Phys.org news
Phys.org / Greenhouse gases hit record highs, yet again
Levels of carbon dioxide (CO₂) and other major greenhouse gases in the atmosphere reached unprecedented highs in 2025, locking in more long-term warming for the planet, according to a new report from the World Meteorological ...
Phys.org / Climate health harms outpace action, prompting calls for global health emergency
The 2026 Report of The Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change finds that many of the health risks and harms of climate change grew faster in the decade since the Paris Agreement was introduced (2016–2025) than in the ...
Phys.org / Open database tracks Earth's water cycle by standardizing decades of satellite data
All water comes from somewhere. Researchers who want to know where it comes from rely on water isotopes, variants of water molecules with slightly different masses, as location identifiers. In particular, the specific ratio ...
Phys.org / Rice plants can fight off devastating disease after gene editing with AI-designed tool
University of Missouri researchers have created rice plants that resist bacterial blight, a devastating disease that threatens one of the world's most important food crops. The advance could help farmers in parts of Asia ...
Phys.org / The mathematics of growing a shell—recreating diverse mollusk shells with just three inputs
Kaushik Bhattacharya is an engineer and materials scientist, but he has always been fascinated by seashells. Part of the draw is the "beautiful" idea that even simple organisms like mollusks can construct wonderfully complex ...
Phys.org / What makes us human? Researchers compare brain development in humans and great apes
How did the human brain become so much larger than that of our closest evolutionary relatives? Part of the answer lies not in new genes, but in how humans and non-human apes use the genes they share. Using brain organoids ...
Phys.org / Quantum sensor loop design could improve magnetic measurements for medicine and communications
Adelaide University quantum engineers have found a new way to improve some of the world's most sensitive sensors of electromagnetic fields, a breakthrough that could help advance brain imaging, medical diagnostics, communications ...
Phys.org / The way Earth's 'thermostat' works may have changed during Pangea era
Life arose on Earth at least 3.5 billion years ago, and our planet has remained habitable ever since—not too hot, not too cold. These life-sustaining conditions are possible in part thanks to a built-in, carbon cycle–based ...
Phys.org / A dinosaur fossil that looks like a mini T. rex just sold for a giant $47 million
A dinosaur that looks like a miniature T. rex is now one of the world's most expensive fossils.
Phys.org / Quantum gates set speed record at 6.8 nanoseconds with over 99.98% accuracy
Researchers from Jülich, Aachen and Cologne have performed a quantum operation on a qubit in just 6.8 nanoseconds—with more than 99.98% accuracy. Such operations typically take several tens of nanoseconds in superconducting ...
Phys.org / Paleontologists reveal the hidden role of eye pigments in vertebrate evolution
Paleontologists at University College Cork have discovered that the evolution of fish is linked to the shape, location and abundance of tiny melanin-rich granules called melanosomes. These features survive in 300-million-year-old ...
Phys.org / Perseverance offers clues to protect crews from ultrafine Mars dust
Over 1,645 Martian days, NASA's Perseverance Mars rover measured the fine and ultrafine Martian dust particles found clinging to samples of spacesuit materials that are carried aboard the rover, including particles small ...
