Phys.org news

Phys.org / White hydrogen discovered in billion-year-old Canadian Shield rock points to potential new energy source

Within the Canadian Shield, hydrogen gas is steadily building up naturally among some of the oldest rocks on Earth. Now, for the first time, geochemists at the University of Toronto and the University of Ottawa have measured ...

May 18, 2026
Phys.org / AI-generated fake citations are flooding scientific literature across publications, scientists warn

The citations at the end of a research paper should represent a solid foundation of existing knowledge about a particular field, a pool of peer-reviewed sources built over years of research and study. However, with the increasing ...

May 18, 2026
Phys.org / Debunking a core chemistry concept taught in classrooms everywhere

A new study has revealed that a core idea taught in chemistry classrooms around the world may be wrong. Dr. Edwin Johnson, Lecturer at the University of Newcastle, co-authored the paper published in the Journal of Chemical ...

May 18, 2026
Phys.org / Sea level rise is swallowing US Mid-Atlantic farmland faster than expected, study finds

Ghost forests, the cemetery-like groupings of dead trees killed by saltwater intrusion, have become haunting symbols of sea level rise overtaking land along the Mid-Atlantic coast. But a new study published in Nature Sustainability, ...

May 18, 2026
Phys.org / Intensifying droughts may be pushing tropical forests toward a dangerous threshold

Tropical forests, often described as the lungs of the planet, may be edging closer to a dangerous threshold as droughts become more frequent and widespread across the world's humid tropics. New research suggests these ecosystems ...

May 18, 2026
Phys.org / Twisted WSe₂ reveals elusive charge-neutral quantum modes

Quantum materials, materials with properties that are influenced by the laws of quantum mechanics, have attracted considerable attention over the past few decades. Their unique properties make these materials advantageous ...

May 18, 2026
Phys.org / Bioengineers condense protein engineering and testing to a single day

Proteins are critical to life—and to industry. There are countless proteins that could be engineered to treat and even cure serious diseases and cellular dysfunctions. Industrial applications are similarly promising, with ...

May 18, 2026
Phys.org / Ancient Arctic fossils uncover three mammal species that survived months of darkness

Today's Arctic may feel remote and desolate, but more than 70 million years ago, it was a surprisingly lively place for some of Earth's ancient mammals.

May 18, 2026
Phys.org / A physicist's fresh look at the 'prisoner's dilemma' reveals hope for cooperation

The "prisoner's dilemma" is one of the most famous ideas in game theory. For decades, this game has been used to explain why selfishness often beats cooperation. In the prisoner's dilemma, two players can either cooperate ...

May 18, 2026
Phys.org / How much worse could western wildfires get? New modeling changes projections

Across the western United States, wildfires are increasing in size and intensity. As the climate continues to warm, more extreme wildfires will reshape landscapes and pose a growing risk to human health and natural ecosystems ...

May 18, 2026
Phys.org / The structure of water: Entropy determines whether ions stick

Water molecules do not simply swirl around in complete disorder; they can form certain preferred structures. This scientific fact is often presented in entirely unscientific ways. For example, when people speak of an alleged ...

May 18, 2026
Phys.org / Neanderthals gathered shellfish using the same strategies as modern humans, study finds

Neanderthal populations in southern Europe collected shellfish throughout the year, with a marked preference for the colder months, according to a new international study led by researchers from the Institute of Environmental ...

May 18, 2026