Phys.org news

Phys.org / AI models retrace evolution of genetic control elements in the brain

Artificial intelligence allows tracing the evolution of genetic control elements in the developing mammalian cerebellum. An international research team led by biologists from Heidelberg University as well as the Vlaams Instituut ...

22 hours ago in Biology
Phys.org / Refractive-index microscope measures a sample's optical properties with pinpoint accuracy

By combining two fundamentally different microscopy techniques, researchers can now measure the optical properties of a sample with pinpoint accuracy. The original goal was to investigate biological samples on a molecular ...

21 hours ago in Nanotechnology
Phys.org / Novel quantum refrigerator benefits from problematic noise

For quantum computers to function, they must be kept at extremely low temperatures. However, today's cooling systems also generate noise that interferes with the fragile quantum information they are meant to protect. Now, ...

23 hours ago in Physics
Phys.org / Caribbean heat waves intensify over five decades, study finds

A new study led by climatologists at the University at Albany has found that extreme heat waves across the Caribbean are becoming significantly more frequent, longer and severe. This study examined extreme summer heat waves ...

22 hours ago in Earth
Phys.org / Flying gurnard grunts and flares fins to communicate, camera study confirms

Researchers have just published a study demonstrating that the flying gurnard (Dactylopterus volitans) emits sounds while simultaneously performing movements to communicate—a discovery that enriches our knowledge about ...

21 hours ago in Biology
Phys.org / 'Jerk' volcano early warning method uses single seismometer to detect magma movement

Forecasting volcanic eruptions in time to alert authorities and populations remains a major global challenge. In a study published in Nature Communications, researchers and engineers from the Institut de Physique du Globe ...

23 hours ago in Earth
Phys.org / Male or female? How one frog gene 'hijacked' sex determination about 20 million years ago

Early in development, many animals pick a team—male or female—based on their genetics, and, with time, acquire the characteristics to match. New research from the Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) explores how one species ...

23 hours ago in Biology
Phys.org / King's Trough: How a shifting plate boundary and hot mantle material shaped an Atlantic mega-canyon

The King's Trough Complex is a several-hundred-kilometer-long, canyon-like system of trenches on the North Atlantic seafloor. Its formation was long thought to be the result of simple stretching of the oceanic crust. An international ...

23 hours ago in Earth
Phys.org / Crosstalk inside cells helps pathogens evade drugs, study finds

Biologists have uncovered a new mode of communication inside cells that helps bacterial pathogens learn how to evade drugs. Their findings, published in the journal Nature Communications, describe how these mechanisms drive ...

23 hours ago in Biology
Phys.org / Biodegradable bark–plastic composite lets engineers predict product lifetime from tensile tests

Old trees are learning new tricks with the advent of composite materials. A "green composite" made from biodegradable polymers and the waste bark of the Yakushima Jisugi tree was developed by a research team at Tohoku University. ...

23 hours ago in Chemistry
Phys.org / A new method to search for ultralight dark matter with advanced optical cavities

Dark matter is a mysterious type of matter that does not emit, absorb, or reflect light, yet is predicted to account for most of the universe's mass. While physicists have gathered extensive indirect evidence of its existence, ...

Jan 29, 2026 in Astronomy & Space
Phys.org / 2D discrete time crystals realized on a quantum computer for the first time

Physical systems become inherently more complicated and difficult to produce in a lab as the number of dimensions they exist in increases—even more so in quantum systems. While discrete time crystals (DTCs) had been previously ...

Jan 29, 2026 in Physics