Phys.org news

Phys.org / Independent measurement strengthens the case for toponium

A new independent measurement by the CMS experiment at the LHC is consistent with the existence of the most massive composite particle ever observed, the momentary union of a top quark and its antiquark

Mar 26, 2026
Phys.org / Medieval DNA reveals trans-Saharan connections, rapid genetic mixing and leprosy in Islamic Ibiza

Medieval Ibiza was far from a quiet Mediterranean backwater. New DNA evidence shows that the island was part of a dynamic world linking Europe, North Africa and even the Sahel zone, south of Sahara. An international research ...

Mar 26, 2026
Phys.org / Light-activated nanoparticles trigger copper overload to kill cancer cells

Cuproptosis was discovered in 2022. It was a previously unknown type of cell death caused by an excess of copper. The research group led by Professor Johannes Karges at Ruhr University Bochum, Germany, used this mechanism ...

Mar 26, 2026
Phys.org / Experimental evidence shows how photons spread across multiple paths in an interferometer

The nature of quantum particles has long puzzled scientists. While single-particle interference suggests that a photon can behave like a spread-out wave, a whole photon is only ever detected in one specific place. Traditional ...

Mar 26, 2026
Phys.org / How Neanderthals used a lakeshore in Germany to hunt, butcher and survive

In 1948, a group of amateurs led by a local headmaster in Lehringen, Germany, uncovered the skeleton of a straight-tusked elephant—the largest land mammal known to have roamed Europe—in 125,000-year-old sediments from the ...

Mar 26, 2026
Phys.org / Tale of the lava heron: Student describes new Galapagos species

The Galapagos Islands are famous for the discoveries that shaped Charles Darwin's theory of evolution. Now an SFSU graduate has added one more: Ezra Mendales (M.S., '23) describes a new species as part of his master's thesis. ...

Mar 26, 2026
Phys.org / 'Near-misses' in particle accelerators can illuminate new physics, study finds

Particle accelerators reveal the heart of nuclear matter by smashing together atoms at close to the speed of light. The high-energy collisions produce a shower of subatomic fragments that scientists can then study to reconstruct ...

Mar 26, 2026
Phys.org / Why cells respond 'incorrectly' in old age

Some of the signs of aging in human cells originate in the cell nucleus, because the packaged form of DNA changes with age. This has now been demonstrated by PSI researchers. It means that older cells can no longer react ...

Mar 26, 2026
Phys.org / New model finds complex earthquake patterns of the Phlegraean Fields near Naples

The Phlegraean Fields volcanic complex, located beneath the metropolitan area of Naples—a city of 900,000 inhabitants in Italy—has been rising increasingly since 2005, accompanied by a growing number of small earthquakes. ...

Mar 26, 2026
Phys.org / Tiny LED design could power next-generation technology

From 3D movie screens to augmented-reality devices, many modern technologies rely on our ability to manipulate light. Doing so in a cost-effective and efficient way, however, is often a formidable task. In an article published ...

Mar 26, 2026
Phys.org / New synthetic origin of replication lets multiple plasmids coexist in one bacterial cell

"If it ain't broke, don't fix it," goes the old adage, which Rice University professor James Chappell completely ignored in a recent Nature Communications publication. In the study, Chappell describes an innovation in plasmids, ...

Mar 26, 2026
Phys.org / From engineered fungal molecules to drug leads, chem-bio hybrid synthesis enables antiparasitic drug discovery

Amebiasis is a parasitic disease caused by the microscopic protozoan Entamoeba histolytica. Infection occurs through the ingestion of cysts from contaminated water or food. Worldwide, approximately 50 million symptomatic ...

Mar 26, 2026