Phys.org news

Phys.org / Striped or checkered? Magnetic field influences competing electronic patterns in a graphene-like quantum material

In most everyday materials, such as copper, silver and silicon, the behavior of electrons is relatively predictable. In quantum materials, however, electrons can interact in complex ways, giving rise to collective electronic ...

Jul 23, 2026
Phys.org / Silkworm cultivation predates the Silk Road in southern Central Asia, ancient cocoons suggest

The silkworm moth, whose caterpillars have been used in silk production since antiquity, may have been brought to southern Central Asia 4,000 years ago—nearly 2,000 years earlier than previously assumed—according to new research ...

Jul 23, 2026
Phys.org / Heat is coming for Hawaiian corals, but study finds there may be time to adapt

Since the first major bleaching event in 1996, Hawaiian corals have been subject to increasing heat stress and more frequent bleaching events. New research from oceanographers at the University of Hawai'i at Mānoa used high-resolution ...

Jul 23, 2026
Phys.org / Virtual café experiment finds Japanese participants keep greater distance than Italians

How close do we stand to other people during a social interaction? The distance we maintain between our body and that of another person—known as interpersonal distance—is a fundamental aspect of everyday life. It influences ...

Jul 23, 2026
Phys.org / Lipid nanoparticles deliver one-two punch to shrink resistant oral tumors in preclinical models

Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is the most common form of head and neck cancer, and the number of new cases is predicted to rise by 30% in the next decade. Despite decades of cancer research, treating OSCC remains a ...

Jul 23, 2026
Phys.org / Ceramic vessels reveal how social inequalities were also cooked into 19th-century Brazil

Fish, shellfish, maize, manioc, rice and even chicken eggs. Molecular residues preserved in more than 180 ceramic vessels from southern Brazil have made it possible to reconstruct what different communities were cooking more ...

Jul 23, 2026
Phys.org / Removing 'forever chemicals' from farmlands—at a fraction of the cost

A Yale-led research team has proposed a less expensive—and more environmentally friendly—method for removing certain "forever chemicals" from millions of acres of farmland in the United States and around the world.

Jul 22, 2026
Phys.org / Quantum internet leaves the lab with first real-world entanglement over busy telecom fiber

Quantum information is notoriously fragile. Internet traffic is anything but. Yet Northwestern University scientists have demonstrated they can peacefully coexist inside the same fiber-optic cable.

Jul 22, 2026
Phys.org / Engineered enzyme erases a stubborn mark of aging by up to 70% in human tissue samples

A biotech company called Revel Pharmaceuticals is looking into ways to reverse aging, and the company's science team, along with researchers from the company Calico and the University of Colorado, may be a step closer to ...

Jul 22, 2026
Phys.org / Kindness emerges intuitively in young children before reflection catches up, study finds

While humans are inherently social beings, psychology studies suggest that their social skills are gradually fine-tuned over time and with experience. Understanding when different social skills emerge and how they typically ...

Jul 22, 2026
Phys.org / New multiplexing scheme accelerates long-distance quantum communication

Quantum networks, systems consisting of multiple connected nodes or devices that can transmit quantum information to one another, have the potential to advance future communications. These networks typically leverage entanglement, ...

Jul 22, 2026
Phys.org / Ordinary moss generates surprisingly complex electrical activity

Moss may well be something that most of us barely give a second thought, but there is far more to this small nonvascular plant than meets the eye. A new study published in the journal Royal Society Open Science reports that ...

Jul 22, 2026