Phys.org news

Phys.org / Compact flat-lens system can generate nondiffracting bottle beams

Most laser sources produce Gaussian beams that diverge as they propagate. This natural spreading limits their effectiveness in applications that require light to remain concentrated over long distances. To overcome this challenge, ...

Apr 2, 2026
Phys.org / Protostars 'sneeze' and produce rings of gas and magnetic flux as they grow

Researchers have uncovered new insights into the early development of baby stars. As published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters, a research team from Kyushu University and Kagawa University reports that during the early ...

Apr 2, 2026
Phys.org / Backyard birdwatchers help scientists uncover what hawks really like to eat

Anyone who keeps a bird feeder has likely had the same uneasy thought after seeing a sudden blur of wings in the yard: What was that hawk doing here?

Apr 2, 2026
Phys.org / Watering smarter, not more: A modern-day robotic divining rod

Advanced technology can help farmers get to the root of a growing problem—overwatering in an era of increasing drought and water scarcity. A new UC Riverside system can map soil moisture tree by tree, so growers water only ...

Apr 2, 2026
Phys.org / Engineered E. coli dependency may help contain microbes to defined areas

Take a typical fish out of the water and it won't live long. It gets the oxygen it needs from the water it swims in. In a similar way, scientists are exploring dependency as a method of controlling what microbes can do and ...

Apr 2, 2026
Phys.org / Rudeness may be rewarded—as a response to rudeness

If you don't have anything nice to say, perhaps it's OK to say it anyway—if responding to someone who has treated you or your team rudely, new Cornell research suggests. Civil responses to disrespectful behavior remain the ...

Apr 2, 2026
Phys.org / Tiny frogs prefer concrete apartments over wooden shelters

James Cook University researchers have tested frog housing and nursery preferences in the Wet Tropics rainforest of North Queensland, with frogs finding the thermal regulation of concrete shelters to be the perfect tropical ...

Apr 2, 2026
Phys.org / Male fish lose their learning edge in drug-polluted waters, research reveals

A common antidepressant detected in rivers and streams worldwide is disrupting how fish learn, and the impact is strikingly one-sided. New research led by Monash University shows the drug amitriptyline impairs spatial learning ...

Apr 2, 2026
Phys.org / A global carbon credit program risks rewarding the wrong behavior

A United Nations-backed framework for protecting tropical forests could allow governments to collect income from carbon credits without advancing forest conservation. The weakness lies in how the program calculates baselines, ...

Apr 2, 2026
Phys.org / Software package makes gene regulation easier to study—and tweak

Understanding how genes are switched on and off in specific cell types remains one of biology's central challenges. While AI has made major progress in decoding the regulatory logic of DNA, applying these approaches across ...

Apr 2, 2026
Phys.org / UV light method offers repeat recycling for acrylic plastics without the environmental cost

A breakthrough method for chemically recycling acrylic—one of the world's most widely used plastics—has been developed by researchers at the University of Bath. In contrast to conventional mechanical recycling, this method ...

Apr 2, 2026
Phys.org / AI turns electron microscopy into materials insights in minutes

An electron microscopy image can capture atoms arranged in a crystal lattice or defects threading through a semiconductor material, but turning that image into materials insight can take weeks of careful analysis. Now, an ...

Apr 2, 2026