Phys.org news

Phys.org / Permafrost melt could cost $261 billion in infrastructure damages, study suggests

A new study provides insight into the economic impact of melting permafrost on Arctic communities. Permafrost is ground that permanently remains below freezing for at least two consecutive years. Permafrost covers about 24% ...

Sep 3, 2026
Phys.org / Scientists solve years-long mystery of 'beating' signal in a quantum material

A team of Korean researchers has become the first in the world to identify the origin of the "beating" signal that has long been a major obstacle to interpreting quantum signals in topological insulator (TI) nanowires. Their ...

Sep 3, 2026
Phys.org / Scientists studying cockroach milk and nose-blowing win Ig Nobel prizes for quirky science

Ten research teams were honored Thursday at a satirical science awards ceremony that was hosted outside the U.S. for the first time due to travel concerns.

Sep 3, 2026
Phys.org / Microbes—dead or alive—can be early indicators of soil health under regenerative farming

Researchers have demonstrated a series of biological tests that could serve as "proxies" for measuring how different regenerative agriculture practices could improve soil carbon—years before it would be possible to measure ...

Sep 3, 2026
Phys.org / Bacterial nanoplatform reprograms spleen immune cells to help prevent cancer recurrence

A research team led by Professor Yong Taik Lim at the SKKU Advanced Institute of Nanotechnology (SAINT), Sungkyunkwan University, have developed an engineered nanoplatform named t-SMC (trained immunity-mediated splenic myelopoiesis ...

Sep 3, 2026
Phys.org / 'Power of disorder' tames CF₄, a semiconductor greenhouse gas that can persist for 50,000 years

Among the gases used in semiconductor manufacturing, tetrafluoromethane (CF₄) is a greenhouse gas more than 6,000 times as potent as carbon dioxide.

Sep 3, 2026
Phys.org / Nanoscale multiferroic materials open the path to efficient magnetic memory technology

With the rapid spread of cloud computing, artificial intelligence and data centers, global energy consumption is rising to new heights. A promising way to reduce this burden is to develop memory devices that store information ...

Sep 3, 2026
Phys.org / Underwater meadows sustain millions in extreme poverty

A study provides the first large-scale empirical evidence that seagrass meadows act as a critical safety net for millions of coastal people living in extreme poverty across the Indo-Pacific.

Sep 3, 2026
Phys.org / Heavy water's atmospheric fingerprints boost weather forecasts for up to five days

Weather forecasts rely on many different kinds of data, including temperature, humidity and wind. For the first time, researchers, including those at the University of Tokyo, have demonstrated that a long-theorized improvement ...

Sep 3, 2026
Phys.org / 'Green thumb' molecule helps leaf stalks grow in crowded conditions

Potassium (K) is one of the three essential nutrients for plants. It plays a critical role in a wide range of processes, including cell growth, photosynthesis and regulation of water balance. Plants take up K from the soil ...

Sep 3, 2026
Phys.org / Microbial 'dark matter' yields 173 potential carbon dioxide-fixing strains

There are millions of species of bacteria and archaea on Earth, remarkably little is known about most of them. Now, researchers have mined the genomes of thousands of microorganisms preserved at the RIKEN BioResource Research ...

Sep 3, 2026
Phys.org / First DDT, now the flu: Peregrine falcons in San Francisco Bay Area hit hard by H5N1 variant

Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) featured prominently in the news during 2020 as it took the lives of millions of birds across the globe. While the worst seems to be behind us, population-level effects are just now ...

Sep 3, 2026