Phys.org news

Phys.org / Crab-dug tunnels boost methane-eating microbes in coastal wetlands, study finds

Wetlands are a significant producer of methane, a greenhouse gas more potent than carbon dioxide. Yet not all of it escapes into the atmosphere. One reason is crabs. A study published in the journal Environmental Science ...

Jul 15, 2026
Phys.org / Scientists recover sub-Saharan Africa's oldest ancient animal DNA

Ancient DNA can be a powerful tool for helping us reconstruct the long-dead past. Most surviving genetic material comes from the bones and teeth of animals that lived in cold environments, where freezing temperatures help ...

Jul 15, 2026
Phys.org / Asteroid with unexplained orbital shift turns out to be a 'dark comet'

Typically, astronomers identify comets by their distinct atmospheres, or comae, and their tails, which are created as the sun vaporizes a comet's ice. These features emit a glow when sunlight bounces off dust and water droplets. ...

Jul 15, 2026
Phys.org / Faster quantum computers can learn from their own mistakes

Quantum computers promise to solve problems that would take even the fastest conventional supercomputers a vast amount of time, but the quantum information they store and process is extremely sensitive to even tiny disturbances ...

Jul 15, 2026
Phys.org / GRS 0917+75 is a giant radio galaxy, observations find

European astronomers have conducted optical and radio observations of an enigmatic radio source designated GRS 0917+75. As a result, they found that GRS 0917+75 is a giant radio galaxy and determined its properties. The new ...

Jul 15, 2026
Phys.org / Model highlights patterns in how humans move across different locations

Every day, billions of people travel from their homes to work, schools, health care facilities, restaurants, public venues and other destinations. The complex patterns that shape how people move between these different locations ...

Jul 15, 2026
Phys.org / Physicists create first room-temperature quantum material

Quantum materials could transform technologies ranging from powerful computers and ultrasecure communications to advanced energy systems. But there has always been one major obstacle.

Jul 15, 2026
Phys.org / Astronomers find nearby planets to be small, strange, and utterly uninhabitable

Scientists have painted the most detailed portrait yet of the planetary system orbiting Barnard's Star—the sun's closest neighbor after Alpha Centauri, just under six light-years from Earth.

Jul 15, 2026
Phys.org / Microplastics reach even 2,000 meters below the ocean surface, study finds

Plastic pollution has become a global environmental crisis, with an estimated 11 million tons of plastic entering the oceans each year. As larger plastic debris breaks down into microplastics, these tiny particles are transported ...

Jul 15, 2026
Phys.org / Striking new species of African monkey discovered deep in the Congo rainforest

In the rainforests of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), scientists have identified a previously unknown species of African monkey—one of the rarest discoveries in modern primatology.

Jul 15, 2026
Phys.org / Scientists find hidden individuality in viral infections

An international team of researchers developed a new way to uncover hidden differences in how viruses infect and destroy individual microbial cells—solving a biological puzzle that has persisted for more than 80 years.

Jul 15, 2026
Phys.org / Asteroid breakup may explain inner solar system bombardment 800 million years ago

A Southwest Research Institute-led study has proposed a connection between a specific collision in the main asteroid belt and an inner-solar-system-wide bombardment episode that may have had measurable biological and geological ...

Jul 15, 2026