Phys.org news

Phys.org / Butterfly-inspired crystals could enable durable, potentially safer glitter

The next time you need to freshen up the paint on your house or apply a bit of cosmetic glitter before heading out for the night, you might want to give a quick nod to the butterflies fluttering in a nearby garden. Taking ...

Aug 26, 2026
Phys.org / Gamma-ray signal could be long awaited evidence for WIMPs

Dark matter is known to make up roughly 85% of all mass in the universe, as evidenced by the way galaxies spin and how galaxy clusters are held together under gravity. Yet despite decades of searching, physicists have never ...

Aug 25, 2026
Phys.org / Archaeologists investigate a feared young woman's 17th century vampiric grave in Poland

In 2022, excavations at a cemetery in Pień, Poland, led by researchers from the Institute of Archaeology at Nicolaus Copernicus University, led to a mysterious discovery. In what they call Grave 75, they uncovered the 400-year-old ...

Aug 25, 2026
Phys.org / Setting limits on phase transitions in the dark energy era

The universe is known to be expanding at an accelerating rate. Physicists typically attribute this acceleration to dark energy, a mysterious component of the universe that exerts negative pressure, causing space to expand ...

Aug 25, 2026
Phys.org / The little red dots of our cosmos might hide something big

Little red dots may reside in small, dense galaxies with total masses equivalent to around 1 billion times that of the sun, according to research published in Nature Astronomy.

Aug 25, 2026
Phys.org / Egypt's deserts were once home to a diverse shark community

During the Late Cretaceous period, parts of Egypt were covered in water. A new study, published in the journal Cretaceous Research, describes new evidence that this tropical sea was home to a diverse community of sharks. ...

Aug 25, 2026
Phys.org / The hidden physics behind the shape of rose thorns

Roses are known for their thorns, the sharp structures that can sting and prickle the skin. Thorns, botanically known as prickles, are thought to discourage animals from feeding on plants and may also help climbing roses ...

Aug 25, 2026
Phys.org / Bright people know more about wine: How higher intelligence is reflected in deep domain knowledge

Intelligent people tend to perform better at school and at work, as numerous studies have shown. But what happens in domains where incentives such as good grades or financial rewards don't apply and where socioeconomic status ...

Aug 25, 2026
Phys.org / JWST reveals a race against time for forming planets

Planets form from disks of gas and dust around young stars, but the gas needed for growth does not last forever. New observations from NASA's James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) now offer a new view of how this gas escapes ...

Aug 25, 2026
Dialog / Hydroclimate whiplash damages California's tallest redwoods after years of drought

Tall trees are generally associated with high-biomass forests. This is particularly true for forests dominated by Sequoia sempervirens (hereafter redwood), the world's tallest tree species. Extreme decay resistance, the ability ...

Aug 25, 2026
Phys.org / Sound waves do double duty, carrying and protecting quantum information

Researchers at the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) have demonstrated a promising new way to protect fragile quantum information using nothing but mechanical vibrations—essentially ...

Aug 25, 2026
Phys.org / A near extinct plant in Galápagos is now recovering

A 30-year conservation effort has helped the critically endangered Galápagos snapdragon (Galvezia leucantha subsp. leucantha) recover from just six individuals to a small, carefully tended wild population. Following tireless ...

Aug 25, 2026