Phys.org news

Phys.org / A key out-of-Africa site just got older: Dating methods push 'Ubeidiya site back at least 1.9 million years

A new study provides a clearer timeline for one of the most significant prehistoric sites worldwide for the study of human evolution. By integrating three advanced dating techniques, researchers have determined that the site ...

Feb 19, 2026 in Other Sciences
Phys.org / Cheaper green hydrogen? New catalyst design cuts energy losses in AEM electrolyzers

Producing clean hydrogen from water is often compared to storing renewable energy in chemical form, but improving the efficiency of that process remains a scientific challenge. Researchers at Tohoku University have now developed ...

Feb 19, 2026 in Chemistry
Phys.org / Nature-inspired method forms ZnO quantum dots in solid crystals at room temperature

In nature, tiny crystals known as nanocrystals are formed slowly over many years. Rocks and minerals react with air, water, and carbon dioxide in a process called chemical weathering. These reactions happen gently, at room ...

Feb 19, 2026 in Nanotechnology
Phys.org / Scientists unlock a massive new 'color palette' for biomedical research by synthesizing non-natural amino acids

Ozempic has been making headlines for its remarkable success in treating obesity and diabetes. Yet it is just one in a rapidly growing class of drugs called peptide therapeutics that sits between small molecules (like aspirin) ...

Feb 19, 2026 in Chemistry
Phys.org / Storms reveal rare 2,000-year-old footprints on Scottish beach

Storms that recently ravaged Britain's coastline have revealed 2,000-year-old footprints on an Angus beach—one of only a handful of locations in the U.K. where markings of this kind have ever been discovered. The imprints ...

Feb 19, 2026 in Other Sciences
Phys.org / Archived tree cores reveal why boreal forests are getting starved for nitrogen

Despite decades of industrial deposition, nitrogen availability in the boreal forest is steadily declining. In a new study published in Nature, researchers from the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences using decades ...

Feb 19, 2026 in Earth
Phys.org / A 'magic blueprint' for converting CO₂ into resources through atom-level catalyst design

A research team led by Professor Su-Il In of the Department of Energy Science and Engineering at DGIST has uncovered the principle that the products and reaction pathways of carbon dioxide (CO2) conversion to fuel via solar ...

Feb 19, 2026 in Chemistry
Phys.org / Why some objects in space look like snowmen: Gravitational collapse may shed light on contact binaries

Astronomers have long debated why so many icy objects in the outer solar system look like snowmen. Michigan State University researchers now have evidence of the surprisingly simple process that could be responsible for their ...

Feb 19, 2026 in Astronomy & Space
Phys.org / Forest loss can make watersheds 'leakier,' global study suggests

Forest loss does more than reduce tree cover. A new global study involving UBC Okanagan researchers shows it can fundamentally change how watersheds hold and release water. The research, published in the Proceedings of the ...

Feb 19, 2026 in Earth
Phys.org / Obstacle or accelerator? How imperfections affect material strength

Imagine a material cracking—now imagine what happens if there are small inclusions in the material. Do they create an obstacle course for the crack to navigate, slowing it down? Or do they act as weak points, helping the ...

Feb 19, 2026 in Physics
Phys.org / Study links 'dark pool' trading to higher risk of sudden stock price crashes

More stock trading is moving away from traditional public stock exchanges and into places called "dark pools." These are private, electronic markets where investors buy and sell stocks without showing their orders to the ...

Feb 19, 2026 in Other Sciences
Phys.org / Webb maps the mysterious upper atmosphere of Uranus

For the first time, an international team of astronomers have mapped the vertical structure of Uranus's upper atmosphere, uncovering how temperature and charged particles vary with height across the planet. Using Webb's NIRSpec ...

Feb 19, 2026 in Astronomy & Space