Phys.org news

Phys.org / Advanced dating method reveals age of Pacific coral architecture

Application of an advanced dating technique establishes the first precise construction timeline for houses built out of coral in French Polynesia. The findings reveal previously hidden patterns of architectural development ...

Mar 25, 2026
Phys.org / Now you see it, now you don't: Material can transition between quantum states

A team of scientists led by the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory has identified a rare, switchable quantum property in a new type of nickel sulfide material. The discovery could have applications ...

Mar 25, 2026
Phys.org / Combining algae and oyster shells for biodiesel born in the bayou

Biodiesel is a renewable fuel and offers a sustainable and potentially carbon-neutral alternative to petroleum products. Yet production costs remain a hurdle to its widespread use. Now, researchers have developed an inexpensive ...

Mar 25, 2026
Phys.org / Hearing research traces evolution of key inner ear protein

In the intricate machinery of the inner ear, hearing begins with a protein that moves a few billionths of a meter up to 100,000 times per second. That protein, called TMC1, sits at the tips of sensory hair cells deep in the ...

Mar 25, 2026
Phys.org / Topological solitons power a chip-scale frequency comb source

Caltech scientists have developed a new way to produce optical frequency combs—important tools in devices that keep time and measure distances very precisely—at the chip scale, an advance that should make it easier to incorporate ...

Mar 25, 2026
Phys.org / Motivations behind violent extremism uncovered in new global study

New research from the University of St Andrews has revealed that human readiness for intergroup violence is not a single or unified mindset. Published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the new study, ...

Mar 25, 2026
Phys.org / Past CO₂ emissions may drive far bigger future economic losses

The economic damage yet to come from carbon dioxide emitted decades ago far exceeds the harm it has wrought so far, according to a new Stanford University study. The research, published in Nature, puts a dollar value on the ...

Mar 25, 2026
Phys.org / Finding order in disorder: New mechanism amplifies transverse electron transport

For decades, it has been widely believed that electrons move most efficiently in materials that are clean and highly ordered. Much like water flowing more easily through a smooth pipe, conventional wisdom has held that electrical ...

Mar 25, 2026
Phys.org / Dancing to invisible choreography, quantum computers can balance the noise

Large-scale quantum computers are waiting in the wings. One of the main reasons we don't have them yet is because quantum hardware is so noisy. This isn't the type of noise you'd want to shush in a crowded theater. When it ...

Mar 25, 2026
Phys.org / DNA origami precisely positions single-photon emitters for quantum technologies

An international research team led by scientists from Skoltech has developed a method to position molecules on the surface of ultrathin materials with unprecedented precision using molecular DNA self-assembly, enabling the ...

Mar 25, 2026
Phys.org / Britain's hibernating hazel dormice are getting lighter in spring as temperatures rise, study suggests

Britain's hazel dormice are getting lighter in spring but fatter in autumn as our climate changes, suggests new research in Scientific Reports. The study, titled "The effects of climate and land cover on hazel dormouse (Muscardinus ...

Mar 25, 2026
Phys.org / Is nectar naturally spiked? What widespread low-level ethanol could mean for pollinators

As bees and hummingbirds flit from flower to flower, greedily sipping nectar in exchange for pollination, the animals often get another treat: alcohol. In the first broad analysis of the alcohol content of flower nectars, ...

Mar 25, 2026