Phys.org news

Phys.org / Weather prediction hits a theoretical 129-day ceiling

Prediction is the goal and test of all science, one might argue. Meteorologists have been curious about the inherent limits of weather forecasting ever since the dawn of numerical weather prediction in the late 1950s.

Aug 11, 2026
Phys.org / Chinese label once tied to Boston Tea Party reveals 19th-century Pacific trade

When MIT historian Tristan Brown first examined a Chinese tea chest label displayed as a relic of the Boston Tea Party, he had no reason to doubt its story.

Aug 11, 2026
Phys.org / Perceived naturalness emerges as key driver of public support for climate technology

From nuclear energy to lab-grown meat, the list of effective but unpopular climate solutions is long. A new University of Colorado Boulder study sheds light on why people reject or accept some proposed sustainability technologies: ...

Aug 11, 2026
Phys.org / Himalayan grain demonstrates the potential of pangenome-guided breeding for higher yields and adaptability

Scientists from the Centre for Crop and Food Innovation (CCFI) at Murdoch University have participated in a landmark proof-of-concept research project demonstrating how pangenome-guided breeding strategies can reunite two ...

Aug 11, 2026
Phys.org / X-ray analysis reveals the inner life of leaves while advancing engineering efforts to reduce 'crop sweat'

In the Midwestern summer, humans and plants have to breathe through the heat and humidity. Researchers hope that a retooled crop plant—one with an improved ventilation system within its leaves—could thrive while avoiding ...

Aug 11, 2026
Phys.org / Beyond color: Fluorescence lifetime imaging distinguishes multiple proteins in living plant cells

Fluorescent protein imaging is an indispensable tool in life science research, enabling visualization of protein movement and localization, gene expression, signaling pathways, protein-protein interactions and more. For simultaneous ...

Aug 11, 2026
Phys.org / More than a decade of observation in Seattle suburbs shows where sensitive bird species won't go

Nearly 30 years ago, a simple question sent University of Washington researchers into the Puget Sound lowlands to look for birds. With Seattle's population swelling and housing developments pushing into once-forested suburbs, ...

Aug 11, 2026
Phys.org / Fungal chitin offers new route to tougher hydrogels for medical devices and soft robots

Researchers at the Department of Energy's (DOE) Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and the University of Tennessee (UT), Knoxville, have made an advance by using a natural substance from fungi called chitin to create hydrogels ...

Aug 11, 2026
Phys.org / New contactless method reveals how mirror-image materials respond differently to light

New research introduces a contactless way to see how mirror-image materials respond differently to circularly polarized light, without first building them into a complete electronic device. The researchers developed a novel ...

Aug 11, 2026
Phys.org / Reading daily ocean temperatures from red algae

Understanding how marine ecosystems respond to a warming ocean requires detailed records of past temperatures. An international research team led by Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) and the Max Planck Institute for ...

Aug 11, 2026
Phys.org / Early farmers' larger grains may reflect rainfall, not genetic selection

A new archaeobotanical study by researchers from the University of Oxford and Kiel University (CAU) has revealed that increases in cereal grain size at the dawn of agriculture, more than 11,000 years ago, were initially driven ...

Aug 11, 2026
Phys.org / Ancient Colombians built huge water system without centralized rule, archaeologists say

Communities living in Colombia thousands of years ago achieved an engineering wonder of the world based on cooperation among family groups without top-down government, a new study shows. Archaeologists argue that policymakers ...

Aug 11, 2026