Phys.org news

Phys.org / Why these birds meet again in Africa: Flycatcher study reveals how genes and environment guide 13,000‑km migrations

Migratory birds such as the pied flycatcher typically have wintering locations in Africa close to others from the same breeding population. That means that birds breeding in the Netherlands run into each other again in Africa, ...

Jun 25, 2026
Phys.org / Sponges may cut methylmercury contamination in marine food webs by more than 50%

Marine sponges may play an important, previously underestimated role in reducing methylmercury contamination in marine food webs. In a new modeling study, researchers at Helmholtz-Zentrum Hereon showed that sponges can significantly ...

Jun 25, 2026
Phys.org / Plankton-linked vapors could speed cloud seed formation over cold oceans

For nearly 50 years, scientists have suspected that microscopic marine plankton play a role in cloud formation over the oceans. Now, an experiment led by the University of Helsinki suggests that it may be more important than ...

Jun 25, 2026
Phys.org / Australia's under-16 social media ban shows little early effect on teen use: Research

Australia's social media ban for under-16s has had little impact on teenagers' scrolling habits, researchers said Thursday in one of the first evaluations of the world-leading measures.

Jun 25, 2026
Phys.org / Fossil fish tooth chemistry uncovers Southern Hemisphere role in Earth's ice age shift

To understand where Earth might be headed, it's important to know where it has been. Throughout its existence, especially over the past couple of million years, Earth has experienced periodic cold and warm intervals, known ...

Jun 25, 2026
Phys.org / Turtles may migrate using Earth's magnetic field

New research indicates that sea turtles seem to navigate across hundreds of miles of open ocean using Earth's magnetic field. Previous experimental studies suggested that sea turtles use geomagnetism to navigate, but this ...

Jun 25, 2026
Phys.org / Check politics at the door? Not at many workplaces, researcher says

When people think of workplace segregation, they usually think of race or gender. Yet Americans are also sorted at work by something employers rarely measure: how they vote.

Jun 25, 2026
Phys.org / AI reads 3D tooth microwear to reconstruct diets of early human ancestors

The study of dental microwear allows the analysis of the microscopic marks that foods leave on the surface of tooth enamel during mastication. In paleoanthropology, this methodology helps reconstruct the diet of fossil primates ...

Jun 25, 2026
Phys.org / Self-propelled actin filaments may explain how cells change shape spontaneously

Cells can spontaneously change shape even without external signals, but the underlying mechanisms behind this form of self-organization have remained unclear. Now, researchers from Japan have discovered self-propelled treadmilling ...

Jun 25, 2026
Phys.org / Growing up gets less scary with time, research finds

As young adults, many millennials feared growing up more than past generations. But they've come around to it as they age, research published in the journal Developmental Psychology has found.

Jun 25, 2026
Phys.org / This single well-known and widespread butterfly is actually three species in disguise

The tropical rainforests of Central and South America are among the most biodiverse places on Earth. Costa Rica alone is home to half a million species, five times more than exist in the entire country of Canada, despite ...

Jun 25, 2026
Phys.org / Scientists develop predictive roadmap to boost performance in next-gen spintronics

Chiral 2D metal halide perovskites (MHPs) are among the most promising materials for future technologies that exploit the spin of electrons in spin-based optoelectronics, or spintronics, but getting them to perform consistently ...

Jun 25, 2026