Phys.org news

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 ...

14 hours ago
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, ...

14 hours ago
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 ...

18 hours ago
Phys.org / New technique sharpens predictions of metal alloy behavior by capturing subtle atomic patterns

Companies working at the frontier of aerospace, energy and computing are constantly looking for new materials to improve performance. But in order to understand how those materials will actually behave once they're inside ...

14 hours ago
Phys.org / Microbial partners may help maize and sorghum respond to higher temperatures

New research suggests the microbiome near the surface of a plant's roots, known as the rhizosphere microbiome, may play a role in helping crops respond to heat stress.

15 hours ago
Phys.org / Unearthed bathhouse reveals a thriving Roman Nijmegen: 'The Romans did not regard this city as a backwater'

Excavations in Nijmegen-West have uncovered large sections of a Roman bathhouse. It is the largest bathhouse complex from the Roman period in the Netherlands. Radboud researcher Stephan Mols can often be found at the excavation ...

18 hours ago
Phys.org / Student makes first recorded sighting of a microwhip scorpion in the Daintree Rainforest

A James Cook University Ph.D. student's late-night solo survey has led to the first recorded sighting of a microwhip scorpion in the Daintree Rainforest. JCU entomologist and taxonomist Matthew Connors works at the university's ...

19 hours ago
Phys.org / Shining light into unhatched eggs could allow for chicken 'gender reveals'

Scientists have demonstrated a noninvasive technique that uses light to reveal the hidden contents of chicken eggs, potentially helping to curb the meat industry's practice of killing billions of male chicks at birth. The ...

17 hours ago
Phys.org / Palm oil, coconut and soybean drive more species extinction than previously thought

Oils from crops such as coconut, palm oil and soybean are used in a range of applications, from cosmetics and makeup to margarine and spreads, and from medicines to animal feed. These oil crops, as they are known, are increasingly ...

23 hours ago
Phys.org / Molecular simulations uncover why water nanodrops spread thin on hydrophilic surfaces

Why does water roll off a duck's back but spread on clean glass? For macroscopic (millimeter-scale) drops, this behavior can be explained using continuum theory. However, when nanoscale (10–9 mm) droplets spread on surfaces, ...

23 hours ago
Phys.org / Arabian Sea humpback whale's long-distance trip further highlights species' unique ecology

Off Oman's coast lives a small population of just over 80 Arabian Sea humpback whales (ASHWs). They are classified as endangered and are thought to be the only humpback whale population that doesn't undertake seasonal migrations ...

Jun 19, 2026
Phys.org / Ripple-like rings of the 'Bullseye galaxy' could be explained by dark matter

Two U.S. physicists have suggested that the nine concentric rings surrounding the galaxy LEDA 1313424, also known as the Bullseye galaxy, could have emerged through the quantum behavior of particles of dark matter. Through ...

Jun 18, 2026