Phys.org news

Phys.org / Scientists cut and rebuild molecules from the inside to create new chiral nanocarbons

Nanocarbons are molecular-scale carbon structures considered to be the building blocks for next-generation materials. Until now, scientists have built them by fusing small, flat carbon molecules together at their edges. Modifying ...

Jul 28, 2026
Phys.org / Fossil footprints reveal body size and group dynamics of 1.4-million-year-old human relative

Ancient footprints preserved along the shores of Kenya's Lake Turkana are reshaping scientists' understanding of one of humanity's extinct relatives. A paper published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences describes ...

Jul 27, 2026
Phys.org / Extragalactic positron-annihilation hotspots might mean Milky Way produces far more positrons than thought

Positrons—the antimatter counterpart of electrons—are created in high-energy cosmic processes. When normal matter meets its antimatter counterpart, they annihilate, or vanish, and produce a distinctive 511 keV gamma-ray signal. ...

Jul 27, 2026
Phys.org / Physicists capture first direct evidence of a Floquet topological state

A new study published in Nature Physics reports the first direct experimental evidence of a Floquet topological state, a novel light-induced phase of matter that, until now, has existed only on paper and in simulations. Topological ...

Jul 27, 2026
Phys.org / Prolonged stretching reorganizes tissue scaffolds and uncages cell nuclei

How do tissues cope with being stretched for hours or even days? A study led by researchers at the Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC) has uncovered an unexpected answer: Cells radically reorganize their internal ...

Jul 27, 2026
Phys.org / AI finds tiny gene editor changes that reduce unintended DNA edits

Gene editing is a highly precise and powerful technology that allows scientists to insert, delete, modify or replace DNA bases in living organisms. It has a variety of uses, including correcting disease-causing mutations ...

Jul 27, 2026
Phys.org / Quantum neural networks get their first hardware test

Neural networks have transformed how machines find patterns in data, from recognizing faces in photos to predicting the shapes of proteins. So far, all of this progress has been made on ordinary classical computers, but with ...

Jul 27, 2026
Phys.org / Why the future of fashion might involve wearing live fungi

The idea of having living fungi cover your body might not be the most appealing thing in the world. But what if it was part of a clothing fabric that could change color, protect you from UV rays and even repair its own tears? ...

Jul 27, 2026
Phys.org / How flying together helps Andean condors save energy

Animals are constantly moving to find food, water, suitable habitats, mates and safe places to rest. Because moving requires substantial energy, animals often rely on various biological and behavioral strategies to reduce ...

Jul 27, 2026
Phys.org / Astronomers identify one of the universe's rarest black hole events

A team of astronomers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has observed an extremely rare "wandering" black hole located tens of thousands of light-years from the center of its galaxy. This finding could reshape ...

Jul 27, 2026
Phys.org / Hubble shows star formation in Andromeda galaxy is winding down

A new study using data from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope finds that star formation in the nearby Andromeda galaxy has undergone a 500-million-year decline, with an even steeper drop in the last 40 million years. Andromeda, ...

Jul 27, 2026
Phys.org / Kids who own cellphones have poorer reading comprehension scores than those who don't, researchers find

School cellphone bans might seem like a good way to improve learning for elementary school children, but new research published in Behavioral Sciences shows that simply owning a cellphone correlates with worse reading comprehension. ...

Jul 27, 2026