Phys.org news

Phys.org / World's first high-resolution global leaf chlorophyll map can closely track plant health

A research team led by Profs. Li Jing and Liu Qinhuo from the Aerospace Information Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (AIRCAS) has developed the world's first global, high-resolution map of leaf chlorophyll ...

17 hours ago in Earth
Phys.org / Velocity gradients prove key to explaining large-scale magnetic field structure

All celestial bodies—planets, suns, even entire galaxies—produce magnetic fields, affecting such cosmic processes as the solar wind, high-energy particle transport, and galaxy formation. Small-scale magnetic fields are ...

18 hours ago in Physics
Phys.org / Dredging sand and silt has consequences for the North Sea

Through sand extraction and the disposal of dredged harbor silt, about 200 million tons of sediment are relocated every year in the coastal waters of the North Sea. The Wadden Sea is particularly strongly affected. This is ...

20 hours ago in Earth
Phys.org / Critical Atlantic Ocean currents kept going during last ice age, microfossils suggest

During the last ice age, the Atlantic Ocean's powerful current system remained active and continued to transport warm, salty water from the tropics to the North Atlantic despite extensive ice cover across much of the Northern ...

18 hours ago in Earth
Phys.org / Engineered nanobodies improve respiratory defenses in preclinical study

In a multi-institutional study published today in Nature Nanotechnology, researchers from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center reported that engineered bispecific nanobodies successfully strengthened mucosal ...

19 hours ago in Nanotechnology
Phys.org / Fossil shorebirds reveal Australia's ancient wetlands lost to climate change

Flinders University paleontology researchers—with local fossil experts—have discovered how prolific shorebirds, including the Plains-wanderer, once lived across South Australia's South-East during wetter times up to 60,000 ...

19 hours ago in Biology
Phys.org / How early cell membranes may have shaped the origins of life

Modern cells are complex chemical entities with cytoskeletons, finely regulated internal and external molecules, and genetic material that determines nearly every aspect of their functioning. This complexity allows cells ...

20 hours ago in Chemistry
Phys.org / Looking deep into the eyes of insects

Researchers from the University of Konstanz have studied how insect brains take in complex light stimuli and process them in parallel. They are the first to have found evidence that information is processed in different layers ...

20 hours ago in Biology
Phys.org / Data-driven analysis reveals three archetypes of armed conflicts

The language used to describe conflicts naturally reflects assumptions about how different forms of violence emerge and develop.

20 hours ago in Other Sciences
Phys.org / Solar flares triggered by cascading magnetic avalanches, new observations reveal

Just as avalanches on snowy mountains start with the movement of a small quantity of snow, the ESA-led Solar Orbiter spacecraft has discovered that a solar flare is triggered by initially weak disturbances that quickly become ...

Jan 21, 2026 in Astronomy & Space
Phys.org / Rare Florida scrub millipedes reproduce in captivity for the first time

Before scientists even knew how many Florida scrub millipedes were left in the wild, a quiet breakthrough happened in a University of South Florida lab. The rare, giant millipedes reproduced in captivity.

Jan 21, 2026 in Biology
Phys.org / New cryogenic vacuum chamber cuts noise for quantum ion trapping

Even very slight environmental noise, such as microscopic vibrations or magnetic field fluctuations a hundred times smaller than Earth's magnetic field, can be catastrophic for quantum computing experiments with trapped ions.

Jan 21, 2026 in Physics