Phys.org news

Phys.org / Last-minute launch problem delays satellite rescue mission for NASA

A rush rescue mission to save a NASA space telescope remains grounded, this time because of a last-minute launch problem.

Jul 2, 2026
Phys.org / Synchronized infrared lasers control molecular shape changes and expose hidden fingerprints

Researchers from the Molecular Physics and Physical Chemistry departments of the Fritz Haber Institute have shown how two highly synchronized infrared (IR) laser beams can control molecules as they switch between different ...

Jul 2, 2026
Phys.org / Single ion maps 3D electromagnetic fields above chips with record sensitivity

Researchers at ETH Zurich have developed a method that uses a single ion to detect electromagnetic fields above a surface and to create a three-dimensional map of them. In the future, this approach can be used to improve ...

Jul 2, 2026
Phys.org / How signals in the embryo tell cells what to become: A lab's final discovery

Getting it over the finish line was a labor of love—and now, more than five years after her death, the lab of former Sloan Kettering Institute Developmental Biology Chair Kathryn Anderson, Ph.D., is publishing its final study.

Jul 2, 2026
Phys.org / New biosensor reveals rare lipid gathers in membrane hotspots during cell stress

Inside every cell are lipid molecules that make up cellular membranes, helping organelles communicate and respond to stress. Researchers have struggled to observe lipids in action because current detection tools lack sufficient ...

Jul 2, 2026
Phys.org / Plant DNA harbors virus 'fossils' that reflect 300 million years of evolution

Is it possible to study the history of viruses that emerged several hundred million years ago? An international team of INRAE and CIRAD researchers answered this question by exploring plant genomes to find the molecular fossils ...

Jul 2, 2026
Phys.org / Scourge of satellites lighting up the sky could be mitigated with help of ultra-black coating

Astrophysicists working to tackle the growing impact of satellite constellations have pioneered a new ultra-black coating as one possible way to mitigate the problem.

Jul 2, 2026
Phys.org / Simulation reveals how glaciers transported rocks across the Alps 24,000 years ago

Many of the boulders scattered across the Swiss landscape did not originate where they now stand. Instead, they were carried by ice nearly 24,000 years ago. For the first time, researchers at the University of Lausanne (UNIL) ...

Jul 2, 2026
Phys.org / Hidden role of garnet reveals how Earth's 660-km seismic boundary forms

Nearly 660 kilometers (410 miles) beneath Earth's surface lies one of the planet's most important internal boundaries. Known as the 660-km seismic discontinuity, it separates the mantle transition zone from the lower mantle ...

Jul 2, 2026
Phys.org / Beyond the dust: Families describe daily health challenges near the Salton Sea

A study examining air quality and respiratory health in communities surrounding the Salton Sea in Southern California shows how environmental conditions, poor housing quality and structural inequities combine to place children ...

Jul 2, 2026
Phys.org / Coral loss may erase up to $3 billion in Hawaiʻi reef recreation by 2100

Coral reef decline driven by climate change could cost Hawaiʻi residents between $1.8 billion and $3 billion in lost reef-related activities by 2100, according to a new study published in Ecological Economics. The research ...

Jul 2, 2026
Phys.org / Quantum properties of multimode light observed despite extreme losses

Quantum properties of light are extremely delicate. When researchers attempt to measure them, even small losses on the way to a detector can make them invisible, limiting their use outside carefully controlled environments. ...

Jul 2, 2026