Phys.org news

Phys.org / A 5,000-year-old royal mystery: Digital clues point to Meretneith as Egypt's female king

More than 5,000 years ago, a royal woman named Meretneith (also written as Merneith) lived in ancient Egypt. She was possibly the daughter of Djer, the third king of the First Dynasty, a period when the first kings ruled ...

17 hours ago
Phys.org / Indigenous Australian population was much larger than previously thought and decimated after First Fleet's arrival

Australia had a much larger Indigenous population before the arrival of Europeans than previously thought, according to new research. The research also demonstrates much larger population losses resulting from colonization ...

22 hours ago
Phys.org / Marine bacteria team up to break down one of the ocean's toughest carbon-storing molecules

Deep in the ocean, brown algae and diatoms produce a complex carbohydrate molecule called fucoidan, which helps form their protective outer layers. The fucoidan molecule is very difficult for microbes to break down because ...

15 hours ago
Phys.org / Responsibilities in close social relationships explain Eastern–Western cultural differences

Do you think that a person who reorganizes their life so that their aging parents can live with them would be likely to push another out of the way on the subway? What about greeting strangers with a smile? The answers to ...

22 hours ago
Phys.org / Ultracold cesium atoms reveal Bethe strings predicted nearly a century ago

In 1931, physicist Hans Bethe predicted that, in certain one-dimensional quantum systems, particles can bind together to form multi-particle states known as Bethe strings. Unlike ordinary molecules, which are held together ...

Sep 14, 2026
Phys.org / Rivers may be carrying more microplastics into the world's oceans than previously thought

Microplastics are a modern environmental menace and a potential threat to human health. These tiny pieces of plastic, measuring from 1 to 5,000 micrometers, come mainly from larger plastics as well as sources such as paints ...

Sep 14, 2026
Phys.org / How prehistoric coastal flooding shaped the Northern Adriatic

Researchers have shown how dramatic sea-level rise over a 5,000-year period profoundly changed the coasts of northern Italy, Slovenia and northern Croatia. Successive shaping and reshaping of coastal features influenced the ...

Sep 14, 2026
Phys.org / The surprising history of woolly rhinos: They weren't always creatures of the frozen north

Woolly rhinoceroses (Coelodonta antiquitatis) were fascinating creatures: giant, lumbering Ice Age beasts with thick fur and massive horns that died out about 11,000 years ago. Previous genetic studies had left open the question ...

Sep 14, 2026
Phys.org / Bizarre galactic radio source remains active for two decades with no detectable X-rays

Astronomers have identified a peculiar radio transient in the Milky Way that has remained active for more than two decades, defying the behavior expected of known classes of galactic radio sources. The paper posted to the ...

Sep 14, 2026
Phys.org / First confirmed Diplodocus outside North America reshapes Late Jurassic migration picture

In a discovery that challenges our understanding of dinosaur distribution during the Late Jurassic period, paleontologists have identified the first evidence of the iconic Diplodocus outside North America.

Sep 14, 2026
Phys.org / Tough vehicle and construction plastics dissolve into reusable material with low-waste method

A new recycling technique could help tackle a major challenge: breaking down some of the toughest plastics without generating large amounts of waste.

Sep 14, 2026
Phys.org / Physicists help uncover 'spooky' quantum effect in the Large Hadron Collider

Physicists at the University of Oxford have helped confirm that one of the strangest phenomena in physics—quantum entanglement—occurs even among some of the heaviest and most fleeting particles ever created. The discovery, ...

Sep 14, 2026