Phys.org news

Phys.org / North Sea 'lost world' had habitable forests during the last Ice Age, study shows

Forests were growing on the now-submerged landmass of Doggerland thousands of years earlier than previously believed, according to a major new sedimentary ancient DNA (sedaDNA) study led by the University of Warwick. The ...

Mar 11, 2026
Phys.org / AI weather models show promise for hurricane forecasts, but new study finds key physical limitations

Artificial intelligence is rapidly transforming weather prediction, enabling forecasts that once required hours of supercomputing time to run in just minutes. But as AI tools play an expanding role in high-stakes hazard modeling, ...

Mar 11, 2026
Phys.org / Fish study shows that sexual harassment behavior might matter for ecosystems

For decades, ecologists have known that how a species looks or eats affects its environment. But a new study by researchers at the University of California, Santa Cruz, shows that social behavior related to mating can be ...

Mar 11, 2026
Phys.org / Fluid simulation at unprecedented scale provides toolkit for fundamental physics and applied fluid engineering

What governs the speed at which raindrops fall, sediment settles in river estuaries, and matter is ejected during a supernova? These questions circle around one, deceitfully simple factor: the rate at which a fluid filled ...

Mar 11, 2026
Phys.org / Study finds nanocube cation exchange can begin on one face, not six

In a paper published today in Nature Synthesis, a team from the lab of University of Chicago Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering (UChicago PME) and Chemistry Department Prof. Paul Alivisatos explores the role of cation ...

Mar 11, 2026
Phys.org / Researchers mix X-rays and optical light to track speedy electrons in materials

To unlock materials of the future, including better photocatalysts or light-switchable superconductors, researchers need to understand how the valence electrons within materials respond to light at the atomic scale. Materials ...

Mar 11, 2026
Phys.org / Florida's most at-risk bat moves into safer artificial roosts

Finding bats in the attic or under roof tiles is no homeowner's idea of fun. But Florida's endangered bonneted bats have few natural options left. With a dwindling number of large, old trees with cavities—their preferred ...

Mar 11, 2026
Phys.org / King penguins are the rare species benefiting from a warming world. But that could change

The warming world has disrupted the timing for plant and animal reproduction, and it's usually bad news for species that depend on each other—like flowers blooming too early and pollinating bees arriving too late. But researchers ...

Mar 11, 2026
Phys.org / Artificial kinetochores take the pressure off aging chromosomes during meiosis

For sexual reproduction to yield healthy offspring, newly generated oocytes—immature egg cells—must receive the correct amount of DNA after cell division. This process of segregating chromosomes becomes more prone to ...

Mar 11, 2026
Phys.org / Ancient DNA reveals Ice Age mammals thrived after volcanic eruption

For the first time, scientists have used DNA preserved in ancient sediments to examine how a major natural disaster affected animal populations. A new study of a catastrophic volcanic eruption during the Ice Age has found ...

Mar 11, 2026
Phys.org / Trouble swallowing? A nanogel tweak may keep therapeutic stem cells alive longer

Swallowing is a fundamental human function that supports nutrition and communication. Damage to swallowing muscles can reduce quality of life and even lead to aspiration pneumonia or malnutrition. Many patients suffer from ...

Mar 11, 2026
Phys.org / Uncovering the hidden bacteria often mistaken for cholera

Scientists have created a genomic blueprint for Aeromonas bacteria, which can cause antibiotic-resistant diarrheal disease—with symptoms often misidentified as cholera—in humans and animals.

Mar 11, 2026