Phys.org news

Phys.org / Arctic cyclone clusters batter sea ice, leaving coasts more exposed to storms

In the Arctic, weather plays a key role in determining how much ice covers the ocean. Arctic cyclones are one weather phenomenon with a significant influence, causing unusually warm and stormy conditions that typically lead ...

Aug 12, 2026
Phys.org / How to design a space habitat that supports its residents' mental health

In extreme environments, habitats are built for survival. Submarines, Antarctic bases and post-disaster dwellings are designed to prioritize health and safety. This is especially the case for habitats in space, where room ...

Aug 12, 2026
Phys.org / Oxytocin nudges distrustful men to invest 15% more in anonymous trust game

In 2005, a research team led by University of Zurich economics professor Ernst Fehr published a study in the journal Nature that provided evidence for the first time that intranasally administered oxytocin can increase trusting ...

Aug 12, 2026
Phys.org / Bumblebees can learn to associate new smells with their queen

Bumblebees are able to learn to associate new odors with their colony's queen, instead of being preprogrammed to recognize the queen's pheromones from birth, according to a new study led by researchers at Penn State. For ...

Aug 12, 2026
Phys.org / New CERN measurement challenges conventional models of how gluons behave inside atomic nuclei

A University of Kansas physicist played a leading role in a CERN study showing that two rival explanations for how gluons behave inside atomic nuclei can now be experimentally distinguished.

Aug 11, 2026
Phys.org / Star cluster discovery could change how scientists measure the universe

University of Missouri researchers have uncovered evidence that challenges one of astronomy's most trusted assumptions, a breakthrough that could reshape how scientists measure galaxies and reconstruct the history of the ...

Aug 11, 2026
Phys.org / Twisted magnetic field around newborn star confirms decades-old jet theory

Astronomers using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), of which the U.S. National Science Foundation National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NSF NRAO) is a partner, have captured the first direct, high-resolution ...

Aug 11, 2026
Phys.org / Mathematical model shows how birds create a synchronized dawn chorus

Every morning, groups of birds start singing and chirping around the same time, typically when the sun starts rising. While zoologists have been studying this collective bird behavior, called the dawn chorus, for decades, ...

Aug 11, 2026
Phys.org / Genome study reveals centromeres as one of the fastest-changing regions in human DNA

A centromere is a specific region on a chromosome that ensures that, when a cell divides, the chromosome separates accurately so each new cell receives the correct amount of genetic material. Despite their essential role, ...

Aug 11, 2026
Phys.org / Historical DNA reveals largetooth sawfish have lost much of their genetic diversity

The genetic diversity of the largetooth sawfish (Pristis pristis), a critically endangered ray, has plummeted over the past century and a half, according to a study published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological ...

Aug 11, 2026
Phys.org / First evidence of Neanderthal bone tool use in Romania discovered

Deep in the Vârghiș Gorges, tucked away in the dark recesses of a cave, researchers have found the first evidence that Neanderthals used bone tools in Romania.

Aug 11, 2026
Phys.org / Many US public parks sit surprisingly close to hazardous waste sites and facilities that release toxic chemicals

While parks, playgrounds and hiking trails are generally thought of as "healthy" spaces, researchers from the University of Michigan have found that many of them overlap with old toxic waste sites or sit dangerously close ...

Aug 11, 2026