Phys.org news

Phys.org / Novel insights into aerosol behavior could improve air-quality forecasting

New research from Purdue University demonstrates how organic aerosol molecules can influence one another's behavior in ways that existing atmospheric models do not fully capture.

Aug 19, 2026
Phys.org / Foldamer–protein pair unlocks precise building blocks for artificial molecular materials

Proteins form complex three-dimensional shapes and can join together to create larger structures. Researchers want to use these properties to make artificial materials. However, arranging proteins and synthetic molecules ...

Aug 19, 2026
Phys.org / Metastable 3D printing 'ink' enables a closed-loop material cycle

Polymers used for light-based 3D printing are very stable because of their chemical structure, but they are typically hard to recycle. A research team led by Professor Dr. Eva Blasco, a researcher at the Institute for Molecular ...

Aug 19, 2026
Phys.org / Lost 'mega-escarpment' across ancient USA may explain Grand Canyon's missing billion years

Scientists have found evidence that a colossal cliff stretching thousands of kilometers across ancient North America may have exposed the heart of the Grand Canyon nearly a billion years before it was carved by the Colorado ...

Aug 18, 2026
Phys.org / Physicists entangle quantum memories across a record-breaking 420 km

Optical fibers are already the backbone of global communication systems. Recently, however, physicists have started to explore how their functionality could be boosted further by conveying information via entangled quantum ...

Aug 18, 2026
Phys.org / Layered rock in India shows potential signs of microbial life dating to 3.5 billion years ago

A team of researchers reports that they may have found rock containing some of the earliest forms of microbial life on Earth. Their study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, describes the biosignatures ...

Aug 18, 2026
Phys.org / How body size and habitat shape the vocal repertoires of primates

Biologists, zoologists and psychologists have been trying to trace the origins of human language for centuries. One well-known theory, known as the social brain hypothesis, suggests that increasingly complex social lives ...

Aug 18, 2026
Phys.org / Ruby-forming mineral found by Mars rover hints at violent impacts

So far, most of the minerals found on Mars tell a story of lava poured out by ancient volcanoes, followed by long stretches in which water trickled through and slowly reshaped the rock. However, some rocks scattered across ...

Aug 18, 2026
Phys.org / A new approach to building noise-resistant quantum sensors

Quantum sensors, devices that collect measurements by exploiting quantum-mechanical phenomena, could potentially detect extremely weak magnetic, gravitational and electromagnetic signals with greater sensitivity than classical ...

Aug 18, 2026
Phys.org / Unusual superconductivity could emerge in valley-imbalanced rhombohedral graphene

Superconductors are materials in which electrical current flows with a resistance of zero, typically below specific temperatures. In conventional superconductors, this state of matter emerges when two electrons bind together ...

Aug 18, 2026
Phys.org / Ancient Jomon DNA reveals a hidden Ice Age survival genetic toolkit

Between 29,000 and 19,000 years ago, the planet experienced some of its coldest temperatures and drastic landscape changes at the peak of the Ice Age, during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), the period of most extensive global ...

Aug 18, 2026
Phys.org / Rethinking how we name and classify our human ancestors following recent evolutionary discoveries

Recent advances in our understanding of human evolution challenge the way we currently name and classify our ancestors, according to new research from Monash University. The study, published in the American Journal of Biological ...

Aug 18, 2026