Phys.org news

Phys.org / Weak sea-surface temperature gradients may fuel stronger tropical cyclones

The fact that the ocean gets colder as you go deeper is fairly intuitive, but a similar gradient exists along the surface of the ocean, even at scales of 1 kilometer to tens of kilometers. A new study, published in the Proceedings ...

4 hours ago
Phys.org / US politics is not the world's template for polarization, experts warn

Common global narratives about political polarization are skewed because of an overreliance on literature about the U.S., leaving governments unprepared to tackle the problem at home. In new research led by King's College ...

2 hours ago
Phys.org / When biology inspires mathematics: Hidden symmetries explain why widely used evolutionary methods can give false answers

Why do some groups of organisms contain thousands of species while others have only a handful? Evolutionary biologists have spent decades trying to answer this question using mathematical models that estimate how biological ...

4 hours ago
Phys.org / Iguanodon shinbone growth may be first evidence of an infected skin ulcer in a dinosaur

Fossilized bones can reveal a wealth of details about animals, including their size, appearance, what they ate and any injuries they may have suffered. In a paper published in the journal Royal Society Open Science, researchers ...

4 hours ago
Phys.org / AI automates the creation of custom functional materials atom by atom

Imagine a construction site where the bricks are individual molecules and the "cranes" are microscopic needles so sharp they can feel a single atom. For decades, building at this scale was a laborious, time-consuming task ...

2 hours ago
Phys.org / A new layer of the human genome: Embedded RNA marks may reshape DNA twisting

A new study led by Francesca Storici, a professor in the School of Biological Sciences and faculty member of the Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience, has uncovered an unexpected feature of human DNA ...

3 hours ago
Phys.org / NASA rocket takes first multi-point look inside radio-disrupting clouds

High above Earth, thin veils of metallic haze drift through the edge of space. Known as sporadic E layers, these high-altitude "clouds" form from the vaporized dust of burned-up meteors, earning their name from the unpredictable ...

3 hours ago
Phys.org / Animal-bone records reveal how cattle and sheep fueled medieval England's changing economy

As populations expanded in medieval England, key changes occurred in the uses of cattle and sheep to produce food and materials, according to a study published Sept. 2, 2026, in the journal PLOS One by Matilda Holmes of the ...

3 hours ago
Phys.org / Physicists test the weak equivalence principle in an orbiting space station

The weak equivalence principle (WEP) is central to Einstein's general relativity. It posits that gravity must accelerate everything equally, regardless of what it is made from. For the first time, a team led by Ming-Sheng ...

7 hours ago
Phys.org / New nanostructure makes non-linear light conversion 72,000 times more efficient

Researchers from Graz University of Technology (TU Graz), Harvard and the University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin) have developed an innovative method for coupling light non-linearly. This opens up new possibilities for ...

3 hours ago
Phys.org / More than 120 molecular species found in giant cloud near Milky Way's center

Astronomers have discovered a second interstellar cloud near the center of the Milky Way that is extraordinarily rich in complex molecules, including several molecules associated with prebiotic chemistry. The newly studied ...

8 hours ago
Phys.org / New 'devil flower' species discovered in Thai national park

Researchers have described a new species of leafless flowering plant found on the forest floor of a national park in western Thailand, and its otherworldly appearance has earned it a fittingly dramatic name: Thismia daemona, ...

5 hours ago