Phys.org news

Phys.org / We discovered rare dinosaur tracks from the Coniacian age near Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia

Imagine the Western Plains of North America, from Texas to Alaska, submerged under a broad, shallow seaway. To the west lay the ancestral Rocky Mountains. To the east were low-lying plains traversed by large, sluggish rivers.

Aug 26, 2026
Phys.org / Utah mountain ranges may store a billion tons of hidden ice

Unlike conventional glaciers, rock glaciers appear as piles of rock that obscure large masses of unaccounted-for ice. Rock glaciers are common in the Wasatch and Uinta ranges, even appearing on the Colorado Plateau in the ...

Aug 26, 2026
Phys.org / Permafrost thaws worldwide as active layers deepen from 2000 to 2024

An international study led by researchers at the George Washington University indicates clear global evidence that permafrost is thawing across much of the planet. Using more than two decades of field observations from 156 ...

Aug 26, 2026
Phys.org / Did ocean motion carve Enceladus's tiger stripes?

Saturn's moon Enceladus sports a thick shell of ice surrounding a liquid water ocean. As though scraped by an enormous claw, four parallel cracks slash across its south pole. Each about 500 meters (1,600 feet) deep, 2 kilometers ...

Aug 26, 2026
Phys.org / Electrically charged raindrops could be corroding metal with protective coatings

Electrically charged raindrops, a naturally occurring phenomenon, can break down surfaces treated with protective coatings, according to new research published in Nature. This previously overlooked corrosion mechanism highlights ...

Aug 26, 2026
Phys.org / One molecule, one photon: Entanglement makes an imperceptible recoil measurable

For decades, light has been used to understand the molecular structures of matter. A sample is irradiated with light, and measurements determine the wavelengths at which it is absorbed. Since each molecule absorbs light at ...

Aug 26, 2026
Phys.org / Dry seeds preserve fully formed mitochondria, unlocking rapid energy at germination

The majority of plant seeds have the special ability to almost completely dry out and yet remain viable. While most living cells die with a 90% loss of water, cells in seeds enter a biological state of dormancy. With a moisture ...

Aug 26, 2026
Phys.org / Basalt weathering may remove far less CO₂ than projected

Spreading finely crushed basalt across farmland has been promoted as a relatively simple way to remove large quantities of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. But a new study led by Cornell researchers suggests the real-world ...

Aug 26, 2026
Phys.org / Virtual reality reveals glassfish synchronize through split-second copying of single neighbors

For centuries, scientists have been fascinated by the remarkable coordinated movements of flocking birds, swarming insects and schooling fish. Researchers have studied these natural phenomena to understand the rules of interactions ...

Aug 26, 2026
Phys.org / Ramped fields create more robust entanglement between trapped-ion qubits

While quantum computing could be the future, it is currently plagued by finicky hardware. To make the technology practical, researchers must demonstrate that it consistently and continuously works and performs at scale. In ...

Aug 26, 2026
Phys.org / AI designs new antibodies that pass blinded laboratory tests

Researchers affiliated with UTHealth Houston, competing under the team name Novamab AI, placed among the top five teams in the international AIntibody Challenge, a blinded, prospective benchmark published in Nature Biotechnology.

Aug 26, 2026
Phys.org / Volcanic eruptions and warming climate disrupt long-standing link between Indian and Pacific oceans

A new study that combines paleoclimate data and climate models suggests that large volcanic eruptions can disrupt the relationship between atmospheric circulation patterns over the tropical Indian and Pacific oceans. In addition, ...

Aug 26, 2026