Phys.org news

Phys.org / Waikīkī faces escalating threat of sewage-contaminated flooding as sea level rises

A new study by University of Hawai'i at Mānoa researchers revealed that Waikīkī is facing a fundamental shift in flood hazards as sea levels rise—transitioning from a flooding that is driven primarily by rainfall to events ...

Apr 16, 2026
Phys.org / Confirming altermagnetism in an abundant mineral

Also known as magnetoelectronics, spintronics rely on electron spin rather than electron charge, as found in traditional electronics. Although spintronics is still an emerging field, spintronic technologies are already found ...

Apr 16, 2026
Phys.org / Uranus's two outer rings show starkly different origins

Astronomers using the W. M. Keck Observatory on Maunakea, Hawaiʻi Island are revealing new insight into the composition and origins of Uranus's two outer rings. Using data from the Keck Observatory Archive (KOA), combined ...

Apr 16, 2026
Phys.org / Laser method unlocks 3,000-Kelvin thin-film synthesis for quantum materials

Thin films might not come up in conversation every day, but they are all around us. Take the metallic plastic films of chip bags, for example, or the anti-reflective coatings on eyeglasses. Even the coatings on pills that ...

Apr 16, 2026
Phys.org / Bird and tortoise fossil tracks on South Africa's coast: Latest findings are world firsts

The south coast of South Africa's Western Cape province is a rich source of fossil tracks and traces—clues suggesting what this environment may have been like many thousands of years ago.

Apr 16, 2026
Phys.org / 'Dancing jets' from black hole reveal an immense power equivalent to 10,000 suns

New Curtin University-led research has used a radio telescope that spans Earth to snap images that measure the immense power of jets from black holes, confirming scientists' theories of how black holes help shape the structure ...

Apr 16, 2026
Phys.org / Relocating Venice among the options explored to protect the city against sea-level rise

Relocating the city of Venice is among four potential options—including movable barriers, ring dikes and closing the Venetian Lagoon—that could help it adapt to future sea-level rise over the next 200 years, according to ...

Apr 16, 2026
Phys.org / For regrowing human limbs, this salamander gene could hold the key

Investigating a common gene in three very different species—salamanders, mice and zebrafish—scientists have discovered the potential for a novel gene therapy aimed at eventually regrowing limbs in humans, according to new ...

Apr 16, 2026
Phys.org / eROSITA disentangles the solar system's X-ray glow from deep-space signals

Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics scientists have been able to disentangle the X-ray glow originating in our solar system from similar emission reaching us from deep space, using data from the SRG/eROSITA ...

Apr 16, 2026
Phys.org / ALMA confirms rare quasar pair at redshift 5.7 in merging galaxies

Using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), astronomers have discovered a close pair of quasars, which is a result of a distant massive galaxy merger. The detection of the quasar pair was detailed in a ...

Apr 16, 2026
Phys.org / Polymer physics reveals DNA loops are formed by single molecular motors

Scientists from Skoltech and the University of Potsdam have developed a physical theory that sheds light on how molecular motors organize the three-dimensional structure of the genome. Using theoretical polymer physics and ...

Apr 16, 2026
Phys.org / Solar flares' domino effect isn't limited to the sun, 16,000-star sweep reveals

Our sun is a roiling mass of energy, with solar flares exploding on its surface, sending gas, plasma, and light that blasts across the solar system. When radiation from extra-powerful flares breaks through Earth's outer protective ...

Apr 16, 2026