Phys.org news

Phys.org / Fermi mission uncovers possible sibling supernova remnants

A new study of two supernova remnants, the debris left behind after stars explode, suggests the explosions came from stellar siblings that once orbited each other. The first star's detonation sent its binary companion hurtling ...

Jun 18, 2026
Phys.org / Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer reveals four cosmic ray classes across 20 elements, defying current models

Millions of light-years away, millions of years ago, a star exploded. In this violent process, it ejected incredible amounts of mass, including carbon, nitrogen and oxygen—the building blocks of life. In fact, the star may ...

Jun 18, 2026
Phys.org / Asteroid Donaldjohanson wobbles as it rotates, Lucy flyby reveals

Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) scientists studying the inner main-belt asteroid Donaldjohanson have found that its rotation wobbles. Rather than rolling through space in a steady pattern, Donaldjohanson turns on two ...

Jun 18, 2026
Phys.org / Hidden fungus inside desert moss could rewrite 470-million-year story of how plants moved onto land

Mosses are survivors. They can dry into what looks like green dust, only to spring back to life minutes after rain. They can grow on rocks, in deserts, and there's talk of using them to terraform Mars someday. According to ...

Jun 18, 2026
Phys.org / How do flocking birds and schools of fish move? New research offers crystal-clear answer

Flocking birds and schools of fish are a familiar sight. While previous research has uncovered the broad dynamics driving these movements, their underlying intricacies remain a mystery. Now a study by a team of New York University ...

Jun 18, 2026
Phys.org / Suburban street design has driven emissions since WWII, study suggests

Half of all Americans live in the suburbs. For decades, planners and policymakers have blamed suburban sprawl's environmental and social costs on one thing: distance. The farther people live from city centers, the more they ...

Jun 18, 2026
Phys.org / Shell too snug? Hermit crabs have a fix

For decades, biologists have known that hermit crabs forced to live in shells that are too small slow their growth. What wasn't clear was how they did it. New research suggests the answer isn't simply that the crabs eat less. ...

Jun 18, 2026
Phys.org / Out-of-equilibrium cesium atoms reveal fractional Fermi seas, exposing new critical quantum phase

In a new study published in Physical Review Letters, a team from the Nägerl group, together with theory collaborator Alvise Bastianello from the CNRS and the Université Paris-Dauphine, demonstrates that highly unusual quantum ...

Jun 18, 2026
Phys.org / How a telescope's mirror stability makes or breaks exoplanet detection

Finding life beyond our solar system is a major goal of modern astronomy. NASA's planned Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO) aims to take direct images of Earth-sized planets around stars other than our sun. This task, however, ...

Jun 18, 2026
Phys.org / AI-driven optical tweezers sort hundreds of particles per hour without humans

By teaching an AI to use optical tweezers, researchers from the University of Gothenburg and Chalmers University of Technology have sped up the analysis of life's smallest components. The AI platform captures particles, takes ...

Jun 18, 2026
Phys.org / Study yields new insights on what makes conversation engaging

What makes a speaker engaging? Both what is said and how it is said matter, but in different, complementary ways, a new study conducted at the McGill School of Communication Sciences and Disorders has found.

Jun 18, 2026
Phys.org / Heat waves increase wildfire risk—a new study explains how much, and it's not a small number

When heat waves hit the Western United States, the risk of wildfires quickly rises. The prolonged heat dries out vegetation, but that's only part of the cause—heat waves also play other roles in spreading wildfires.

Jun 18, 2026