Phys.org news

Phys.org / Quantum communication protocol enables three users to establish a shared secure key

Quantum key distribution allows two users to establish secret keys whose security is grounded in the laws of quantum mechanics. Extending this capability to multiple users is an essential step toward quantum networks that ...

5 hours ago
Phys.org / A 'rebellious' exoplanet orbits in the opposite direction of its star

A star and its planets form when a cloud of gas and dust collapses in on itself somewhere in space. The cloud then forms a disk around the nascent star, within which the planets will form. This protostar and its disk then ...

6 hours ago
Phys.org / Planetary Health Check 2026 finds mounting pressures across Earth's life support systems

Seven breached Planetary Boundaries continue to worsen as record ocean heat, droughts, floods, wildfires and extreme heat reveal an Earth system under strain, according to the latest Planetary Health Check. The annual update ...

7 hours ago
Phys.org / Environmental science takes an average of seven years to influence international policy, study finds

A new study led by the University of Alicante (UA) and the Mediterranean Center for Environmental Studies (CEAM) analyzes the barriers separating scientific knowledge from environmental policy and its effective implementation. ...

7 hours ago
Phys.org / X-ray light is like guitar music, with frequencies sliding continuously between harmonics

Ultrashort laser pulses can be used to generate X-rays. Normally, however, only certain specific frequencies are produced. A team from TU Wien and the University of California San Diego has developed a method that makes it ...

8 hours ago
Phys.org / Tiny molecular scissors reveal how crystals bend without breaking

Crystals are usually thought of as rigid and brittle. Yet some molecular crystals can bend, jump, twist or even change shape when exposed to light. Understanding how tiny molecular movements inside an ordered crystal can ...

8 hours ago
Phys.org / Flies, mice and humans share a walking pattern despite radically different bodies

Flies, mice and humans move in different ways because of their very different physiques, but their movements follow a common pattern— joints farther from the center of the body move faster than those closer to the body. This ...

8 hours ago
Phys.org / African smoke brightens clouds, but weather patterns offset its cooling effect

Smoke from African agricultural fires brightens clouds over the southeast Atlantic—but new research from scientists at the University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric and Earth Science shows that the same ...

9 hours ago
Dialog / Photonic Legos of functional 3D thin-films unlock high-performance heterogeneous photonic integration

Photonic integrated circuits route information with optical signals instead of relying only on electrical currents. Silicon (Si) and silicon nitride (SiNx) are excellent photonic platforms for waveguides, but they cannot ...

11 hours ago
Phys.org / AI-powered barcode unmasks 'zombie cells' in aging tissue

As we age, some of the cells in our body enter a state of senescence, in which they stop dividing but do not die. Those senescent cells can contribute to age-related disorders such as cancer, tissue degeneration and inflammatory ...

12 hours ago
Phys.org / Children born today in Europe will live through almost twice as much extreme fire weather as their grandparents

A child born in Europe in 2025 will live through more than three additional years of extreme fire weather compared with someone born in 1950 if we continue with current climate policies, according to new research published ...

12 hours ago
Phys.org / Genes that help flatworms regenerate their brains revealed

The human brain is terrible at healing itself from injury or disease. But some animals can harness their own cellular abilities not only to repair injuries but also to regrow their brains entirely. Researchers from the University ...

12 hours ago