Phys.org news

Phys.org / Scientists turn 'mess' into breakthrough: Chaotic design unlocks next-generation optical devices

Researchers from the Monash University School of Physics and Astronomy have flipped a long-held assumption in optics, showing that deliberately introducing controlled disorder into ultra-thin optical devices can dramatically ...

Apr 10, 2026
Phys.org / Yellowstone's magma plumbing mainly shaped by tectonic forces—not deep mantle plume

A lot of research goes into determining how to best predict the next eruption of the Yellowstone supervolcano. Part of this involves pinning down how the magma migration system functions and evolves over time. The exact mechanism ...

Apr 10, 2026
Phys.org / Archaeological survey at Gnith reveals new details about pearl millet's westward expansion

A study published in Azania: Archaeological Research in Africa sheds new light on the westward spread of pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum) agriculture in prehistoric West Africa. A recent survey documented its earliest known ...

Apr 10, 2026
Phys.org / Peculiar core-collapse supernova breaks the mold with a long, dim plateau

Astronomers from the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) have employed the Lijiang 2.4-m telescope to perform optical photometric and spectroscopic observations of a core-collapse Type IIP supernova designated SN 2024abfl. ...

Apr 10, 2026
Phys.org / Dual-frequency Paul trap shows potential for synthesizing antihydrogen outside of CERN

A new type of radiofrequency trap can capture particles with extremely different requirements and could theoretically hold both types of particles at the same time. Researchers in the group of Professor Dmitry Budker from ...

Apr 10, 2026
Phys.org / Back-to-back Amazon droughts trigger record forest stress

Two back-to-back droughts in 2023 and 2024 caused the most severe decline in forest moisture and biomass (the total mass of living vegetation such as leaves, trunks and branches) in the Amazon since 1992, according to a study ...

Apr 10, 2026
Phys.org / Universal surface-growth law confirmed in two dimensions after 40 years

Crystals, bacterial colonies, flame fronts: the growth of surfaces was first described in the 1980s by the Kardar–Parisi–Zhang equation. Since then, it has been regarded as a fundamental model in physics, with implications ...

Apr 10, 2026
Phys.org / SoCal's hybrid bees outsmart Varroa mites before they even hatch

Southern California is home to a flying black-and-yellow treasure. While commercial honeybee hives nationwide are collapsing under attack from deadly parasites, a unique hybrid bee found only in this part of the state has ...

Apr 10, 2026
Phys.org / Parachutes: A vital part of Artemis II's trip home

As the Orion spacecraft hurtles home, friction caused by reentry into Earth's atmosphere will drastically decrease its speed from a potential 25,000 miles per hour (40,000 kilometers per hour).

Apr 10, 2026
Phys.org / From teeth to thorns: Coincidences shape the universal form of nature's pointed tips

We thought it was evolution, but an experiment with pencils shows that tips like teeth and thorns may owe their rounded shape to mechanical wear. Most of us have been stung by a bee, bitten by an animal, or scratched by a ...

Apr 10, 2026
Phys.org / Camera-tagged Adélie penguins caught eating sea snails in East Antarctica

There are many poorly understood links in the food web, often referred to as trophic relationships. Out in East Antarctica, a previously unconfirmed link between sea snails and Adélie penguins might reveal more than meets ...

Apr 10, 2026
Phys.org / SNIPE bacterial defense system shreds phage DNA before infection can begin

What if the Trojan horse had been pulled to pieces, revealing the ruse and fending off the invasion, just as it entered the gates of Troy? That's an apt description of a newly characterized bacterial defense system that chops ...

Apr 10, 2026