Phys.org news

Phys.org / New quantum boundary discovered: Spin size determines how the Kondo effect behaves

Collective behavior is an unusual phenomenon in condensed-matter physics. When quantum spins interact together as a system, they produce unique effects not seen in individual particles. Understanding how quantum spins interact ...

Jan 20, 2026 in Physics
Phys.org / AI-driven ultrafast spectrometer-on-a-chip advances real-time sensing

For decades, the ability to visualize the chemical composition of materials, whether for diagnosing a disease, assessing food quality, or analyzing pollution, depended on large, expensive laboratory instruments called spectrometers. ...

Jan 20, 2026 in Physics
Phys.org / How light suppresses virulence in an antibiotic-resistant pathogen

Light is a universal stimulus that influences all living things. Cycles of light and dark help set the biological clocks for organisms ranging from single-celled bacteria to human beings. Some bacteria use photosynthesis ...

Jan 20, 2026 in Biology
Phys.org / South Pole Telescope detects energetic stellar flares near center of galaxy

Researchers from the South Pole Telescope project team looked deep into the center of the Milky Way, discovering powerful, surprising bursts of light from two accreting white dwarf systems.

Jan 20, 2026 in Astronomy & Space
Phys.org / Anglo-Saxon center unearthed near Skipsea castle

Archaeologists working near Skipsea Castle in East Yorkshire say a series of rare discoveries is transforming understanding of life in the centuries before the Norman Conquest.

Jan 20, 2026 in Other Sciences
Phys.org / Scientists plan deep-sea expedition to probe 'dark oxygen'

A team of scientists announced Tuesday they have developed new deep-sea landers specifically to test their contentious discovery that metallic rocks at the bottom of the ocean are producing "dark oxygen".

Jan 20, 2026 in Earth
Phys.org / Direct visualization captures hidden spatial order of electrons in a quantum material

The mystery of quantum phenomena inside materials—such as superconductivity, where electric current flows without energy loss—lies in when electrons move together and when they break apart. KAIST researchers have succeeded ...

Jan 20, 2026 in Physics
Phys.org / ChatGPT found to reflect and intensify existing global social disparities

New research from the Oxford Internet Institute at the University of Oxford, and the University of Kentucky, finds that ChatGPT systematically favors wealthier, Western regions in response to questions ranging from "Where ...

Jan 20, 2026 in Other Sciences
Phys.org / How shifting tectonic plates drove Earth's climate swings

Carbon released from Earth's spreading tectonic plates, not volcanoes, may have triggered major transitions between ancient ice ages and warm climates, new research finds.

Jan 20, 2026 in Earth
Phys.org / Beyond chemistry: How mechanical forces shape brain wiring

During brain development, neurons extend long processes called axons. Axons link different areas of the brain and carry signals within it and to the rest of the body. Growing axons "wire up" the brain by following precise ...

Jan 20, 2026 in Biology
Phys.org / Bubble netting knowledge spread by immigrant humpback whales, study finds

New research from the University of St Andrews has found that the social spread of group bubble-net feeding among humpback whales is crucial to the success of the population's ongoing recovery.

Jan 20, 2026 in Biology
Phys.org / Water makeup of Jupiter's Galilean moons set at birth, new study finds

While Io, the most volcanically active moon in the solar system, appears completely dry and devoid of water ice, its neighbor Europa is thought to harbor a vast global ocean of liquid water beneath its icy crust. A new international ...

Jan 20, 2026 in Astronomy & Space