Phys.org news

Phys.org / Hat wars of early modern England reveal how manners make the rebel

From refusing to doff hats in court to resisting hat-snatching highway robbers, England's relationship with hats goes far deeper than fashion, new research shows.

Apr 9, 2026
Phys.org / Medieval Japanese poetry and buried trees help elucidate volatile space weather

On Earth, extreme solar activity often appears as beautiful, benign auroras. But venturing beyond the safety of the Earth's magnetic field, one faces the full brunt of a temperamental star that can suddenly erupt with flares ...

Apr 9, 2026
Phys.org / Liquid-like histone H1 'glues' nucleosomes, reshaping how DNA compacts

DNA inside the nucleus is not packed as a rigid regular fiber—linker histone H1 dynamically binds and loosely "glues" nucleosomes together, creating a dynamic, fluid organization that can still support essential genome functions.

Apr 9, 2026
Phys.org / Carbon nanotube fiber sensors achieve record measurement error below 0.1%

Skoltech scientists, in collaboration with colleagues from China and Iran, have taken a major step toward creating highly precise carbon nanotube fiber (CNTF)-based sensors. In a paper published in the iScience journal, the ...

Apr 9, 2026
Phys.org / Houston, we have a problem ... with the toilet

After a successful trip around the moon, everything has been going smoothly on the Orion spacecraft's journey back to Earth—except for the $23 million toilet, which has gotten clogged.

Apr 9, 2026
Phys.org / Nickel catalyst enables precision mirror-image assembly for key drug scaffolds

A research team led by Prof. Sangwon Seo of the Department of Physics and Chemistry at DGIST has developed a catalytic technology that can easily and elaborately assemble key structural frameworks that serve as the scaffold ...

Apr 9, 2026
Phys.org / Street green space can help cool cities, but it will not be enough on its own

A new IIASA-led study finds that expanding street green space can reduce urban heat stress in cities worldwide, but even ambitious greening efforts are unlikely to offset a significant share of the additional heat expected ...

Apr 9, 2026
Phys.org / Deadly heat thresholds have already being crossed in six recent heat waves, study shows

Deadly heat wave events are occurring at temperatures and humidity levels previously thought to be survivable, according to a new paper by a team of international researchers, including from The Australian National University ...

Apr 9, 2026
Phys.org / Hydroxyl radicals in UV-exposed water reveal surprising reaction pathway

How do radicals form in aqueous solutions when exposed to UV light? This question is important for health research and environmental protection. For example, with regard to the overfertilization of water bodies by intensive ...

Apr 9, 2026
Phys.org / High levels of forever chemicals found in Svalbard reindeer

Svalbard reindeer live in a place so remote they have actually evolved to become a subspecies. But that remoteness isn't enough to protect them from contaminants from the industrial world.

Apr 9, 2026
Phys.org / Integrative experiment design reveals hidden patterns in decades-old social science research

Research from MIT Sloan School of Management has demonstrated a new way of designing social science experiments that can uncover patterns invisible to common approaches. In their paper titled "Integrative experiments identify ...

Apr 9, 2026
Phys.org / Unlocking the hidden metabolism of algae to advance the promise of renewable fuels and sustainable biomass

Researchers at the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center have solved a long-standing mystery of how a model green microalga reorganizes its central metabolism to supercharge growth when given access to both light and a carbon ...

Apr 9, 2026