Phys.org news

Phys.org / How superstorm Gannon squeezed Earth's plasmasphere to one-fifth its size

A geomagnetic superstorm is an extreme space weather event that occurs when the sun releases massive amounts of energy and charged particles toward Earth. These storms are rare, occurring about once every 20–25 years. On ...

14 hours ago in Astronomy & Space
Phys.org / Could a kid have painted that? Jackson Pollock's famous pour-painting has child-like characteristics, study shows

What makes art art? Is it the method or the creator? Does it need a color palette and oil paints, or a canvas laid flat on the floor and paint splattered across it? Does it require a critically acclaimed painter, or a toddler ...

17 hours ago in Physics
Phys.org / Scientist captures tiny particles for clues on what sparks lightning

Using lasers as tweezers to understand cloud electrification might sound like science fiction, but at the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) it is a reality. By trapping and charging micron-sized particles ...

23 hours ago in Physics
Phys.org / A new space radiation shield: Flexible boron nitride nanotube film shows promise

High-energy cosmic radiation damages cells and DNA, causing cancer, and secondary neutrons—generated especially from the planetary surfaces—can be up to 20 times more harmful than other radiations. Aluminum, the most ...

23 hours ago in Nanotechnology
Phys.org / Crucial protein recruits help to protect itself while it forms

Proteins are often called the building blocks of cells, but even those building blocks need to be built. One of the most important steps in the process of building proteins is glycosylation, when sugar molecules (glycans) ...

22 hours ago in Biology
Phys.org / Physicists demonstrate the constancy of the speed of light with unprecedented accuracy

In 1887, one of the most important experiments in the history of physics took place. American scientists Michelson and Morley failed to measure the speed of Earth by comparing the speed of light in the direction of Earth's ...

Nov 19, 2025 in Physics
Phys.org / 'Chocolate-flavored' honey created using cocoa bean shells

A group of researchers from the State University of Campinas (UNICAMP) in the state of São Paulo, Brazil, developed a product made from native bee honey and cocoa bean shells that can be consumed directly or used as an ingredient ...

Nov 19, 2025 in Chemistry
Phys.org / Discovery of rare protist reveals previously unknown branch of eukaryotic tree of life

A research team from the Faculty of Science, Charles University in Prague has discovered Solarion arienae, an extremely rare and morphologically unique unicellular eukaryote that sheds new light on early eukaryotic evolution.

Nov 19, 2025 in Biology
Phys.org / New magnetic component discovered in the Faraday effect after nearly two centuries

Researchers at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem discovered that the magnetic component of light plays a direct role in the Faraday effect, overturning a 180-year-old assumption that only its electric field mattered.

Nov 19, 2025 in Physics
Phys.org / Decapitated fossil fish with guts still intact reveal ancient predatory habits

In a study appearing in Fossil Record, researchers Martin Ebert and Martina Kölbl-Ebert analyzed the remains of a unique fossil type: the decapitated head of Aspidorhynchus, with its gastrointestinal tract (guts) still attached. ...

Nov 19, 2025 in Biology
Phys.org / Y1 is an ultra-luminous infrared galaxy, ALMA observations reveal

Using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), an international team of astronomers has inspected a distant galaxy designated MACS0416_Y1. Results of the observations, presented Nov. 11 on the arXiv pre-print ...

Nov 19, 2025 in Astronomy & Space
Phys.org / Study maps the time and energy patterns of electron pairs in ultrafast pulses

The ability to precisely study and manipulate electrons in electron microscopes could open new possibilities for the development of both ultrafast imaging techniques and quantum technologies.

Nov 19, 2025 in Physics