Phys.org news

Phys.org / AI-guided catalyst turns CO₂ and waste into fertilizer at industrially relevant rates

Researchers from the National University of Singapore (NUS) have developed a computation-guided strategy to produce urea more efficiently from carbon dioxide and nitrate. By combining large language models, density functional ...

Jun 4, 2026
Phys.org / Global mangrove forests rebound, offering hopeful sign for climate and coastal resilience

Mangrove forests, once considered one of the world's most threatened coastal ecosystems, are showing signs of recovery worldwide, according to new research from Tulane University that finds decades of losses largely offset ...

Jun 4, 2026
Phys.org / Wildfires reverse decade of ozone cleanup in the United States, study reveals

Ozone pollution has worsened in much of the continental United States over the past decade, fueled by wildfires and the long-distance transport of unhealthy air, according to a new study titled "Fires reverse progress toward ...

Jun 4, 2026
Phys.org / Teaching AI to design optical surfaces using real-world imperfections

Designing surfaces that precisely control how light behaves at the nanoscale is tricky. Optical Fourier surfaces, which are nanostructured gratings that redistribute light into specific directions and wavelengths, hold enormous ...

Jun 4, 2026
Phys.org / Why jellyfish can't rise to the surface

Using box jellyfish as an example, researchers from Kiel University show how the physics of density, not behavior or physiology, can prevent animals from reaching the surface even as they actively swim upward.

Jun 4, 2026
Phys.org / 'Out-of-place' rocks reveal how a young ocean formed

Deep below the Tyrrhenian Sea offshore Italy, scientists drilled into what they thought would be dark mantle rock—and found pieces of granite that seemingly had no business being there. Those unexpected intrusions turned ...

Jun 4, 2026
Phys.org / Buoys track ocean waves across 14,000 km, from storms in Antarctica to ripples in Alaska

For the first time, mighty ocean waves generated in the Southern Ocean have been accurately measured all the way to the tiny ripples they form on the shores of Alaska. Professor Ian Young, from the University of Melbourne's ...

Jun 4, 2026
Phys.org / Most people cooperate—and underestimate others' willingness to cooperate, global study reveals

The study "Homo cooperans: Understanding the nature of human cooperation" arrives at a clear result: 69% of study participants chose to cooperate. At the same time, the study published in the journal Science shows that people ...

Jun 4, 2026
Phys.org / ExoMars rover targets vast bed of clay in search for life

In the region where the ExoMars Rosalind Franklin rover will search for signs of life, clay deposits extend beyond previous estimates, a new study finds. One hypothesis even suggests a vast ocean once covered the landing ...

Jun 4, 2026
Phys.org / Billions are going into fish passage projects, but planning methods can undercut results

Fish that split their lives between fresh and salt water often face obstacles getting back and forth. Dams and roads fracture river networks and interfere with traditional migratory routes, sparking concerns about fish health ...

Jun 4, 2026
Phys.org / Laser 'origami' could help astronauts build structures on the moon

University of Florida researchers are exploring how lasers could help astronauts build structures on the moon using materials already available there, including lunar soil transformed into glass. The work, led by Victoria ...

Jun 4, 2026
Phys.org / DNA repair enzyme uses one-dimensional sliding to detect key sites, researchers reveal

DNA is the blueprint of the human body. However, tens of thousands of DNA lesions occur in our bodies every day. In particular, if "apurinic/apyrimidinic sites" (AP sites, damaged sites where one letter of DNA information ...

Jun 4, 2026