Phys.org news

Phys.org / Algorithms create foundry-ready photonic circuits

Photonic microchips can process data at extremely high speeds and are embedded in a wide variety of today's technologies. Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light (MPL) and Harvard University have ...

Jul 24, 2026
Phys.org / New methods for removing harmful nitrates from drinking water identified

Nitrate contamination of drinking water poses a major health concern, particularly in agricultural communities where fertilizers, livestock manure and septic systems can leach nitrates into groundwater. Many rural households ...

Jul 24, 2026
Phys.org / Magnetic clues inside atomic nuclei help explain how elements form in stars

A scientific team led by Facility for Rare Isotope Beams, or FRIB, has identified the origin of a mysterious excess of low-energy gamma rays emitted by the nucleus zinc-70. They found that the excess is caused by magnetic ...

Jul 24, 2026
Phys.org / Can a robot tutor give too much help? Why timing matters

A learner stands in a room with a bottle, a cup and a book. The task is to figure out, step by step, where each object belongs in the room. Under the table? Or perhaps on the chair? A humanoid robot gives the instructions—but ...

Jul 24, 2026
Phys.org / Cutting out the noise: How horseshoe bats adapt their echolocation behavior in colonies

Imagine searching for a gemstone in a dark cave: You use a flashlight, looking for a rainbow-colored glint in the darkness. Now, imagine 10 other people in the cave with you, using different-colored flashlights at the same ...

Jul 24, 2026
Phys.org / Gold-catalyzed chemical reaction advances next-generation anticancer prodrugs

Anticancer prodrugs have attracted significant attention from the medical and scientific communities in recent years because of their potential to improve treatment precision while reducing side effects. These drugs are engineered ...

Jul 24, 2026
Phys.org / World's first 'zinc oxide spin qubit' could advance scalable quantum devices

A research team led by SKKU professor Hosung Seo of the Department of Quantum Information Engineering and the SKKU Advanced Institute of Nanotechnology, working with the University of Wisconsin–Madison and the University ...

Jul 24, 2026
Phys.org / Io's volcanic output offers a 40‑day forecast of plasma density in Jupiter's magnetosphere

A careful statistical comparison of observations recorded by NASA's Juno mission and the Planetary Science Institute's Io Input Output observatory (IoIO) shows that IoIO observations reliably predict the density of Jupiter's ...

Jul 24, 2026
Phys.org / Fat-storing cell structures may block viral spread by recruiting antiviral proteins

La Trobe University scientists have uncovered the critical role fatty cell structures play in our body's early detection and defense against viruses. Published in Nature Communications, the discovery could open the door to ...

Jul 24, 2026
Phys.org / Young rift flanks suggest Venus remains tectonically active

Venus is an inhospitable place, with temperatures soaring to several hundred degrees Celsius (hundreds of degrees Fahrenheit) and no oceans like those on Earth. Planetary scientists long believed Venus was geologically dormant. ...

Jul 24, 2026
Phys.org / Combining AI protein design with laboratory evolution improves engineered enzymes

When scientists want to create a protein that can potentially treat disease, one approach is to begin with a different protein and evolve it in the lab, selecting over many generations for versions with a new, desired function.

Jul 24, 2026
Phys.org / Metal-ion coating improves extracellular vesicles for cancer detection and targeted delivery

Researchers, including those from the University of Tokyo, found a way to optimize how cells bind to small packages they release called extracellular vesicles. By coating the vesicles with metal ions, they made cells and ...

Jul 24, 2026