026
Phys.org / The deep freshwater reservoir hidden beneath the Great Salt Lake

A potentially huge underground reservoir of freshwater beneath the Great Salt Lake is coming into sharper focus with a new study that used airborne electromagnetic (AEM) surveys to X-ray geologic structures under Farmington ...

Mar 20, 2026
Phys.org / Why some regions are winning the fight against groundwater depletion

For half the world's population, the water in their drinking glasses comes from below them. Groundwater also supplies 40% of global irrigation projects. Alarmingly, more than a third of the planet's aquifers, or groundwater ...

Mar 20, 2026
Phys.org / New controls can stretch, blur and even reverse quantum time flow

In new research published in Physical Review X, scientists have designed quantum control protocols that generate processes more consistent with time flowing backward than forward. The protocols—techniques to control quantum ...

Mar 20, 2026
Phys.org / New model links carbon-13 spike to Great Oxidation Event 2.45 billion years ago

Two University of Victoria (UVic) geologists have integrated field geology with statistical modeling to give scientists a new view of the chemical reactions happening on ocean floors billions of years ago. The revised picture ...

Mar 20, 2026
Phys.org / Opening a new window into superconductivity by reimagining a classic tool

For more than a century, condensed matter physics has grappled with one of its greatest unsolved challenges: how to build superconductors that operate at room temperature and transmit electricity with no loss. Now, in a paper ...

Mar 20, 2026
Phys.org / Synthesis of amino acids from carbon reaches 97% efficiency with cell-free system

The building blocks of proteins, amino acids, are essential for all living things. Twenty different amino acids build the thousands of proteins that carry out biological tasks. While some are made naturally in our bodies, ...

Mar 20, 2026
Phys.org / A self-sufficient Mars garden? How cyanobacteria-based fertilizer could grow edible biomass

A research team from the Center for Applied Space Technology and Microgravity (ZARM), the Department of Environmental Process Engineering (UVT) at the University of Bremen and the German Aerospace Center (DLR) has made significant ...

Mar 20, 2026