Phys.org news

Phys.org / Methane's missing emissions: The underestimated impact of small sources

Methane is a potent greenhouse gas, with an impact estimated at 80 times that of CO₂. Although efforts are being made to reduce the contribution of big polluters to methane in Japan, new research from Osaka Metropolitan ...

Feb 24, 2026 in Earth
Phys.org / With the flip of a switch, scientists harness light to program how particles interact and assemble

NYU scientists are using light to precisely control how tiny particles organize themselves into crystals. Their research, published in Chem, provides a simple and reversible method for forming crystals that can be used to ...

Feb 24, 2026 in Chemistry
Phys.org / Finding the honey bee dance floor: New method shows how it moves within the hive

When honey bees find a good source of food, they return to their hive and perform a waggle dance. It consists of a series of movements that communicate the direction and distance to nectar, pollen or water relative to the ...

Feb 23, 2026 in Biology
Phys.org / 40,000-year-old Stone Age symbols may have paved the way for writing, long before Mesopotamia

Over 40,000 years ago, our early ancestors were already carving signs into tools and sculptures. According to a new analysis by linguist Christian Bentz at Saarland University and archaeologist Ewa Dutkiewicz at the Museum ...

Feb 23, 2026 in Other Sciences
Phys.org / Ant queen frozen in time: New ant species found in Dominican amber

A study by Dr. Gianpiero Fiorentino and his colleagues, published in the Journal of Paleontology, describes the identification of a new species of ant, Hypoponera electrocacica, belonging to the genus Hypoponera and representing ...

Feb 23, 2026 in Biology
Phys.org / Quantum algorithm beats classical tools on complement sampling tasks

Quantum computers—devices that process information using quantum mechanical effects—have long been expected to outperform classical systems on certain tasks. Over the past few decades, researchers have worked to rigorously ...

Feb 23, 2026 in Physics
Phys.org / Earth's mantle may have been cooler than thought before Pangea's breakup

When the supercontinent Pangea began to fragment around 200 million years ago during the Early Jurassic, it reshaped the face of the planet. Vast new oceans opened, continents drifted apart and the familiar geography of today ...

Feb 23, 2026 in Earth
Phys.org / Astronomers discover rare super-Jupiter orbiting distant star

Using NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), an international team of astronomers has discovered a new exoplanet orbiting a distant star known as TIC-65910228. The newfound alien world is slightly larger and ...

Feb 23, 2026 in Astronomy & Space
Phys.org / Mysterious Greek inscription reignites debate on whether a Syrian mosque stands atop Roman Emperor Elagabalus' Temple

A recently discovered Greek inscription at the base of a column inside the Great Mosque of Homs in Syria has rekindled a longstanding scholarly debate about the exact location of the Temple of the sun, whose high priest ascended ...

Feb 23, 2026 in Other Sciences
Phys.org / CT scans of Inca child sacrifices reveal new details about capacocha rituals

The Incas were known to engage in a sacrificial ritual involving children to appease their gods. Archaeologists have found and analyzed the remains of these human sacrifices, although not all of them have undergone CT scanning, ...

Feb 23, 2026 in Other Sciences
Phys.org / Curiosity rover captures Martian spiderwebs up close

For about six months, NASA's Curiosity Mars rover has been exploring a region full of geologic formations called boxwork, low ridges standing roughly 3 to 6 feet (1 to 2 meters) tall with sandy hollows in between. Crisscrossing ...

Feb 23, 2026 in Astronomy & Space
Phys.org / How horses whinny: Helium tests reveal whistling while singing mechanism

A horse's whinny is an unusually distinctive mix of sounds including both high and low frequencies. Reporting in Current Biology, researchers demonstrate how horses produce high-frequency sounds that defy their large size ...

Feb 23, 2026 in Biology