Phys.org news

Phys.org / Soil ecoacoustics: Researchers call for global effort to listen underground

An international team of researchers has mapped a new way forward to monitor the health of the planet by listening to the soil beneath our feet.

Jan 19, 2026 in Biology
Phys.org / Teen girls cannot escape unrealistic beauty ideals on social media, researchers say

Girls between the ages of 13 and 19 are widely exposed to beauty content online that promotes products unsuitable for young skin—even when they are not actively seeking beauty-related information. Moreover, they believe ...

Jan 19, 2026 in Other Sciences
Phys.org / Twisted 2D materials get an ultraclean, scalable upgrade for future quantum devices

Exciting electronic characteristics emerge when scientists stack 2D materials on top of each other and give the top layer a little twist.

Jan 19, 2026 in Nanotechnology
Phys.org / Vibrational spectroscopy technique enables nanoscale mapping of molecular orientation at surfaces

Sum-frequency generation (SFG) is a powerful vibrational spectroscopy that can selectively probe molecular structures at surfaces and interfaces, but its spatial resolution has been limited to the micrometer scale by the ...

Jan 19, 2026 in Nanotechnology
Phys.org / Ecosystem productivity shapes how soil microbes store or release carbon, challenging old assumptions

Soils store more carbon than the atmosphere and vegetation combined, with soil microorganisms playing the main role. As a result, the global soil carbon cycle—by which carbon enters, moves through, and leaves soils worldwide—exerts ...

Jan 19, 2026 in Earth
Phys.org / Woodland birds living among native trees produce more chicks, study shows

Native trees, such as oaks, have long held a special place in our culture and countryside. Now, researchers have shown that these trees are also important to woodland birds and their offspring.

Jan 19, 2026 in Biology
Phys.org / Nanoscopic raft dynamics on cell membranes successfully visualized for first time

A collaborative team of four professors and several graduate students from the Departments of Chemistry and Biochemical Science and Technology at National Taiwan University, together with the Department of Applied Chemistry ...

Jan 19, 2026 in Biology
Phys.org / Endometrial mRNA therapy to treat infertility finds early success

Researchers from the Wilmer Eye Institute, Johns Hopkins Medicine Center for Nanomedicine—which designs nanotechnology-based platforms for clinical translation across specialties—developed a strategy for delivering therapeutic ...

Jan 19, 2026 in Nanotechnology
Phys.org / MOSAIC platform compiles chemistry protocols for faster drug design

Speeding up drug discovery in the age of AI may come down to a concept that's comfortingly old-fashioned: Consulting a chemistry recipe book.

Jan 19, 2026 in Chemistry
Phys.org / Catalyst selectivity as a balancing act: Co₃O₄ 'trapped' in transition shows peak activity

In a study appearing in Nature Catalysis, researchers from the Inorganic Chemistry Department of the Fritz Haber Institute reveal how structural changes on the surface and in the bulk region of the cobalt oxide catalyst Co3O4 ...

Jan 19, 2026 in Chemistry
Phys.org / New class of strong magnets uses earth-abundant elements, avoids rare-earth metals

Georgetown University researchers have discovered a new class of strong magnets that do not rely on rare-earth or precious metals—a breakthrough that could significantly advance clean energy technologies and consumer electronics ...

Jan 18, 2026 in Physics
Phys.org / Experiments bring Enceladus' subsurface ocean into the lab

Through new experiments, researchers in Japan and Germany have recreated the chemical conditions found in the subsurface ocean of Saturn's moon, Enceladus. Published in Icarus, the results show that these conditions can readily ...

Jan 18, 2026 in Astronomy & Space