Phys.org news

Phys.org / Organic luminescent radicals enable bright circularly polarized light in the near-infrared region

Circularly polarized light has properties that make it useful in a growing range of technologies, from next-generation 3D displays to bioimaging tools that can detect signals deep within living tissues. One way to produce ...

May 9, 2026
Phys.org / New catalyst unlocks carbon-free ammonia heat for steel, cement and chemicals

A single-atom platinum catalyst lights ammonia at 200 °C and keeps it burning steadily at 1,100 °C with low NOx, generating high-grade, carbon-free heat for steel, cement and chemicals.

May 9, 2026
Phys.org / AI cuts wildlife tracking time from months to days

Artificial intelligence can dramatically speed up the painstaking work of tracking wildlife with remote cameras, cutting analysis time from months or even a year to just days while producing nearly the same scientific conclusions ...

May 9, 2026
Phys.org / Saturday Citations: Psychedelic therapeutics; interoception and well-being; a hidden linguistic bias

This week, researchers reported that the human brain is capable of sophisticated language processing while in an unconscious state during general anesthesia. An informatics and computing professor found that the Climate TRACE ...

May 9, 2026
Phys.org / This tiny grain-of-rice sensor gives robots a new sense and changes what delicate tools can detect

Researchers have developed a sensor about the size of a grain of rice that can measure forces and twisting motions in all directions using light instead of traditional electronics. The new sensor could help robotic tools ...

May 9, 2026
Phys.org / Antarctica sea ice collapse driven by triple whammy of climate chaos, scientists find

Antarctica is being ravaged by a triple-whammy of climate chaos that has melted sea ice to record lows, a new study has revealed. For decades, the frozen wilderness at the bottom of the world defied global warming trends, ...

May 8, 2026
Phys.org / Northern Sri Lanka's oldest confirmed settlement reshapes what archaeologists thought about early island life

A study published in the Journal of Island and Coastal Archaeology has identified the earliest evidence of prehistoric occupation by island dwellers of northern Sri Lanka. Long thought to be unsuitable for human occupation ...

May 8, 2026
Phys.org / The moon's largest impact crater scattered something priceless—and Artemis may be heading straight into it

A new study, published in Science Advances, has refined some important details about the moon's largest and oldest impact crater, which stretches more than 1,200 miles (2,000 km) on the far side of the moon. The new details ...

May 8, 2026
Phys.org / Dinosaur dental fossils reveal bird-like parental care bonds

Baby dinosaurs were likely fed more nutritious food than their adult counterparts, a finding that could offer insights into their social evolution, suggests a new study. Paleontologists uncovered this finding by studying ...

May 8, 2026
Phys.org / Old bottles and battery acid can drive production of valuable industrial chemicals

Battery acid from old cars, with a little help from a catalyst, can give plastic waste a new purpose, using it to drive the production of useful chemicals, powered by sunlight alone. A recent study by researchers at the University ...

May 8, 2026
Phys.org / The first direct observation of laser-created isolated hopfions

Over the past few decades, some physicists worldwide have been investigating unusual particle-like magnetic structures known as topological solitons. These structures could potentially be leveraged to develop new cutting-edge ...

May 8, 2026
Phys.org / TikTok algorithm showed a pro-Republican bias during the last US presidential election

TikTok's algorithm did not treat Democrats and Republicans equally during the 2024 US presidential election. According to a paper published in Nature, its recommendation system showed a Republican-leaning skew in three states. ...

May 8, 2026