Phys.org news

Dialog / Novel technique measures polymer degradation during cathodic overprotection

Oil and natural gas are vital constituents of our energy ecosystem that need to be transported across long distances. Although steel pipelines are the infrastructure used for this purpose, thereby serving as the lifeline ...

20 hours ago
Phys.org / The fog is alive: Droplets host bacteria that clear toxins from our air

What if fog isn't just misty air, but a living ecosystem? This question hung over cloud researcher Thi Thuong Thuong Cao. As a Ph.D. student at Arizona State University, her curiosity led her from knocking on the doors of ...

21 hours ago
Phys.org / Scientists dispute hypothesis that climate change will unleash massive agricultural pest populations

The widespread hypothesis that climate warming will result in unprecedented agricultural pest populations and cause food insecurity worldwide is oversimplified, according to a new study by a team led by Mia Lippey, an entomologist ...

21 hours ago
Phys.org / 'Calm' galaxy cluster hides a violent cosmic scene that took 4 billion years to settle

The galaxy cluster Abell 2029 is sometimes described as "the most relaxed cluster in the universe." This moniker does not arise from some sort of mellow vibe, but rather because of how calm and undisturbed the superheated ...

22 hours ago
Phys.org / AI surrogate accelerates nonlinear optics simulations by orders of magnitude

Simulating the nonlinear optical physics that underlies ultrafast laser systems is computationally demanding—a practical bottleneck in settings that require rapid feedback. A study by researchers at Stanford University, University ...

21 hours ago
Phys.org / How winds above Tibet quietly replenish water for nearly 2 billion people

The "Asian Water Towers" (AWTs), a high-altitude region with a mean elevation exceeding 4,000 meters, serve as the primary freshwater source for nearly 2 billion people. While the Indian summer monsoon is well known for shaping ...

22 hours ago
Phys.org / Molecular glue could hijack cells' natural machinery to help treat diseases

Proteins do most of the work in our body's cells. But when a protein is too active or does not function properly, it can lead to disease or other health problems. Researchers from the University of Toronto have discovered ...

21 hours ago
Phys.org / How Qing featherwork got its colors: New scans reveal multiple birds and hidden pigment layers

The kingfisher's brilliant blue feathers were once used like paint to create works of art. The technique, known as tian-tsui, was popular during China's Qing Dynasty. And because tian-tsui uses delicate feathers, previous ...

22 hours ago
Phys.org / DNA 'barcodes' help researchers pinpoint gold nanoparticles that can strike cancer at its power source

Researchers at the National University of Singapore (NUS) have developed a high-throughput method to identify gold nanoparticles capable of delivering therapies directly to mitochondria (the energy centers inside cancer cells). ...

May 12, 2026
Phys.org / Gentle, laser-driven flows enable precise 3D imaging of delicate samples

Until now, it has been technically nearly impossible to rotate highly sensitive samples in all directions under a microscope without making contact. Researchers at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) have developed ...

23 hours ago
Phys.org / Self-activating catalysts boost hydrogen output by reshaping themselves during electrolysis

To what extent can self-activating catalysts enhance hydrogen production in electrolyzers? Researchers at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) have investigated this question, and their findings were published in Advanced ...

23 hours ago
Phys.org / DeepAFM decodes protein motion from noisy images with 93.4% accuracy

In 2018, an artificial intelligence (AI) program called AlphaFold achieved a major breakthrough by placing first in the critical assessment of structure prediction, a competition for predicting the three-dimensional structures ...

23 hours ago