Phys.org news

Phys.org / Thin films 'dance' with substrates that are no longer inert, opening path toward 3D chips

Many of today's electronic devices—from the semiconductors in your cell phone to the photovoltaic cells in your solar panels—are built on thin-film substrates. The thin film is an electrically conductive material, while the ...

Jul 27, 2026
Phys.org / Industrial poultry farming is accelerating the spread of a major foodborne disease

A new study by the Ineos Oxford Institute for Antimicrobial Research at the University of Oxford reveals that industrial poultry farming has led to a more than 100-fold increase in the movement of Campylobacter, allowing ...

Jul 27, 2026
Phys.org / Low-level cloud loss amplifies global warming, simulations suggest

Low-level clouds over Earth's oceans play a prominent role in keeping our planet cool by reflecting sunlight away from the surface. But their response to climate change has been hard to model. Now, researchers at Caltech ...

Jul 27, 2026
Phys.org / Highly tunable electro-optic isolator achieves one-way light flow on photonic chips

Integrated photonic devices—tiny circuits that use light instead of electrons—are becoming increasingly important for scalable photonics technologies and high-bandwidth communications. They are particularly valuable for managing ...

Jul 27, 2026
Phys.org / Seven possible quasar lenses emerge from AI scan of 800,000 DESI objects

Quasars, distant cores of galaxies powered by supermassive black holes, are among the most luminous objects in the universe. While not uncommon, their brightness can make it difficult to accurately measure the galaxies they ...

Jul 27, 2026
Phys.org / Seabirds trade their own survival to raise more chicks after energy-intensive breeding seasons

Wild seabirds that face high energy demands during the breeding season go on to migrate farther and raise more chicks the next year, but at a cost to their own survival. An international team led by researchers from Nagoya ...

Jul 27, 2026
Phys.org / New quantum chip architecture could use built-in vibrations to link distant qubits

A new concept from Warwick researchers could help solve one of the biggest challenges to building large-scale quantum computers: enabling communication between vast numbers of quantum bits (qubits) over long distances across ...

Jul 27, 2026
Phys.org / Simple semiconductor films break light's front-back symmetry

Light typically interacts with a material the same way whether it enters through the front or the back—like polarized sunglasses that work the same from either side. Cornell researchers have demonstrated a simple route to ...

Jul 27, 2026
Phys.org / Scientists pinpoint where cells first begin copying DNA

Researchers at the MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences (LMS) and collaborators have uncovered one of the earliest steps in DNA replication: the moment a cell first opens its DNA to begin making a copy of its genome. The findings, ...

Jul 27, 2026
Phys.org / Long-term study finds widespread lithium in drinking water across communities in the western U.S.

Lithium in drinking water is a widespread and persistent source of human exposure across Tribal communities in the Western United States, according to a new study from Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health. ...

Jul 27, 2026
Phys.org / Saber-toothed cats' spinal tumors suggest inbred species struggled to survive

The fossilized spines of saber-toothed cats in the La Brea Tar Pits reveal evidence of an unexpectedly high prevalence of rare spinal nerve tumors, suggesting that the species became inbred just before extinction. These tumors, ...

Jul 27, 2026
Phys.org / AI tools for predicting protein folding produce chemically impossible structures and need human oversight

Researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) have found that today's leading artificial intelligence tools for predicting protein structures routinely generate results that are physically and chemically impossible, ...

Jul 27, 2026