Phys.org news

Phys.org / How hidden viruses wake up inside seaweed and pass on to future generations

Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Biology Tübingen have shown that giant viruses long thought to exist only as fleeting, free-living particles that can embed themselves permanently in the genome of a multicellular ...

May 18, 2026
Phys.org / Indian and Tibetan wolves reveal ancient lineages with unexpected genomic diversity

Wolves in India, like the pack that raised Mowgli in "The Jungle Book," can often feel disconnected from both the research and storytelling of wolves. Rice University professor Lauren Hennelly is working to change that. Her ...

May 18, 2026
Phys.org / Copper-based sensor explains key defense signaling in stressed plants

Researchers at the Institute of Transformative Bio-Molecules (WPI-ITbM), Nagoya University, together with collaborators from RIKEN Center for Sustainable Resource Science (RIKEN CSRS) and The University of Osaka, have uncovered ...

May 18, 2026
Phys.org / Chemical pathway unlocks next-generation infrared III–V nanocrystals

A research team led by Professor Sohee Jeong at Sungkyunkwan University has uncovered a key chemical pathway for the controlled synthesis of III–V semiconductor quantum dots, a class of next-generation infrared materials ...

May 18, 2026
Phys.org / Machine learning reveals 5-angstrom sweet spot behind metallic glass stability

Using the second-nearest neighboring atoms to predict metallic glass stability can help researchers more accurately model the disordered solid with strong, elastic properties, according to a recent study led by University ...

May 18, 2026
Phys.org / People overestimate how confident AI systems are in their responses, experiments reveal

Artificial intelligence (AI) systems, particularly conversational agents such as ChatGPT or Gemini, are now used daily by a growing number of people worldwide. While many users trust the answers of AI agents to their queries, ...

May 17, 2026
Phys.org / Neutrino flavor flips could be key to triggering supernovae

Despite being so elusive, neutrinos are produced in abundance in some of the most violent events in the universe. One of their strangest properties is that they can spontaneously switch between three types, or "flavors": ...

May 17, 2026
Phys.org / eROSITA discovers a 'changing-look' Seyfert galaxy

Astronomers have tracked a dramatic "changing-look" active galactic nucleus (AGN) whose central supermassive black hole appeared to switch off and then rapidly reignite. The galaxy, HE 1237−2252, dimmed in X-rays by a factor ...

May 17, 2026
Phys.org / Surrounded by stardust: Antarctic ice cores confirm Earth is accumulating iron-60 from local interstellar cloud

Our solar system is currently passing through the Local Interstellar Cloud, a region of highly diluted gas and dust between the stars. On its path, Earth continuously accumulates iron-60, a rare radioactive isotope of iron ...

May 17, 2026
Phys.org / Roadmap charts three paths to room-temperature quantum materials for cooler computing

Imagine a laptop that never gets hot, a phone that holds its charge for days, or a computer memory chip designed to permanently retain data, even when the power goes out. This is the possibility sitting inside a remarkable ...

May 17, 2026
Phys.org / New spacecraft will watch Earth's shield take the hit as solar storms come roaring in

A joint European-Chinese spacecraft is set to blast off Tuesday to investigate what happens when extreme winds and giant explosions of plasma shot out from the sun slam into Earth's magnetic shield.

May 17, 2026
Phys.org / Hidden cell networks emerge in 3D as new nanoscopy tracks living bridges

A new nanoscopy technique developed at The Australian National University (ANU) has uncovered hidden networks used for communication between cells, opening new ways to understand human diseases. Described in an article published ...

May 17, 2026