Phys.org news

Phys.org / Quantum Fourier transform reaches 52 qubits, shattering the previous 27-qubit record

The spin-off company ParityQC has implemented the largest quantum Fourier transform ever reported using an IBM quantum computer, thereby setting a new milestone on the path toward the industrial application of quantum computers. ...

Apr 16, 2026
Phys.org / Relocating Venice among the options explored to protect the city against sea-level rise

Relocating the city of Venice is among four potential options—including movable barriers, ring dikes and closing the Venetian Lagoon—that could help it adapt to future sea-level rise over the next 200 years, according to ...

Apr 16, 2026
Phys.org / Electric double layer emerges in new electrocatalyst interface model

Hydrogen is at the heart of the transition to carbon neutrality, as both an energy carrier and a reagent for green chemistry. However, large-scale production of hydrogen via electrolysis, as well as the production of many ...

Apr 16, 2026
Phys.org / Laser method unlocks 3,000-Kelvin thin-film synthesis for quantum materials

Thin films might not come up in conversation every day, but they are all around us. Take the metallic plastic films of chip bags, for example, or the anti-reflective coatings on eyeglasses. Even the coatings on pills that ...

Apr 16, 2026
Phys.org / Uranus's two outer rings show starkly different origins

Astronomers using the W. M. Keck Observatory on Maunakea, Hawaiʻi Island are revealing new insight into the composition and origins of Uranus's two outer rings. Using data from the Keck Observatory Archive (KOA), combined ...

Apr 16, 2026
Phys.org / Bird and tortoise fossil tracks on South Africa's coast: Latest findings are world firsts

The south coast of South Africa's Western Cape province is a rich source of fossil tracks and traces—clues suggesting what this environment may have been like many thousands of years ago.

Apr 16, 2026
Phys.org / Waikīkī faces escalating threat of sewage-contaminated flooding as sea level rises

A new study by University of Hawai'i at Mānoa researchers revealed that Waikīkī is facing a fundamental shift in flood hazards as sea levels rise—transitioning from a flooding that is driven primarily by rainfall to events ...

Apr 16, 2026
Phys.org / African elephant genomes reveal a past of continental connectivity and a future of increasing isolation

In the largest genomic mapping of Africa's elephants to date, an international team of researchers shows that elephant history is defined by the ability to move across large distances and exchange genes throughout the African ...

Apr 16, 2026
Phys.org / Can we trust the science shaping our lives?

Improved methods for social and behavioral sciences research could help enhance public trust in science, says a new study that investigated the robustness of data analysis to understand whether it reliably stood the test ...

Apr 16, 2026
Phys.org / For regrowing human limbs, this salamander gene could hold the key

Investigating a common gene in three very different species—salamanders, mice and zebrafish—scientists have discovered the potential for a novel gene therapy aimed at eventually regrowing limbs in humans, according to new ...

Apr 16, 2026
Phys.org / Extensive faults beneath Nevada nuclear lab raise unanswered earthquake risks

The underground laboratory in Nevada where the U.S. conducts nuclear subcritical experiments is riddled with faults. Researchers have not confirmed whether any of these faults are active and could rupture during an earthquake, ...

Apr 16, 2026
Phys.org / Cancer's hidden switch may sit in the cell membrane, forcing growth receptors into permanent overdrive

Cells are enveloped by a lipid membrane that gives them structure and provides a barrier between the cell and its environment. However, evidence has recently emerged suggesting that these membranes do more than simply provide ...

Apr 16, 2026