Phys.org news

Phys.org / Spring-like porous crystals could enable chemically responsive microscale materials

Crystals are usually imagined as rigid objects with flat faces and straight edges. A research team led by the University of Osaka has recently created a porous crystal that grows into a spring-like helix. The team also found ...

Sep 16, 2026
Phys.org / Dual findings reveal how to control coherence in plasmonic nanolasers

Researchers at the University of Eastern Finland have uncovered two complementary mechanisms that govern coherence in miniaturized lasers composed of metallic nanoparticle arrays incorporated into an optical gain material, ...

Sep 16, 2026
Phys.org / Sliding droplets point to charging mechanism beyond mobile ions

Whether on a windowpane at home or during the industrial cleaning of computer chips: droplets sliding over solid surfaces become electrically charged. Yet the physical mechanism behind this charging remains a subject of debate. ...

Sep 16, 2026
Phys.org / Conserving just 35% of the nation's waterways could sustain freshwater biodiversity

By evaluating the health of waterways across the U.S., researchers have identified a network encompassing about one-third of rivers and streams that, if conserved and restored, could sustain the nation's freshwater biodiversity ...

Sep 16, 2026
Phys.org / 3D scans reveal how lichen fungi grip algae across cell walls

Lichens colonize trees and rocks all over the world. They are symbiotic communities between fungi and photosynthetically active green algae or cyanobacteria, in which both partners benefit from each other: The fungal partner ...

Sep 16, 2026
Phys.org / Heat-related lost labor emerges as a major cost of carbon emissions

As the climate warms, people are more exposed to heat stress, which depresses productivity and the global economy. A study from the University of California, Davis, quantifies the cost of heat stress on global labor.

Sep 16, 2026
Phys.org / Beach-burrowing beasties may shovel more sand than any other animal on Earth

At just an inch (2.5 centimeters) long, the sand hoppers skipping across California's Isla Vista Beach at dawn don't exactly look like a force of nature. But a new study reveals that these shrimp-like creatures might be doing ...

Sep 16, 2026
Phys.org / Most Americans reject political violence, but support can vary sharply by party

Republicans and conservatives are more likely than Democrats or liberals to justify political violence in 17 surveyed situations, according to a study published in PLOS One by Garen J. Wintemute of the University of California, ...

Sep 16, 2026
Phys.org / Speeding glaciers drive half a century of polar ice loss

The longest satellite record ever assembled shows that Greenland and Antarctica have lost 11.3 trillion metric tons of ice since the 1970s, raising global sea level by more than 3 centimeters (1.2 inches)—and that most of ...

Sep 16, 2026
Phys.org / Pufferfish taste receptor more versatile than a human's, detecting both savory L- and sweet D-amino acids

Our sense of taste is critical for survival, alerting us to substances that provide vital nutrients and those that might poison us. Now, a team led by researchers from the University of Osaka has discovered how one such taste ...

Sep 16, 2026
Phys.org / New breeding approach targets crop rotations, not yield alone

Breeding crops for farming systems rather than yield alone could exploit untapped genetic potential and help farmers cut fertilizer bills.

Sep 16, 2026
Phys.org / Australia's ancient rainfall patterns more complex than previously believed

"Sediment and fossil records are a major pillar of our understanding of how the climate works—but climate scientists have gotten something wrong about Australia's ice age," says Dr. Alex F. Wall, lead author of a new research ...

Sep 16, 2026