Phys.org news

Phys.org / Tracer reveals how environmental DNA moves through lakes and rivers

Forensics experts gather DNA to understand who was present at a crime scene. But what if the crime occurred in the middle of a lake, where DNA could be carried far and wide by wind and waves? That's the challenge faced by ...

Jan 20, 2026 in Biology
Phys.org / Hot spring bathing doesn't just keep snow monkeys warm—it can disrupt lice distribution and reshape gut bacteria

Japanese macaques, colloquially referred to as snow monkeys, famously soak in steaming hot springs during winter. It's easy to see that this helps them stay warm in cold temperatures, but a team of researchers at Kyoto University ...

Jan 20, 2026 in Biology
Phys.org / Bridging theories across physics helps reconcile controversy about thin liquid layer on icy surfaces

The ice in a domestic freezer is remarkably different from the single crystals that form in snow clouds, or even those formed on a frozen pond. As temperatures drop, ice crystals can grow in a variety of shapes: from stocky ...

Jan 20, 2026 in Physics
Phys.org / Ion trap enables 1 minute in the nanocosmos

At the Department of Ion Physics and Applied Physics at the University of Innsbruck, a research team has succeeded for the first time in storing electrically charged helium nanodroplets in an ion trap for up to one minute.

Jan 20, 2026 in Nanotechnology
Phys.org / Previously unknown chemical pathway for air pollution particle formation uncovered

An atmospheric scientist at The University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH), a part of The University of Alabama System, has helped uncover a previously unknown chemical pathway that plays a major role in the formation of air ...

Jan 20, 2026 in Earth
Phys.org / Sinking salty ice suggests pathway for life-sustaining conditions in Europa's ocean

A recent study by geophysicists at Washington State University offers insight into how nutrients may reach the subsurface ocean of Europa, one of Jupiter's moons and a leading candidate for extraterrestrial life in the solar ...

Jan 20, 2026 in Astronomy & Space
Phys.org / A two-week leap in breeding: Antarctic penguins' striking climate adaptation

A decade-long study led by Penguin Watch, at the University of Oxford and Oxford Brookes University, has uncovered a record shift in the breeding season of Antarctic penguins, likely in response to climate change.

Jan 20, 2026 in Biology
Phys.org / A century's worth of data could help predict future solar cycle activity

Research conducted by an international team of astronomers from Southwest Research Institute, Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences in India and the Max Planck Institute in Germany could help predict upcoming ...

Jan 20, 2026 in Astronomy & Space
Phys.org / Seismic 'snapshot' reveals new insight into how the Rocky Mountains formed

No one ever thought the birth of the Rocky Mountains was a simple process, but we now know it was far more complex than even geophysicists had assumed.

Jan 20, 2026 in Earth
Phys.org / Seawater microbes offer new, non-invasive way to detect coral disease

Researchers at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), in collaboration with the University of the Virgin Islands have discovered that microorganisms in seawater surrounding corals provide a powerful indicator of ...

Jan 20, 2026 in Biology
Phys.org / Knock, knock... mapping comedic timing with a computational framework

Researchers propose a computational method to reveal the hidden timing structure of live performance. Vanessa C. Pope and colleagues present a framework, called Topology Analysis of Matching Sequences (TAMS), that algorithmically ...

Jan 20, 2026 in Other Sciences
Phys.org / Cleaner ship fuel linked to reduced lightning in key shipping lanes

Cuts in sulfur emissions from oceangoing vessels have been tied to a reduction in lightning stroke density along heavily trafficked shipping routes in the Bay of Bengal and the South China Sea, according to new research from ...

Jan 20, 2026 in Earth