Phys.org news

Phys.org / How animals communicate to work together across species boundaries

An international team of researchers have published a new review in Animal Behavior revealing how communication enables cooperation between different animal species. The review, titled "The ecology and evolution of cues and ...

Jun 19, 2026
Phys.org / Tiny objects swimming in a superfluid of light move against the flow

Superfluids are intriguing states of matter in which particles behave like a giant collective wave, allowing them to flow without any friction. When this fluid flows past a fixed obstacle at a velocity below a specific threshold, ...

Jun 19, 2026
Phys.org / Powerful seismic waves from Japan's 2011 earthquake struck Earth's core and bounced back up, moving the island eastward

In 2011, Japan reeled from the effects of a devastating magnitude 9.0 earthquake. But unnoticed in the chaos resulting from the quake, its major aftershocks and the tsunami it caused, something strange happened. About 16 ...

Jun 19, 2026
Phys.org / New JWST images of abnormally well-developed galaxy cluster open up the 'cosmic noon' frontier

A stunningly concentrated and hefty galaxy cluster, from a time in the universe's history when such massive structures aren't expected to have fully formed yet, is challenging cosmic evolution theories. Across a series of ...

Jun 19, 2026
Phys.org / From birds to fish, how extreme heat causes wildlife to suffer

Like humans, wildlife is increasingly vulnerable as climate change fuels longer and more intense heat waves, disrupting feeding and breeding and, in extreme cases, proving fatal.

Jun 19, 2026
Phys.org / Plant hormones in mammals challenge view of cytokinins as purely botanical

In biology, cytokinins were long considered regulators exclusive to the plant kingdom, where they control, among other things, growth and responses to stress. Until now, little research has been conducted into whether these ...

Jun 19, 2026
Phys.org / Bullet Cluster observations reopen dark matter debate with MOND-compatible explanation

The Bullet Cluster has so far been considered evidence of the existence of dark matter. An international team of researchers has now analyzed new data and current images from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). According ...

Jun 19, 2026
Phys.org / AI reveals unexpected source of antibiotic candidates in prion proteins

New antibiotic candidates for drug-resistant bacteria may reside inside prions, misfolded proteins in the brain best known for rare and fatal degenerative brain diseases. Prion and prion-like proteins may hide short peptides, ...

Jun 19, 2026
Phys.org / Stressed-out soil bacteria adapt to environmental conditions

A new study from Caltech demonstrates that soil bacteria can adapt under stress, particularly when a key nutrient, phosphorus, is running low in their environment. The work is important for understanding the complex relationships ...

Jun 19, 2026
Phys.org / 15-atom iridium nanoclusters stay stable 20 hours, outperform commercial catalysts

An international research team from Tohoku University, Tokyo University of Science, Vanderbilt University and the University of Adelaide has discovered a novel, exceptionally simple method to precisely synthesize extremely ...

Jun 19, 2026
Phys.org / Hidden underground, fungi drive carbon storage, crop health and ecosystem stability

Fungi are key constituents of the soil microbial community, playing a major role in moving carbon and energy through the soil food web. A recent analysis carried out by Professor Matthias C. Rillig from Freie Universität ...

Jun 19, 2026
Phys.org / A new way to control tiny quantum light sources by twisting atomically thin layers of hexagonal boron nitride

In a paper published in Science Advances, researchers at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) in collaboration with the University of Minnesota and Kyung Hee University have found a new way to control quantum light sources, ...

Jun 19, 2026