Phys.org news

Phys.org / Extreme pressure turns blue pigment into record-long single-atom copper chains

As the electronics in our technology keep shrinking, traditional silicon-based chips are approaching their fundamental physical limits. Yet the wires connecting them might be able to shrink beyond conventional dimensions, ...

Sep 6, 2026
Phys.org / 'Quiet' pulsar suddenly reveals three glitches in 15 years of observations

Using more than 15 years of observations from the Parkes radio telescope, astronomers detected three rotational glitches in the pulsar PSR J1637−4642—a young neutron star that had shown no signs of glitches since its discovery. ...

Sep 6, 2026
Phys.org / The extinct American 'cheetah' was not a cheetah after all

With their slender bodies and long front legs, Miracinonyx trumani—often nicknamed the "American cheetah"—was long thought to be a North American analog of the African big cat. But in a new study published in the journal ...

Sep 6, 2026
Dialog / A black hole as light as 40 tons can exist inside a star if dark matter helps

In 1974, Stephen Hawking made a prediction that transformed our understanding of black holes. Black holes, he showed, are not truly black: They slowly lose energy through a quantum process now known as Hawking radiation. ...

Sep 5, 2026
Phys.org / Some disagreement makes groups more trustworthy, mathematical framework finds

When humans are making decisions, they are known not to rely solely on their own considerations and the evidence available to them. Past behavioral science and psychology studies have shown that people are often also influenced ...

Sep 5, 2026
Phys.org / FAST finds two mysterious hydrogen clouds with no visible stars

Astronomers have found two clouds of hydrogen near the Whirlpool galaxy that appear to contain almost no stars. The clouds, discovered with China's FAST radio telescope, each contain roughly 3 million times the mass of the ...

Sep 5, 2026
Phys.org / Lakes aren't just storing water—they're changing the carbon cycle

Lakes may look like picturesque stopping points along a river or stream, but they can have a big influence on what happens to carbon as it moves through a landscape. New research suggests that the more lake-rich a network ...

Sep 5, 2026
Phys.org / Breaking through AlphaFold's limits to predict how proteins change shape

Conformational changes in proteins are vital to their function yet remain challenging for state-of-the-art artificial intelligence, such as AlphaFold3, to predict. Researchers at the Institute for Molecular Science (IMS), ...

Sep 5, 2026
Phys.org / Views from a physician and veterinarian: How to improve barriers to pet care when owners are hospitalized

The human-animal bond is often so strong that pet owners may delay or forgo medical treatment or leave a health care facility against medical advice if they have no one to care for their pet at home. A perspective paper published ...

Sep 5, 2026
Phys.org / Late Roman decrees uncover military system behind amphitheater animal spectacles

A study on Roman law by the Carlos III University of Madrid analyzes the regulations and complex imperial logistics governing the capture, transport and safety of animals used in spectacles in the Roman Empire—which were ...

Sep 5, 2026
Phys.org / New method predicts where massive earthquakes will strike

UC Riverside scientists have developed a way to identify where Earth's biggest earthquakes are most likely to occur, offering a powerful new tool for improving disaster preparation in some of the most dangerous seismic regions.

Sep 5, 2026
Phys.org / Tree species diversity protects forests from climate extremes, study finds

New research has found that tree species diversity can play a crucial role in protecting forests from the growing threat of extreme climate events. The study analyzed data from 88,116 separate forest plots across the United ...

Sep 5, 2026