Phys.org news

Phys.org / Bowhead whale recovery reflects century-old whaling patterns

An international study led by Adelaide University has found bowhead whale populations are recovering only in stocks where large areas of hazardous sea ice conditions limited devastating hunting centuries ago. The research ...

Apr 28, 2026
Phys.org / Deep-ocean heat has been marching closer to Antarctica, reveals long-term study

A new decades-long study of oceanographic data provides the first evidence that deep-ocean heat has moved closer to Antarctica, threatening the fragile ice shelves that fringe the continent.

Apr 28, 2026
Phys.org / With a swipe of a magnet, microscopic 'magno-bots' perform complex maneuvers

Under a microscope, a bouquet of lollipop-like structures, each smaller than a grain of sand, waves gently in a Petri dish of liquid. Suddenly, they snap together, like the jaws of a Venus flytrap, as a scientist waves a ...

Apr 28, 2026
Phys.org / They cover just 3% of Earth, yet the unanswered questions around them could reshape climate action forever

Researchers including a number from the University of Exeter, have identified the most urgent unanswered questions about peatlands, providing a global roadmap to guide future science and policy for one of the planet's most ...

Apr 28, 2026
Phys.org / Airborne desert dust may warm climate far more than expected, new analysis shows

Atmospheric dust plays a dual role in Earth's climate: it reflects some sunlight back into space while also absorbing and retaining the planet's heat like an insulating blanket. But while dust likely cools the planet overall, ...

Apr 28, 2026
Phys.org / Flipping the K⁺ switch: First potassium-gated ion channel discovered in animal

Researchers from the National Institute for Physiological Sciences, Nagoya City University, and Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Medical Science in Japan have identified the first animal ion channel molecules that open and ...

Apr 28, 2026
Phys.org / Natural rubber process boosts tire toughness about tenfold while preserving stiffness

Natural rubber, tapped from trees as latex, is the world's most widely used bio-elastomer. Comprising long molecular chains that make it pliable and stretchy yet highly resistant to cracking and strain, natural rubber is ...

Apr 28, 2026
Phys.org / Perseverance and Curiosity panoramas reveal dual sides of Mars

NASA's Curiosity and Perseverance rovers have captured two 360-degree landscapes that highlight how the missions are revealing details of the Red Planet's formation, watery past, and potential for life. Located 2,345 miles ...

Apr 28, 2026
Phys.org / A mechanical blue LED: Stretching GaN shifts light from UV to blue without changing chemistry

A research team from the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Hong Kong (HKU) has successfully used mechanical stretching technology to dynamically control the emission color of gallium nitride (GaN) material from ...

Apr 28, 2026
Phys.org / Research reveals why beavers are getting busy sooner in spring

A University of Alberta study has whittled down climate-related reasons beavers are emerging earlier onto the ice from their lodges in the spring—a shift that helps them store more winter food but could also lead to more ...

Apr 28, 2026
Phys.org / Rainforests can buffer rising CO₂ in the short term—but this comes at a cost

Tropical forests are among the world's most important carbon sinks. A new study by the Technical University of Munich (TUM), the University of Vienna, and Brazil's National Institute for Amazonian Research suggests that even ...

Apr 28, 2026
Phys.org / Investigating the disordered heart of glass

Recent research led by the University of Trento reveals that fundamental atomic vibrations remain unchanged also in ultra-stable glasses. This discovery advances the decade-long debate on the physics of disorder and opens ...

Apr 28, 2026