Phys.org news

Phys.org / Common Asian plant in Brazil shows potential for removing microplastics from water

A study conducted at the Institute of Science and Technology of São Paulo State University (ICT-UNESP) in São José dos Campos, Brazil, shows that Moringa oleifera, also known as moringa or white acacia, has the potential ...

Apr 16, 2026
Phys.org / Webb's Little Red Dots may reveal how giant black holes formed soon after the Big Bang

The launch of NASA's James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) in 2021 pushed the horizon of seeing the early universe, unveiling cosmic events just a few hundred million years after the Big Bang. Among the most striking discoveries ...

Apr 16, 2026
Phys.org / How a new technique will help us mine rare-earth metals with plants

Researchers have developed a technique for detecting and measuring the concentration of many rare-earth elements in plants, without destroying the plant. The technique can be used to optimize "plant mining" efforts, in which ...

Apr 16, 2026
Phys.org / Massive Atlantic sargassum blooms traced to West Africa

Massive blooms of Sargassum seaweed that have inundated coastlines across the Atlantic since 2011 likely originate off the coast of West Africa—forming years before they are visible and overturning long-standing assumptions ...

Apr 16, 2026
Phys.org / African elephant genomes reveal a past of continental connectivity and a future of increasing isolation

In the largest genomic mapping of Africa's elephants to date, an international team of researchers shows that elephant history is defined by the ability to move across large distances and exchange genes throughout the African ...

Apr 16, 2026
Phys.org / Cyanobacteria surprise scientists with evolutionary shift

Photosynthetic bacteria helped shape planet Earth. Among them are cyanobacteria that produced the oxygen in the atmosphere and made complex life possible, captivating scientists for decades. Now, researchers at the Institute ...

Apr 16, 2026
Phys.org / Quantum Fourier transform reaches 52 qubits, shattering the previous 27-qubit record

The spin-off company ParityQC has implemented the largest quantum Fourier transform ever reported using an IBM quantum computer, thereby setting a new milestone on the path toward the industrial application of quantum computers. ...

Apr 16, 2026
Phys.org / Waikīkī faces escalating threat of sewage-contaminated flooding as sea level rises

A new study by University of Hawai'i at Mānoa researchers revealed that Waikīkī is facing a fundamental shift in flood hazards as sea levels rise—transitioning from a flooding that is driven primarily by rainfall to events ...

Apr 16, 2026
Phys.org / Electric double layer emerges in new electrocatalyst interface model

Hydrogen is at the heart of the transition to carbon neutrality, as both an energy carrier and a reagent for green chemistry. However, large-scale production of hydrogen via electrolysis, as well as the production of many ...

Apr 16, 2026
Phys.org / Confirming altermagnetism in an abundant mineral

Also known as magnetoelectronics, spintronics rely on electron spin rather than electron charge, as found in traditional electronics. Although spintronics is still an emerging field, spintronic technologies are already found ...

Apr 16, 2026
Phys.org / Uranus's two outer rings show starkly different origins

Astronomers using the W. M. Keck Observatory on Maunakea, Hawaiʻi Island are revealing new insight into the composition and origins of Uranus's two outer rings. Using data from the Keck Observatory Archive (KOA), combined ...

Apr 16, 2026
Phys.org / 'Dancing jets' from black hole reveal an immense power equivalent to 10,000 suns

New Curtin University-led research has used a radio telescope that spans Earth to snap images that measure the immense power of jets from black holes, confirming scientists' theories of how black holes help shape the structure ...

Apr 16, 2026