Phys.org news

Phys.org / Fiber-optic cable reveals hidden crevasses that could destabilize glaciers

In recent years, the Alps have experienced devastating glacier collapses: In September 2023, a section of the Marmolada glacier in the Dolomites collapsed, resulting in the deaths of seven mountaineers. Just over a year and ...

Aug 18, 2026
Phys.org / Yellowstone's past droughts may signal less geyser activity and more wildfires

A study led by a Montana State University research professor reveals how climate and hydrothermal activity have shaped the vegetation, wildfire and aquatic ecosystem histories of the Yellowstone Plateau over the past 15,000 ...

Aug 18, 2026
Phys.org / An African bat overlooked for two centuries is confirmed in Europe

An African bat whose presence in Sicily had remained an unresolved zoological mystery for almost two centuries has now been documented on Pantelleria Island. A study published in Global Ecology and Conservation reports the ...

Aug 18, 2026
Phys.org / Five new wasp species discovered in Cyprus, including one named after Aphrodite

Scientists have described five new species of parasitoid wasps from Cyprus, more than doubling the number of chalcid wasps known to be found nowhere else on the island. The wasps, all belonging to the family Pteromalidae, ...

Aug 18, 2026
Phys.org / Drier soils may turn late summer into prolonged extreme heat

The summers of recent years have been hot, but not unusual from a meteorological perspective. According to researchers at Leipzig University, though, the next extreme summer would far exceed anything we have experienced so ...

Aug 18, 2026
Phys.org / End-to-end design creates two low-cost materials to capture methane

Developing new materials to tackle pressing global issues is a gap-filled process that can leave potential climate solutions lost in unread academic papers and forgotten dissertations.

Aug 18, 2026
Phys.org / Dynamic surface reconstruction explains how copper sulfide catalysts tune CO₂ reduction

Copper sulfide (CuS) catalysts continuously reconstruct their surface during electrochemical CO2 reduction, reports a study from the Institute of Science Tokyo, Japan. By uncovering the mechanism behind the dynamic surface ...

Aug 18, 2026
Phys.org / Tomato roots reveal hidden steps in 400-million-year-old fungal partnership

Scientists at VIB and Ghent University have produced the first high-resolution, cell-by-cell map of how tomato roots respond to colonization by arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi. These ancient fungal partners help plants absorb ...

Aug 18, 2026
Phys.org / Sound-based traps reveal how fragile biomolecular droplets move, merge and change stiffness

Being able to measure something plays a vital role in our ability to understand many phenomena. But measuring can often affect what we are trying to measure. This is particularly the case when measuring substances that are ...

Aug 18, 2026
Phys.org / Genome-folding complex reveals a mechanism that helps establish neuron identity

A functional nervous system depends on the cooperation of many kinds of cells. As developing organisms build their nervous systems, their neurons must take on different forms and functions to fulfill their designated roles. ...

Aug 18, 2026
Phys.org / Long-range magnetic interactions govern how a ferrimagnet approaches its phase transition

Close to a phase transition, very different materials can follow the same mathematical rules. The concept of universality, which groups seemingly distinct systems based on their common properties, was developed to describe ...

Aug 18, 2026
Phys.org / Distinct neurons drive mice's social sounds and squeaks

Mice use almost completely distinct sets of neurons for their two different types of vocalizations—the squeaks they produce when in distress or fighting and the whistle-like ultrasonic vocalizations they use when communicating ...

Aug 18, 2026