Phys.org news

Phys.org / Nitrile and latex gloves may cause overestimation of microplastics in the lab

Nitrile and latex gloves that scientists wear while they are measuring microplastics may lead to a potential overestimation of the tiny pollutants, according to a University of Michigan study, published in Analytical Methods.

Mar 26, 2026
Phys.org / Giant virus DNA may help polar algae survive harsh environments

In the game of survival, you can't always go it alone. Tiny algae living in the harsh conditions of the world's polar oceans appear to be better able to withstand the cold, high salinity, and extreme UV radiation, thanks ...

Mar 26, 2026
Phys.org / Israel's 'Stonehenge' no longer stands alone: Satellite technology opens archaeological frontiers

For decades, the massive stone circles of Rujm el-Hiri in the Golan Heights were considered a singular, mysterious anomaly—often dubbed "Israel's Stonehenge." However, new research led by Ben-Gurion University of the Negev ...

Mar 26, 2026
Phys.org / Novel measurement confirms a 50-year-old prediction: Dark points are faster than light

A research group from the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology reports in Nature an unprecedented achievement in electron microscopy: the direct measurement of "dark points" within light waves. By doing so, the researchers ...

Mar 26, 2026
Phys.org / Independent measurement strengthens the case for toponium

A new independent measurement by the CMS experiment at the LHC is consistent with the existence of the most massive composite particle ever observed, the momentary union of a top quark and its antiquark

Mar 26, 2026
Phys.org / Medieval DNA reveals trans-Saharan connections, rapid genetic mixing and leprosy in Islamic Ibiza

Medieval Ibiza was far from a quiet Mediterranean backwater. New DNA evidence shows that the island was part of a dynamic world linking Europe, North Africa and even the Sahel zone, south of Sahara. An international research ...

Mar 26, 2026
Phys.org / Light-activated nanoparticles trigger copper overload to kill cancer cells

Cuproptosis was discovered in 2022. It was a previously unknown type of cell death caused by an excess of copper. The research group led by Professor Johannes Karges at Ruhr University Bochum, Germany, used this mechanism ...

Mar 26, 2026
Phys.org / Experimental evidence shows how photons spread across multiple paths in an interferometer

The nature of quantum particles has long puzzled scientists. While single-particle interference suggests that a photon can behave like a spread-out wave, a whole photon is only ever detected in one specific place. Traditional ...

Mar 26, 2026
Phys.org / How Neanderthals used a lakeshore in Germany to hunt, butcher and survive

In 1948, a group of amateurs led by a local headmaster in Lehringen, Germany, uncovered the skeleton of a straight-tusked elephant—the largest land mammal known to have roamed Europe—in 125,000-year-old sediments from the ...

Mar 26, 2026
Phys.org / Tale of the lava heron: Student describes new Galapagos species

The Galapagos Islands are famous for the discoveries that shaped Charles Darwin's theory of evolution. Now an SFSU graduate has added one more: Ezra Mendales (M.S., '23) describes a new species as part of his master's thesis. ...

Mar 26, 2026
Phys.org / 'Near-misses' in particle accelerators can illuminate new physics, study finds

Particle accelerators reveal the heart of nuclear matter by smashing together atoms at close to the speed of light. The high-energy collisions produce a shower of subatomic fragments that scientists can then study to reconstruct ...

Mar 26, 2026
Phys.org / Why cells respond 'incorrectly' in old age

Some of the signs of aging in human cells originate in the cell nucleus, because the packaged form of DNA changes with age. This has now been demonstrated by PSI researchers. It means that older cells can no longer react ...

Mar 26, 2026