Phys.org news

Phys.org / A new class of strange one-dimensional particles

Physicists have long categorized every elementary particle in our three-dimensional universe as being either a boson or a fermion—the former category mostly capturing force carriers like photons, the latter including the ...

Feb 3, 2026 in Physics
Phys.org / Are cats 'vegan' meat eaters? Why isotopic signatures of feline fur could trick us into thinking that way

Cats—unlike humans—are true carnivores: they must eat meat to survive because their bodies can't draw some essential nutrients from plants. By looking at tissues, researchers can get a good understanding of what foods ...

Feb 3, 2026 in Biology
Phys.org / Ultra-thin metasurface chip turns invisible infrared light into steerable visible beams

The invention of tiny devices capable of precisely controlling the direction and behavior of light is essential to the development of advanced technologies. Researchers at the Advanced Science Research Center at the CUNY ...

Feb 3, 2026 in Physics
Phys.org / Stacked graphene sandwich reveals switchable memory without traditional ferroelectrics

A research team led by Professor Youngwook Kim from the Department of Physics and Chemistry, DGIST, in collaboration with the research team of Professor Gil Young Cho at KAIST, have discovered a new memory principle that ...

Feb 3, 2026 in Nanotechnology
Phys.org / Supermassive black holes sit in 'eye of their own storms,' studies find

Gigantic black holes lurk at the center of virtually every galaxy, including ours, but we've lacked a precise picture of what impact they have on their surroundings. However, a University of Chicago-led group of scientists ...

Feb 3, 2026 in Astronomy & Space
Phys.org / Two huge hot blobs of rock influence Earth's magnetic field, study reveals

Exploring Earth's deep interior is a far bigger challenge than exploring the solar system. While we have traveled 25 billion km into space, the deepest we have ever gone below our feet is just over 12 km. Consequently, little ...

Feb 3, 2026 in Astronomy & Space
Phys.org / Reproduction in space, an environment hostile to human biology

As commercial spaceflight draws ever closer and time spent in space continues to extend, the question of reproductive health beyond the bounds of planet Earth is no longer theoretical but now "urgently practical," according ...

Feb 3, 2026 in Astronomy & Space
Phys.org / Ozone-depleting CFCs detected in historical measurements—20 years earlier than previously known

An international research team led by the University of Bremen has detected chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) in Earth's atmosphere for the first time in historical measurements from 1951—20 years earlier than previously known. ...

Feb 3, 2026 in Earth
Phys.org / One-of-a-kind 'plasma tunnel' recreates extreme conditions spacecraft face upon reentry

Picture a spacecraft returning to Earth after a long journey. The vehicle slams into the planet's atmosphere at roughly 17,000 miles per hour. A shockwave erupts. Molecules in the air are ripped apart, forming a plasma—a ...

Feb 3, 2026 in Astronomy & Space
Phys.org / Political division in the US surged from 2008 onward, study suggests

Divisions within the US population on social and political issues have increased by 64% since 1988, with almost all this coming after 2008, according to a study tracking polarization from the end of the Reagan era to the ...

Feb 3, 2026 in Other Sciences
Phys.org / Ancient American pronghorns were built for speed

The fastest land animal in North America is the American pronghorn, and previously, researchers thought it evolved its speed because of pressure from the now-extinct American cheetah. But recently, that theory has come under ...

Feb 3, 2026 in Biology
Phys.org / High-tech scans of an enigmatic 400-million-year-old lungfish reveal new details

New pieces have been added to the puzzle of the evolution of some of the oldest fish that lived on Earth more than 400 million years ago. In two separate studies, experts in Australia and China have found new clues about ...

Feb 3, 2026 in Biology