Phys.org news

Phys.org / Specially designed material combines light and electricity to remove PFAS from water without harmful byproducts

Researchers at Clarkson University have reported a breakthrough in tackling per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), a group of widely used "forever chemicals" that are difficult to remove from water and have raised growing ...

23 hours ago
Phys.org / Machine learning offers faster, more reliable analysis of Fermi surfaces in search of spintronic materials

The search for next-generation electronic materials often starts with studying the Fermi surface, which serves as a map of a material's electronic structure. Its shape varies with crystal structure, composition, and electronic ...

23 hours ago
Phys.org / Small differences in cell structures called microtubules determine how well cancer drug performs

A research team from the School of Biomedical Sciences at the LKS Faculty of Medicine, the University of Hong Kong (HKUMed), has uncovered the mechanism underlying how cancer patients respond to a widely used cancer drug, ...

23 hours ago
Phys.org / Bacterial defense system builds DNA in unexpected new way to stop viruses

Scientists at Stanford University have discovered that DRT3, a unique defense system found in bacteria, creates DNA to protect against viral infections. DRT3 is made up of two different enzymes called reverse transcriptases, ...

Apr 27, 2026
Phys.org / How giants that vanished 10,000 years ago triggered ripple effects that are still felt today

Between 50,000 and 10,000 years ago, many of the world's largest mammals disappeared. Picture creatures like saber-toothed cats with 7-inch fangs and elephant-sized sloths. Woolly mammoths whose curved tusks grew longer than ...

Apr 27, 2026
Phys.org / Single X-ray photons reveal hidden light-matter interactions in 50-nanometer double slits

A rainbow reveals with colors what otherwise remains hidden: light is "refracted" by transparent matter, in this case water droplets. This same physical effect underlies many everyday technologies, like LCD screens and broadband ...

Apr 27, 2026
Phys.org / Two suns are better than one—planets thrive around binary stars

Planets may actually form more easily around double stars than around single stars like our sun, according to new research from astrophysicists at the University of Lancashire. Binary stars are common in our galaxy, yet for ...

Apr 27, 2026
Phys.org / Beer and cannabis could share 'sex switch,' study finds

Researchers at University College Dublin have identified a genetic "switch" that determines the sex of cannabis plants, and found the same system may exist in hops. The study, published in New Phytologist, pinpoints a specific ...

Apr 27, 2026
Phys.org / Better volcano eruption predictions on Earth—and Venus—thanks to Mauna Loa study

When Mauna Loa erupted in 2022, the largest lava flow headed on a path headed directly toward Daniel K. Inouye State Highway 200, also known as Saddle Road, a critical route that carries many residents from their homes on ...

Apr 27, 2026
Phys.org / Synchrotron safety monitoring sheds light on dark photons

A scientist from Tokyo Metropolitan University has proposed using safety monitoring at synchrotron facilities to study the properties of dark photons, hypothetical particles proposed to explain dark matter. Calculations show ...

Apr 27, 2026
Phys.org / Location, location, location: How the Nile helped an ancient Sudanese city thrive for centuries

The ancient city of Napata, located in what is now Sudan, was a major urban and cultural center of Kush, an ancient empire in Nubia. University of Michigan archaeologists and earth scientists examined the land underlying ...

Apr 27, 2026
Phys.org / Amazon safeguards cut deforestation but miss rising forest degradation threat

Antonio has spent the past seven years running toward fires that most others run from. A firefighter in the Brazilian Amazon since 2019, he works inside the Chico Mendes Extractive Reserve, one of the most biodiverse places ...

Apr 27, 2026