Phys.org news

Phys.org / Phonon lasers unlock ultrabroadband acoustic frequency combs

Acoustic frequency combs organize sound or mechanical vibrations into a series of evenly spaced frequencies, much like the teeth on a comb. They are the acoustic counterparts of optical frequency combs, which consist of equally ...

Feb 20, 2026 in Physics
Phys.org / Birds change altitude to survive epic journeys across deserts and seas

Every year, billions of birds undertake extraordinary migrations, crossing vast deserts and open seas with no place to stop, feed, or rest. A new international study published in iScience by a consortium of researchers from ...

Feb 20, 2026 in Biology
Phys.org / Americium, curium and californium—crystallizing the rarest elements

Actinides are a group of heavy, radioactive elements that include uranium, plutonium, americium, curium, berkelium and californium. Understanding how these elements bond with other atoms (known as coordination chemistry), ...

Feb 20, 2026 in Chemistry
Phys.org / How root growth is stimulated by nitrate: Researchers decipher signaling chain

When 200 natural accessions of the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana grown in a nitrate-enriched medium were compared, one observation stood out: some accessions formed significantly longer lateral roots than others. Genetic ...

Feb 20, 2026 in Biology
Phys.org / Blood marker from dementia research could help track aging across the animal world

A protein called neurofilament light chain (NfL)—studied in humans in the context of neurodegenerative diseases and aging—is also detectable in the blood of numerous animals, and NfL levels increase with age in mice, ...

Feb 20, 2026 in Biology
Phys.org / Social media advertising suppresses voting in targeted communities, research shows

Messages intended to suppress votes can be precisely delivered to particularly vulnerable and consequential groups of people via social media and keep millions of them from casting ballots, according to a new study that is ...

Feb 20, 2026 in Other Sciences
Phys.org / Neutron scattering helps clarify magnetic behavior in altermagnetic material

Scientists at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) have identified the true source of a magnetic effect seen in the material ruthenium dioxide (RuO₂), helping resolve an active debate in the rapidly growing field of ...

Feb 20, 2026 in Physics
Phys.org / Study identifies oaks, dry duff and debris as top power line failure risks

Wildfires and power outages caused by vegetation near powerlines have contributed to some of the state's most destructive fires.

Feb 20, 2026 in Earth
Phys.org / Scientists home in on Acinetobacter baumannii's resistance evolution

Acinetobacter baumannii is a bacteria which can become a virulent killer in health-care settings among severely ill patients. The germ has rapidly developed drug resistance to even last-line carbapenem drugs. Now a group ...

Feb 20, 2026 in Biology
Phys.org / A hidden step before meiosis could reshape efforts to treat infertility

In human cells, DNA carries chemical or "epigenetic" marks that decide how genes will be used in different tissues. Yet in a group of specialized cells, known as "germ cells," which will later form sperm and eggs, these inherited ...

Feb 20, 2026 in Biology
Phys.org / Could a recently reported high-energy neutrino event be explained by an exploding primordial black hole?

The KM3NeT collaboration is a large research group involved in the operation of a neutrino telescope network in the deep Mediterranean Sea, with the aim of detecting high-energy neutrino events. These are rare and fleeting ...

Feb 19, 2026 in Astronomy & Space
Phys.org / Quantum entanglement pushes optical clocks to new precision

By replacing single atoms with an entangled pair of ions, physicists in Germany have demonstrated unprecedented stability in an optical clock. Publishing their results in Physical Review Letters, a team led by Kai Dietze ...

Feb 19, 2026 in Physics