Phys.org news

Phys.org / A magnetic path to lower-power computing

From smartphones to data centers, modern electronics rely on billions of tiny switches that consume electricity every time they turn on or off. As global demand for computing continues to grow, so does the energy required ...

Aug 13, 2026
Phys.org / Magnetic mystery in thorium clusters resolved by new study

Scientists from the University of Manchester's Department of Chemistry, Centre for Radiochemistry Research and Photon Science Institute, led by Professor Steve Liddle, have uncovered why a rare class of metal clusters appears ...

Aug 13, 2026
Phys.org / Does your city match your relationship status? New study exposes the hidden costs of urban living

Kids, marriage and commute: A study co-authored by Dr. Mariana Macedo of Constructor University provides new insights into how major life transitions alter how individuals navigate and experience urban environments. Published ...

Aug 13, 2026
Phys.org / Satellite data reveal tropical forests respond differently to climate across continents

Satellite images can be used to estimate how much carbon forests store as aboveground biomass (AGB) and how biomass varies in different forests. In a study published in the journal Nature, a team of researchers affiliated ...

Aug 13, 2026
Phys.org / Tracer exchange reveals ions can speed up or slow down inside battery solids

Understanding how ions diffuse in solid materials is essential for technologies including batteries, electronics and chemical catalysts, but it has been hard for a simple reason: the materials are solids.

Aug 13, 2026
Phys.org / Beyond the algorithm, online negativity takes on a life of its own as users try to stand out

It doesn't take a scientist to figure out that social media can trend toward the negative. But it might take one to figure out why. In a new paper in PNAS, professor of psychology Joshua Conrad Jackson and colleagues show ...

Aug 13, 2026
Phys.org / One in four cocoa farm audits contain data manipulated to meet sustainability targets, researchers find

ETH researchers have used a sustainability program for cocoa cultivation in Côte d'Ivoire to demonstrate that, in one in four cases, data was manipulated to meet the program's requirements. If the auditor were aware of the ...

Aug 13, 2026
Phys.org / Soft-bodied sea slug reconfigures anatomy to simplify feeding control

Made entirely of muscle, with no rigid skeleton, muscular hydrostats like octopus arms, elephant trunks and human tongues can move in ways traditional mechanical systems cannot. Between crawling across the seafloor, picking ...

Aug 13, 2026
Phys.org / Understanding nature's 'dimmer switch': Study sheds new light on how algae regulate photosynthesis with pH

A new joint study from Constructor University and Princeton University in the Journal of the American Chemical Society focuses on PC645, a protein complex that contributes to cryptophyte algae's ability to photosynthesize ...

Aug 13, 2026
Phys.org / How to fine-tune molecular structures within vaccines to improve immune responses

A vaccine's molecular structure plays a key role in determining how the immune system responds and prepares to protect the body from future exposure to a specific pathogen. To develop a vaccine that offers long-term protection ...

Aug 13, 2026
Phys.org / Indigenous land restitution empowers communities, but environmental gains require extra support

Charting a better future will require redressing the problems of the past. That's one reason many countries have begun to return dispossessed land to Indigenous peoples. The goal of Indigenous land restitution is to empower ...

Aug 13, 2026
Phys.org / Sugar molecule could help protect against dangerous hospital fungus Candida auris

Researchers have developed a potential new approach against the highly drug-resistant hospital fungus Candida auris. They discovered that a synthetic sugar molecule that is a natural part of the fungus's cell wall, but is ...

Aug 13, 2026