Phys.org news

Phys.org / Undergraduate student may have solved puzzle regarding isolated galaxies that have stopped producing stars

An undergraduate astrophysics student at UC Berkeley has found three unusual galaxies—cataloged as Shapiro Dwarf Galaxies I, II and III. Each galaxy is far from other galaxies and has stopped making stars, a combination that ...

Oct 7, 2026
Phys.org / Nobel physics winner's pride at pioneering AI role

Francis Halzen, winner of the Nobel Prize in physics, spoke with pride on Wednesday about his early promotion of artificial intelligence in his research on neutrinos.

Oct 7, 2026
Phys.org / Acoustic experiments confirm topology can persist at gapless critical points

Two studies on critical topology have recently been published in the journal Nature. These studies were led by the teams of Prof. Baile Zhang at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, and Prof. Jianhua Jiang at the ...

Oct 7, 2026
Phys.org / Penguin poop is melting Antarctic snow by keeping algae green

Penguin poop is fertilizing snow algae blooms along the Antarctic Peninsula, feeding dense green algae patches along the coastline, a new study shows. These expanding stretches of green snow melt faster than clean, white ...

Oct 7, 2026
Phys.org / Superbug P. aeruginosa uses two protein plugs to seal channels against antibiotics

A joint research team has identified a new mechanism underlying antibiotic resistance in Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a major multidrug-resistant "superbug." The discovery provides important clues for the development of new treatments ...

Oct 7, 2026
Phys.org / Hawaiian hot spot study uncovers evidence of true polar wander

On Earth, everything is moving. The planet spins, the tectonic plates shift and the spin axis wobbles, as do the magnetic poles, which makes determining how things move a rather tricky proposition. For Rice University's Richard ...

Oct 7, 2026
Phys.org / One quantum material, two superconducting states: Stretching helps explain conflicting experiments

Unconventional superconductors can host unusual electronic states, but understanding what drives their superconductivity becomes difficult when different forms of order coexist. The kagome metal CsV3Sb5 has become a particularly ...

Oct 7, 2026
Phys.org / Orangutan mothers seek out playmates for their young

Playing with peers is a crucial part of growing up—so crucial that orangutan mothers will go out of their way to arrange playdates for their young, according to a 15-year study of wild Bornean orangutans.

Oct 7, 2026
Phys.org / Snowball Earth's iron deposits may have formed through microbes living without sunlight

Iron is one of the most abundant metals on Earth's surface, yet how such massive iron ore deposits formed throughout geological history has long remained a mystery. The prevailing theory has been that ancient photosynthetic ...

Oct 7, 2026
Phys.org / Dogs and owners disturb each other in the night, but still get pretty good sleep

Sleeping alongside your dog probably doesn't disrupt your sleep as much as you might think, according to a study published Oct. 7, 2026, in the journal PLOS One by Ming Fei Li of the University of Toronto, Canada, Lavania ...

Oct 7, 2026
Phys.org / 194-year-old tortoise reveals stable gene switches that may help resist aging

Researchers studying a giant tortoise named Jonathan say it's not just good genes but a lack of genetic wear and tear that has kept him going for nearly two centuries.

Oct 7, 2026
Phys.org / Flexible tails could boost ancient sea predators' ambush speeds, fossil-based models suggest

Some of the giant marine reptiles that ruled the seas during the age of dinosaurs were better built for surprise attacks, while their relatives were better suited to chasing prey through open water, according to a Rutgers-led ...

Oct 7, 2026