Phys.org news

Phys.org / How information is written in ferroelectric memory at the nanoscale

What happens at the nanoscale when information is written to memory? Researchers at KAIST have shown how tiny regions with a new polarization direction form while previously formed regions continue to expand in a promising ...

Oct 8, 2026
Phys.org / Chemists uncover the true active surface of nickel catalysts

Nickel is a promising, cost-effective and robust catalyst for alkaline water electrolysis—a key technology for the climate-neutral production of hydrogen. However, the actual structure of the active surface of such nickel ...

Oct 8, 2026
Phys.org / Pottery styles reveal contrasting paths to social complexity in Neolithic Europe

Societal changes do not follow a linear path—this also holds true for Neolithic Europe, approximately 8,000 to 4,000 years ago. Two researchers from the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine (NASU) and the Leibniz-Zentrum ...

Oct 8, 2026
Phys.org / Stratospheric winds can warn of extreme energy demand in Europe

A breakdown of normal polar winds in winter raises the chance of extreme cold—and a resulting spike in energy demand—in Europe, new research shows. Normally, strong and stable westerly winds circle high above the Arctic in ...

Oct 8, 2026
Phys.org / Healthy reef sounds can boost coral and fish recovery efforts

Coral reefs are renowned for their visual beauty, but for the marine life they support, their sounds may be just as enticing. Two new studies led by UC San Diego's Scripps Institution of Oceanography reveal how underwater ...

Oct 8, 2026
Phys.org / Nonchaotic model reveals how predictability can emerge from seemingly unpredictable dynamics

Predicting a system's final outcome from its initial state is the ultimate goal for many physicists. In certain complex systems, however, this goal is thwarted by chaos, where even the subtlest tweaks to the initial state ...

Oct 8, 2026
Phys.org / How researchers tell different quantum excitations apart in individual molecules

Molecules can be placed in a wide variety of quantum states. How can these states be distinguished in measurements when theoretical models are unreliable? Which excitation process lies behind which measurement signal?

Oct 8, 2026
Phys.org / Solar Orbiter tracks origin of mysterious magnetic switchbacks

The European Space Agency–led Solar Orbiter spacecraft has flown through an S-shaped kink known as a "switchback" in the solar wind's magnetic field. By fingerprinting the elusive particles within the switchback, Solar Orbiter ...

Oct 8, 2026
Phys.org / Nitrogen fixation 'off switch' discovery could one day help crops make their own fertilizer

Nitrogen is essential for life. It's needed to build proteins, DNA and many other components of cells. Although nitrogen gas makes up almost 80% of Earth's atmosphere, most organisms cannot use it directly. Certain microbes ...

Oct 8, 2026
Phys.org / Cows deliver healthy calves without embryonic protein long thought essential for pregnancy

For decades, scientists have believed that a protein called interferon tau (IFNT) is indispensable for pregnancy in cattle. Produced by the early embryo, it was thought to signal its presence to the mother and prevent the ...

Oct 8, 2026
Phys.org / Layered semiconductor unlocks magnetic control of light emitted by quantum condensates

Quantum technologies are considered key technologies of the future. However, research in this field requires not only scientific expertise but sometimes also highly specialized laboratory conditions. Bose–Einstein condensates ...

Oct 8, 2026
Phys.org / New 'computational microscope' simulates DNA packaging at more than ten times previous scale

The DNA in our cells wraps around proteins called histones to form nucleosomes, which organize into chromatin. This organization helps pack genetic material into the nucleus and influences how easily genes can be read and ...

Oct 8, 2026