Phys.org news

Phys.org / New gold-palladium catalysis mechanism could advance bio-based chemical manufacturing

The building‐block chemicals behind everyday products—like shampoo bottles, food containers, and kitchen spatulas—are largely derived from oil. Researchers are now working to replace those fossil‐fuel‐based inputs with materials ...

Jun 4, 2026
Phys.org / Moms' learned fear of snakes gets inherited by offspring in a critically endangered mouse, biologists discover

Conservationists often raise the young of endangered species in captivity before releasing them into suitable habitats as adults. The benefits are obvious: survival to adulthood is typically high, as captive animals are safe ...

Jun 4, 2026
Phys.org / Violating the 3rd law of black hole mechanics in vacuum gravity

Black holes, regions in space where gravity is so strong that nothing can escape, have been widely studied over the past decades, due to their unique and intriguing properties. Einstein's theory of general relativity predicts ...

Jun 3, 2026
Phys.org / Warming unlocks ancient carbon in Tibetan permafrost, triggering climate tipping point

A new study in Nature Communications finds a critical climate tipping point in Tibetan permafrost ecosystems. Warming of 2–4 degrees Celsius triggers a self-reinforcing cycle of carbon release that could significantly accelerate ...

Jun 3, 2026
Phys.org / How honeybees really crown their queens

For generations, scientists believed a queen honeybee was made almost entirely by diet: feed an ordinary larva enough royal jelly and a ruler emerges. But new research suggests queens are created through a more elaborate ...

Jun 3, 2026
Phys.org / Extraordinary fossils solve a 500-million-year mystery: Bryozoans were there at the dawn of animal life

Bryozoans are tiny, filter-feeding colonial invertebrates that thrive in the world's oceans today, yet for decades their origins presented a puzzling gap in the fossil record. While nearly every other major animal group made ...

Jun 3, 2026
Phys.org / Greenland shark genome reveals clues to 400-year lifespan

The first comprehensive map of nearly the entire Greenland shark genome is beginning to reveal some of the genetic clues behind its incredibly long life. The work could one day help scientists develop new cures and treatments ...

Jun 3, 2026
Phys.org / Octopuses learn mirror-guided navigation to locate prey

Octopuses are remarkably intelligent creatures, as was demonstrated by Inky the Octopus's famous escape from the National Aquarium of New Zealand through a drainpipe back to sea in 2016. A new Dartmouth study shows octopuses ...

Jun 3, 2026
Phys.org / 'Don't scare the cat!' Engineers find smarter way to measure quantum systems

UNSW Sydney engineers have riffed on the famous Schrödinger's cat analogy to demonstrate a more efficient way to eliminate errors in quantum computing.

Jun 3, 2026
Phys.org / Solar sails edge closer to reality, but interstellar travel is another story

From planetary rovers and asteroid sample return missions to the recent Artemis II flight above the far side of the moon, we are seemingly good at doing space. But our achievements still do not match many of our space dreams, ...

Jun 3, 2026
Phys.org / Deep-Earth seismic anomalies may be explained by newly discovered manganese compound

Scientists know that manganese, in its various oxide forms, plays a significant role in Earth's geochemical cycles. However, the exact forms of manganese, their abundance and the mechanisms behind these cycles that occur ...

Jun 3, 2026
Phys.org / Distant blazar OP 313 emits very high-energy gamma rays above 100 GeV

An international team of astronomers have employed one of the Large-Sized Telescopes (LSTs) at the Cherenkov Telescope Array Observatory (CTAO) to observe a distant blazar known as OP 313. Results of the observational campaign, ...

Jun 3, 2026