Phys.org news

Phys.org / First comprehensive review of plastic pollution in the Amazon reveals contamination poses urgent health risks

Plastic may well be a useful everyday item, but its careless disposal in oceans and inland waterways is a pressing global problem. Plastic pollution poses a significant threat to human health and the health of our planet. ...

Oct 1, 2025 in Earth
Phys.org / Data from dark-energy observatories indicate universe may 'end in a big crunch' at 33 billion years old

The universe is approaching the midpoint of its 33-billion-year lifespan, a Cornell physicist calculates with new data from dark-energy observatories. After expanding to its peak size about 11 billion years from now, it will ...

Oct 1, 2025 in Astronomy & Space
Phys.org / Multi-band observations explore nearby dwarf irregular galaxy UGCA 320

Astronomers from South Africa have conducted multi-band observations of a nearby dwarf irregular galaxy known as UGCA 320. Results of the observational campaign, recently published on the arXiv preprint server, yield important ...

Oct 1, 2025 in Astronomy & Space
Phys.org / Teams with budding researchers are more likely to drive scientific disruption, new study finds

Scientific research apparently has its own share of beginner's luck. According to a study by Mahdee Mushfique Kamal and Raiyan Abdul Baten, teams with a larger number of newbies take the cake when it comes to transformative ...

Oct 1, 2025 in Other Sciences
Phys.org / Dark matter and dark energy may only be a cosmic illusion

For decades, astronomers have believed that dark matter and dark energy make up most of the universe. However, a new study suggests they might not exist at all. Instead, what we perceive as dark matter and dark energy could ...

Oct 1, 2025 in Astronomy & Space
Phys.org / Study identifies key agricultural practices that threaten soil health and global food supply

The global food system faces growing risks as modern farming practices undermine the resilience of the world's soils, according to new research.

Oct 1, 2025 in Biology
Phys.org / Earth's crust is tearing apart off the Pacific Northwest—and that's not necessarily bad news

With unprecedented clarity, scientists have directly observed a subduction zone—the collision point where one tectonic plate dives beneath another—actively breaking apart. The discovery, reported in Science Advances, ...

Oct 1, 2025 in Earth
Phys.org / Energy researchers discover fraction of an electron that drives catalysis

A team of researchers from the University of Minnesota Twin Cities College of Science and Engineering and the University of Houston's Cullen College of Engineering has discovered and measured the fraction of an electron that ...

Oct 1, 2025 in Chemistry
Phys.org / Parallel atom-photon entanglement paves way for future quantum networking

A new platform developed by Illinois Grainger engineers demonstrates the utility of a ytterbium-171 atom array in quantum networking. Their work represents a key step toward long-distance quantum communication.

Oct 1, 2025 in Physics
Phys.org / How pathogens build protein-based microcompartments to enhance their survival in the gut

A new study, led by researchers at the University of Liverpool, has revealed how pathogenic bacteria construct tiny protein-based compartments, known as Eut microcompartments, which enable them to digest ethanolamine—a ...

Oct 1, 2025 in Biology
Phys.org / Dark matter detector succeeds in performing measurements with nearly no radioactive interference

In their search for dark matter, scientists from the XENON Collaboration are using one of the world's most sensitive dark matter detectors, XENONnT at the Gran Sasso Laboratory of the National Institute of Nuclear Physics ...

Oct 1, 2025 in Physics
Phys.org / Fungi may have set the stage for life on land hundreds of millions of years earlier than thought

New research published in Nature Ecology & Evolution sheds light on the timelines and pathways of evolution of fungi, finding evidence of their influence on ancient terrestrial ecosystems. The study, led by researchers from ...

Oct 1, 2025 in Biology