Phys.org news

Phys.org / TRACERS spacecraft maps solar energy's route into Earth using cusp electrons

Physicists led by the University of Iowa have documented in the finest detail to date how energy from the sun interacts with Earth's magnetic field, which could yield greater insight into solar effects on Earth that drive ...

23 hours ago
Phys.org / Fusion reactors could be monitored for covert plutonium production

In the next few decades, many physicists are hopeful that nuclear fusion could become a realistic source of practically limitless energy. But before this can happen, it will be critical to ensure that reactors cannot be covertly ...

Jun 13, 2026
Phys.org / Chandra resolves NGC 6540's mysterious X-ray flare into three separate sources

Using NASA's Chandra X-ray spacecraft, astronomers have performed deep X-ray observations of a galactic globular cluster known as NGC 6540. The new observational campaign, described June 1 on the preprint server arXiv, focused ...

Jun 13, 2026
Phys.org / El Niño arrives and could rank among strongest events since 1950

The phenomenon El Niño has arrived, the U.S. weather agency said Thursday, and scientists expect the pattern, synonymous with droughts, floods and soaring temperatures, will intensify through the end of the year, potentially ...

Jun 13, 2026
Phys.org / New atlas reveals more about how the body's 'master gland' really works

A new study has created a detailed map of the pituitary gland, often called the body's "master gland" because it controls important functions such as growth, stress and reproduction. Researchers from the Center for Craniofacial ...

Jun 13, 2026
Phys.org / When motion prevents order in active matter systems

Pack enough string-like objects together, and they will begin to align with one another. But replace the strings with worms or bacteria living in your gut, and this self-organization becomes much more difficult. A team of ...

Jun 13, 2026
Phys.org / Heat-surviving cyanobacteria switch to respiration when photosynthesis falters, 48-hour test reveals

A new study challenges a long-standing assumption about how cyanobacteria survive environmental stress. The study, led by researchers at the Israel Oceanographic and Limnological Research (IOLR)—the Kinneret Limnological ...

Jun 13, 2026
Phys.org / Harmonic radar tags reveal how mosquitoes move through fields and parkland

It's an insect everybody loves to hate. Pesky mosquitoes will be out in swarms as the weather warms up across the U.S.—and their bites aren't just itchy. They can transmit pathogens that can cause diseases like West Nile ...

Jun 13, 2026
Phys.org / Forecast flags 210 antimicrobial resistance traits that could spread by 2050

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is considered one of the most urgent global public health threats, with experts predicting that AMR could cause 39 million deaths between 2025 and 2050. AMR is not a single problem, but instead ...

Jun 13, 2026
Phys.org / Saturday Citations: JAXA collaboration with toy company TOMY; a new brain-computer interface; IBD solved

This week's notable citations: Astronomers believe collapsing stars could spawn mini universes. Chimpanzees do not like unfairness. And a single dose of psilocybin temporarily restored function in an 80-year-old with Alzheimer's ...

Jun 13, 2026
Phys.org / Engineering enzymes with potential against ALS and Parkinson's disease

In an advance that could one day lead to new treatments for neurodegenerative diseases, Meredith Jackrel, an associate professor of chemistry in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, and her team have developed ...

Jun 13, 2026
Phys.org / AI sorts cell droplets into four shapes, uncovering drug effects in human cells

Researchers at Princeton University have harnessed AI to understand how drugs affect the dynamics of vital structures within the cell, introducing a tool that can map the shape of these structures to functional outcomes and ...

Jun 13, 2026