Phys.org news

Phys.org / Nearby rocky planet may be replenishing helium from atmosphere, study finds

Nearly a decade after the discovery of LHS 1140b, a rocky exoplanet in the habitable zone of a nearby low-mass star, a new study reveals that the object may have its own atmosphere.

Jul 16, 2026
Phys.org / Scientists invent new board games to reveal how we tackle the unknown

Playing board games can be fun, challenging, infuriating and a great way to pass the time. They can also help scientists understand how we solve new problems.

Jul 16, 2026
Phys.org / Rare mutations are helping dangerous hospital bacteria slip past the last-line antibiotic defense

Another last-resort antibiotic has fallen victim to the rapid evolution of drug-resistant superbugs. The powerful antibiotic combination ceftazidime-avibactam (CZA), widely used to treat severe hospital-acquired infections ...

Jul 16, 2026
Phys.org / Tunas and other ocean predators may have evolved more slowly than previous research predicted

Today, oceans host a large variety of fast, resilient marine predators, including tunas, mackerels and various other fish species. Many of these fish belong to a lineage known as Scombridae, whose members are characterized ...

Jul 16, 2026
Phys.org / Single fission experiment maps excess gamma rays from more than a dozen unstable nuclei

In a single experiment, physicists have measured the "excess" emission of high-energy gamma rays from more than a dozen heavy, unstable atomic nuclei. Mapping the gamma-ray emissions of so many isotopes produced in nuclear ...

Jul 16, 2026
Phys.org / Webb telescope discovers hidden planet in famous star system

Astronomers using NASA's James Webb Space Telescope have discovered a giant planet outside our solar system, called an exoplanet, hiding within one of the most intensely studied planetary systems in the Milky Way galaxy.

Jul 16, 2026
Phys.org / Chemists shrink gallium nitride, the material behind LED lighting, into nanocrystals

Nanocrystals are so useful that they formed the basis of the 2023 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. But despite their usefulness, scientists have so far been able to make these microscopic crystals from only a limited palette of ...

Jul 16, 2026
Phys.org / A new 'library' for Feynman integrals

Theoretical physicists at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) have developed a new method of ordering Feynman integrals. This critical step in making theoretical predictions for high-energy precision measurements has ...

Jul 16, 2026
Phys.org / Graphene nanoribbons survive gamma radiation, revealing potential sensors for fusion reactors

University of Arizona researchers have demonstrated a promising new application for graphene nanoribbons, a nanoscale semiconductor material with the potential to withstand extreme environments. The team's findings could ...

Jul 16, 2026
Phys.org / Scientists create stable 'boron graphene' and uncover quantum liquid crystal state

Graphene has long been regarded as one of the most promising materials for future electronics, but its relatively weak electron interactions have limited its potential for applications such as high-temperature superconductivity. ...

Jul 16, 2026
Phys.org / Listening to 'ringing' black holes unlocks future gravitational-wave astronomy

Listening to the "ringing" produced by black holes after they collide and merge could allow scientists to test Einstein's theory of general relativity under the most extreme conditions in the universe while unlocking the ...

Jul 16, 2026
Phys.org / Cold radioactive molecules prepped and readied for physics discoveries

For the first time, researchers have developed a way to create chilled molecules containing the radioactive element radium. The resulting laboratory concoctions, generated in part through steps similar to those used to make ...

Jul 16, 2026