Phys.org news

Phys.org / New models shed light on how an exotic phase of hydrogen in Earth's core may behave

While Earth's core consists mostly of iron, its density implies that lighter elements are also mixed in. Because hydrogen is abundant in the universe and can mix with iron under certain conditions, scientists suspect it makes ...

Aug 3, 2026
Dialog / How to keep the Earth habitable when the sun dies

In a billion years, the sun will start to run out of fuel and expand to become a red giant. Earth's oceans and atmosphere will be burned away, and Earth will likely be engulfed by the sun altogether. The sun will then shrink ...

Aug 3, 2026
Phys.org / New museum find shows nature can't stop inventing seahorses

At first glance, it looks exactly like a seahorse. It has the same horse-shaped head tilted down from the body, the same curled, grasping tail and, in the males, a fully enclosed pouch for brooding the young.

Aug 3, 2026
Phys.org / Geological evidence questions the role of Agulhas Leakage in Atlantic Ocean circulation

For decades, scientists have asserted that the leakage of warm, salty Indian Ocean water south of South Africa into the Atlantic is a major contributor to the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC), a component ...

Aug 3, 2026
Phys.org / Rising seas are inundating US coastal wetlands, putting many on track to become open water

Along the three coasts of the contiguous United States, a silent race unfolds. Fueled by climate change, sea levels rise faster than at any time in recent geologic history. Meanwhile, coastal wetlands cling to a slim lead, ...

Aug 3, 2026
Phys.org / Marine microbes point to ancient seawater source beneath Antarctica's Blood Falls

Salty water flowing through Antarctica's Blood Falls contains a distinct community of marine-specific microorganisms, providing evidence that the brine system beneath the glacier has a marine origin, according to a paper ...

Aug 3, 2026
Phys.org / August's total solar eclipse will sweep over Spain, Iceland and Greenland

For the first time in more than a century, a total solar eclipse is coming to mainland Spain with an even longer encore next summer.

Aug 3, 2026
Phys.org / Homo antecessor skull layers resemble modern humans and Neanderthals, fragments suggest

A new study provides quantitative data on cranial vault thickness in Homo antecessor, based on the analysis of three parietal fragments recovered from the Gran Dolina site in the Sierra de Atapuerca, Burgos, Spain.

Aug 3, 2026
Phys.org / Stomach stone hypothesis sheds light on the evolution of dinosaur digestive systems

An international research team led by Assistant Professor Ryuji Takasaki of the Faculty of Biosphere-Geosphere Science at Okayama University of Science has published a paper proposing a new hypothesis on the evolutionary ...

Aug 3, 2026
Phys.org / Bringing it all into focus—computational microscope captures 25.2 billion pixels per second across a wide field of view

When designing microscopes, optical engineers have long faced a trade-off between speed, field of view and resolution. But improving one of these properties typically comes at the expense of another. Now, a UC Berkeley–led ...

Aug 3, 2026
Phys.org / Life speaks one universal language to activate genes: It speaks many more to silence them

The signals that cells use to switch genes on have remained almost unchanged across 2 billion years of evolution, but the ones used to switch genes off vary dramatically from one branch of life to another, according to a ...

Aug 3, 2026
Phys.org / Seven new diamond frog species reveal Madagascar's hidden amphibian diversity

An international team of scientists has described seven new species of Madagascar's elusive diamond frogs (Rhombophryne), revealing that one of the island's most mysterious groups of amphibians is even more diverse than previously ...

Aug 3, 2026