Phys.org news

Phys.org / Genetics link Angola's 'ghost elephants' to populations hundreds of miles away

For more than a decade, conservation biologist Steve Boyes searched for "ghost elephants"—nocturnal giants rumored to roam a remote, high-altitude wetland in eastern Angola. When a motion-sensor camera finally captured their ...

May 9, 2026
Phys.org / CRISPR safeguard changes how engineered microbes can be controlled

Engineered microorganisms are widely used in industrial biotechnology and biopharmaceutical applications, including the production of biofuels, sustainable chemicals, and therapeutic compounds. However, concerns remain regarding ...

May 9, 2026
Phys.org / Non-rotating early galaxy is a surprise to astronomers

Astronomers using the James Webb Space Telescope have made a surprising discovery about a galaxy long, long ago and far, far away: It isn't rotating. That's something only seen in the most massive, mature galaxies that are ...

May 9, 2026
Phys.org / Bee more specific: New radar tech could improve identification and tracking of key pollinators

Scientists from Trinity and Technical University of Denmark have developed a new radar-based technique that could address a critical gap in global conservation efforts, by transforming how we identify and track the insects ...

May 9, 2026
Phys.org / How river DNA can track fish, frogs, fungi and human feces all at once

A single scoop of water from an Irish river has revealed evidence not only of Ireland's only frog species—as expected—but also signs of the dreaded B. dendrobatidis fungus, marking the first time this devastating amphibian ...

May 9, 2026
Phys.org / New catalyst unlocks carbon-free ammonia heat for steel, cement and chemicals

A single-atom platinum catalyst lights ammonia at 200 °C and keeps it burning steadily at 1,100 °C with low NOx, generating high-grade, carbon-free heat for steel, cement and chemicals.

May 9, 2026
Phys.org / Heavy Atlantic rain can block African aerosols from fertilizing Amazon, study finds

How are cold air masses advancing in the United States connected to fertilizers carried by "flying rivers" from Africa that nourish the soils of the Brazilian Amazon? An article published in Geophysical Research Letters reveals ...

May 9, 2026
Phys.org / Organic luminescent radicals enable bright circularly polarized light in the near-infrared region

Circularly polarized light has properties that make it useful in a growing range of technologies, from next-generation 3D displays to bioimaging tools that can detect signals deep within living tissues. One way to produce ...

May 9, 2026
Phys.org / AI cuts wildlife tracking time from months to days

Artificial intelligence can dramatically speed up the painstaking work of tracking wildlife with remote cameras, cutting analysis time from months or even a year to just days while producing nearly the same scientific conclusions ...

May 9, 2026
Phys.org / Saturday Citations: Psychedelic therapeutics; interoception and well-being; a hidden linguistic bias

This week, researchers reported that the human brain is capable of sophisticated language processing while in an unconscious state during general anesthesia. An informatics and computing professor found that the Climate TRACE ...

May 9, 2026
Phys.org / This tiny grain-of-rice sensor gives robots a new sense and changes what delicate tools can detect

Researchers have developed a sensor about the size of a grain of rice that can measure forces and twisting motions in all directions using light instead of traditional electronics. The new sensor could help robotic tools ...

May 9, 2026
Phys.org / Antarctica sea ice collapse driven by triple whammy of climate chaos, scientists find

Antarctica is being ravaged by a triple-whammy of climate chaos that has melted sea ice to record lows, a new study has revealed. For decades, the frozen wilderness at the bottom of the world defied global warming trends, ...

May 8, 2026