Phys.org news
Phys.org / Deep Earth model traces 270 million years of seamount formation across oceans
Over 40,000 seamounts—undersea mountains that don't breach the ocean's surface—are scattered across the ocean floor. Some form linear chains, while others occur as dispersed, isolated features that are not part of well-defined ...
Phys.org / Benzene reaction may explain how DNA and RNA building blocks formed on early Earth
Caltech researchers have identified a novel chemical reaction that could explain the formation of the building blocks of DNA and RNA, the molecules that encode all of life's functions. The work is an important step toward ...
Phys.org / Ultrafast laser pulses reveal a material's hidden state of matter
What would it take to instantly transform a material from an electrical insulator into a conductive state without ever touching it? Using ultrafast laser pulses and powerful X-rays, scientists at the National Synchrotron ...
Phys.org / Most precise measurement of the force that binds nuclear matter achieved
Trinity's Prof. Stefan Sint, along with collaborators from Germany, Spain and Italy, has published the most precise determination to date of the strong coupling constant. This parameter governs the interactions between quarks ...
Phys.org / Redefined conformity model beats averaging in five real-world tests of opinion dynamics
Imagine you poll your friends on how many minutes per pound to roast a turkey. Five respond with 15 minutes; one answers 33 minutes. The most popular model of conformity, the French-Harary-DeGroot model (or more commonly, ...
Phys.org / PACE satellite tracks fall colors with near-daily global coverage
Researchers have developed a new approach using data from NASA's Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem (PACE) satellite to observe the timing and progression of fall colors across landscapes.
Phys.org / Digital tools reveal hidden extinctions as AI reshapes global conservation
In a seismic shift since Kew's inaugural State of the World report 10 years ago, the sixth State of the World's Plants and Fungi report, published June 16, 2026, brings together expertise from more than 400 scientists across ...
Phys.org / Newfound rice gene shifts flowering by 1.5 hours to dodge heat damage
With El Niño-driven heat and prolonged dry spells threatening rice production, scientists from Japan's National Agriculture and Food Research Organization (NARO), other Japanese research institutions and the International ...
Phys.org / Climate change reshapes Spain's rockfall risk as frost weathering moves uphill
Climate change is altering where and when rocks are most likely to fracture across Spain, according to new research that suggests warming temperatures are redistributing a key process responsible for breaking down mountain ...
Phys.org / Critical cellular system discovery may lead to treatment of some cancers
A molecular geneticist at Montana State University has discovered a cellular process once believed impossible by scientists—the creation of the amino acid cysteine within a living cell when the cell's primary systems for ...
Phys.org / New imaging technique measures single scramblase proteins, revealing lipid transport rates
A new single-protein analysis technique gives researchers an unprecedented ability to study proteins called scramblases, which have critical roles in biology. The development of the new technique, in a study led by investigators ...
Phys.org / Pixels preserve world's rarest porpoise to 3D digital archive as extinction risk grows
The vaquita (Phocoena sinus), an elusive porpoise found only in the shallow waters of Mexico's northern Gulf of California, is one of the rarest and most endangered marine mammals on Earth. Measuring about 5 feet (1.5 meters) ...
