Phys.org news

Phys.org / Anglo-Saxon center unearthed near Skipsea castle

Archaeologists working near Skipsea Castle in East Yorkshire say a series of rare discoveries is transforming understanding of life in the centuries before the Norman Conquest.

Jan 20, 2026 in Other Sciences
Phys.org / Scientists plan deep-sea expedition to probe 'dark oxygen'

A team of scientists announced Tuesday they have developed new deep-sea landers specifically to test their contentious discovery that metallic rocks at the bottom of the ocean are producing "dark oxygen".

Jan 20, 2026 in Earth
Phys.org / Direct visualization captures hidden spatial order of electrons in a quantum material

The mystery of quantum phenomena inside materials—such as superconductivity, where electric current flows without energy loss—lies in when electrons move together and when they break apart. KAIST researchers have succeeded ...

Jan 20, 2026 in Physics
Phys.org / Bubble netting knowledge spread by immigrant humpback whales, study finds

New research from the University of St Andrews has found that the social spread of group bubble-net feeding among humpback whales is crucial to the success of the population's ongoing recovery.

Jan 20, 2026 in Biology
Phys.org / ChatGPT found to reflect and intensify existing global social disparities

New research from the Oxford Internet Institute at the University of Oxford, and the University of Kentucky, finds that ChatGPT systematically favors wealthier, Western regions in response to questions ranging from "Where ...

Jan 20, 2026 in Other Sciences
Phys.org / How shifting tectonic plates drove Earth's climate swings

Carbon released from Earth's spreading tectonic plates, not volcanoes, may have triggered major transitions between ancient ice ages and warm climates, new research finds.

Jan 20, 2026 in Earth
Phys.org / Beyond chemistry: How mechanical forces shape brain wiring

During brain development, neurons extend long processes called axons. Axons link different areas of the brain and carry signals within it and to the rest of the body. Growing axons "wire up" the brain by following precise ...

Jan 20, 2026 in Biology
Phys.org / Bats use 'acoustic flow velocity' to navigate complex environments in darkness

A long-standing mystery about how wild bats navigate complex environments in complete darkness with remarkable precision, has been solved in a new University of Bristol-led study. The findings are published in Proceedings ...

Jan 20, 2026 in Biology
Phys.org / Water makeup of Jupiter's Galilean moons set at birth, new study finds

While Io, the most volcanically active moon in the solar system, appears completely dry and devoid of water ice, its neighbor Europa is thought to harbor a vast global ocean of liquid water beneath its icy crust. A new international ...

Jan 20, 2026 in Astronomy & Space
Phys.org / North Atlantic deep waters show slower renewal as ocean ventilation weakens

The ocean is continuously ventilated when surface waters sink and transport, for example, oxygen and carbon to greater depths. The efficiency of this process can be estimated using the so-called water age, which describes ...

Jan 20, 2026 in Earth
Phys.org / Failed battery chemistry offers new way to destroy PFAS

Researchers in the lab of Asst. Prof. Chibueze Amanchukwu at the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering (UChicago PME) have spent three years looking for failure, scouring the academic literature for ...

Jan 20, 2026 in Chemistry
Phys.org / ALMA reveals teenage years of new worlds

Astronomers have, for the first time, captured a detailed snapshot of planetary systems in an era long shrouded in mystery. The ALMA survey to Resolve exoKuiper belt Substructures (ARKS), using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter ...

Jan 20, 2026 in Astronomy & Space