Phys.org news

Phys.org / Slowing Atlantic current could fuel stronger California atmospheric rivers by century's end

A slowing Atlantic Ocean current is projected to intensify powerful storms in California while reducing snowfall over Greenland, according to a recent University of California, Riverside study. The Atlantic Meridional Overturning ...

23 hours ago
Phys.org / New probe could help trace Alzheimer's-linked lipids one cell at a time

Cells sitting side by side in the same tissues are not identical. Each cell carries its own subtly different chemical signature—a hidden individuality that can reveal how diseases take root and spread. Now, researchers from ...

20 hours ago
Phys.org / Why some glasses break suddenly while others deform smoothly

If a liquid is cooled slowly to its freezing point, it becomes a crystal in which the constituent particles are arranged in an ordered pattern. In contrast, when the liquid is cooled very quickly, the particles are unable ...

22 hours ago
Phys.org / New deep-sea measurements show how the ocean floor forms

The first-known direct observations of a seafloor spreading event at a mid-ocean ridge in the Indian Ocean are presented in Nature. The observations offer insight into how new oceanic crust is created.

23 hours ago
Phys.org / Primordial mini-moons may explain meteorite composition

A new Southwest Research Institute-led study proposes a solution to a longstanding puzzle in planetary science: What caused the concentration, assembly, and preservation of millimeter-sized, spherical mineral grains within ...

23 hours ago
Phys.org / Satellites are transforming biodiversity monitoring for global nature targets, but major gaps remain

A new scientific review outlines how satellites and other remote sensing technologies are increasingly shaping how biodiversity and ecosystem health can be monitored at scale—offering new opportunities for countries reporting ...

23 hours ago
Phys.org / JWST's 'overmassive' early black holes may not be so massive after all

Astronomers studying a population of unusually X-ray-silent and overmassive black holes discovered by the James Webb Space Telescope have found that they may not be as massive as they appear. The new paper, outlining a plausible ...

Jul 8, 2026
Phys.org / Long-theorized electron-on-helium qubit achieves strong coupling to a single microwave photon

Quantum computers, devices that store and process information leveraging the principles of quantum mechanics, have been found to be promising for tackling some problems that cannot be solved by classical computers. Quantum ...

Jul 8, 2026
Phys.org / Black hole collisions may follow entropy law, offering simpler remnant predictions

When two black holes orbit each other, they eventually spiral inward and collide in one of the most violent phenomena in the universe. The event is so energetic that it significantly distorts the universe around it. It emits ...

Jul 8, 2026
Phys.org / Nanoplastics found in Antarctic soils for first time, suggesting long-range atmospheric transport

Microplastic contamination has been a much-discussed topic over the last several years, but contamination from even smaller plastic particles represents another pressing issue. Nanoplastics—defined as being under a micrometer ...

Jul 8, 2026
Phys.org / Tiny Jurassic bird reveals a key step in bird evolution

The transition from a lumbering, heavy dinosaur body to the flight-adapted bird body plan is one of many fascinating episodes in evolutionary history. Working out how this massive transformation took place relies heavily ...

Jul 8, 2026
Phys.org / How Fourth of July celebrations and the national political mood may shape psychedelic experiences

Psychedelic drugs are known to make people highly sensitive to their surroundings. In other words, a user's mindset and immediate environment heavily shape the entire trippy experience. In a study published in the journal ...

Jul 8, 2026