Phys.org news

Phys.org / High nickel concentrations in Martian bedrock point to potential biosignatures

In 2024, NASA's Perseverance rover found surprising levels of Nickel in the Martian bedrock of an ancient river channel, called Neretva Vallis, which flowed into the Jezero crater. A new study, published in Nature Communications, ...

Apr 1, 2026
Phys.org / Conflict-driven farmland abandonment in Syria leads to land uplift, study finds

The Syrian civil war, which began in 2011, caused widespread population displacement and infrastructure damage. However, it has also led to an unintended environmental effect with notable changes in the country's landscape, ...

Apr 1, 2026
Phys.org / Thirty previously unpublished verses by Empedocles discovered on a papyrus from Cairo

A 2,000-year-old papyrus fragment, discovered in the archives of the French Institute of Oriental Archaeology in Cairo, reveals 30 previously unpublished verses by Empedocles, a pre-Socratic philosopher of the fifth century ...

Apr 1, 2026
Phys.org / Lakes forming next to Greenland's melting ice sheet are speeding up glacier flow

A growing network of meltwater lakes at the edge of the Greenland ice sheet is accelerating the flow of major glaciers, potentially increasing the pace of global sea-level rise. Warmer air and sea temperatures have led to ...

Apr 1, 2026
Phys.org / FAST observes a peculiar rotating radio transient that also switches to pulsar states

Using the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope (FAST), Chinese astronomers have explored the behavior of a rotating radio transient (RRAT) known as RRAT J1574+4703. The new observations found that this object ...

Apr 1, 2026
Phys.org / A new crab is settling in the Mediterranean: Early evidence of establishment of a Lessepsian species in the Ionian Sea

The Mediterranean Sea is undergoing rapid ecological transformations driven by climate change and human-mediated species introductions. Among the most striking processes is the increasing arrival and establishment of non-indigenous ...

Apr 1, 2026
Phys.org / Oregano, rosemary and 'time': Long-term swine study shows natural-compound benefits

In the search to replace antibiotic growth promoters with effective alternatives in modern swine production, plant-based essential oils are showing potential to provide lasting benefits. In a rare long-term public study that ...

Apr 1, 2026
Phys.org / Graphene 'scaffold' recruits bone cells and helps the body regenerate fractures

Experiments conducted in Brazil using laboratory rats have shown that graphene-based structures can act as a powerful ally in bone regeneration. These structures are made of sheets of the chemical element carbon that are ...

Apr 1, 2026
Phys.org / Superconductivity switched on in material once thought only magnetic

Superconductivity—the ability of a material to conduct electricity without any energy loss to heat—enables highly efficient, ultra-fast electronics essential for advanced technologies such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) ...

Apr 1, 2026
Phys.org / Virus-inspired DNA needle could pave the way for better medicines

Researchers at Aarhus University have developed a microscopic DNA needle that can deliver molecules directly into cells—and, crucially, help make sure they remain active once they get there. That addresses a major problem ...

Apr 1, 2026
Phys.org / Researchers present first fossilized 'emperor' butterfly

Butterfly fossils are rare, and finds that preserve fine anatomical details and wing patterns are an absolute exception. An international research team from Sweden, the U.S., and Germany, led by Dr. Hossein Rajaei, lepidopterist ...

Apr 1, 2026
Phys.org / Why subduction zones act as the Earth's 'gold kitchens'

Earth's "gold kitchen" lies deep beneath the seafloor. Island arcs, whose volcanoes form above subduction zones where one oceanic plate sinks beneath another, are often particularly rich in gold. The reasons for this have ...

Apr 1, 2026