Phys.org news

Phys.org / Satellite radar shows Alaska glaciers melt three extra weeks for each 1°C of summer warming

Alaska's glaciers respond to climate change by melting for three additional weeks with every 1 degree Celsius increase in the average summer temperature, data from satellite-mounted radars show.

Mar 21, 2026
Phys.org / Predicting RNA activity expands therapeutic possibilities

With AI, it's now possible for researchers to predict the three-dimensional structures of proteins directly from their amino-acid sequences. But what biologists really want to predict, says Columbia biophysicist Hashim Al-Hashimi, ...

Mar 21, 2026
Phys.org / Chatting with people beats interactions with AI chatbots when it comes to reducing loneliness

More and more people are turning to AI chatbots as if they were close friends—venting about personal struggles, asking for advice, and even sharing their deepest secrets. These conversations can feel strikingly real, with ...

Mar 20, 2026
Phys.org / ALICE sees new sign of primordial plasma in proton collisions

The ALICE Collaboration takes a step further in addressing the question of whether a quark–gluon plasma can be formed in proton–proton and proton–nucleus collisions. In the first few microseconds after the Big Bang, ...

Mar 20, 2026
Phys.org / Ancient sling bullet delivers a 2,100-year-old taunt: 'Learn your lesson!'

For millennia, sling bullets served as a hand-thrown projectile that could be used to fend off enemies. At Hippos, 70 sling bullets made of lead have been recovered over the course of fieldwork and excavation. However, while ...

Mar 20, 2026
Phys.org / Rivers and tidal currents keep 80% of microfibers from reaching oceans, study suggests

Every time we do a load of laundry, tiny fibers of polyester escape from our clothes and slip down the drain. These microfibers, so small they can be invisible to the naked eye, are among the most common forms of microplastic ...

Mar 20, 2026
Phys.org / New AI model predicts record high dipole moments in unexpected molecules

Chemists may soon have one less rigorous step to worry about when searching for the right molecules to accomplish their highly specific innovation needs. Scientists have now built a new machine learning model that can predict ...

Mar 20, 2026
Phys.org / A new entanglement-enhanced quantum sensing scheme

Over the past decades, quantum scientists have introduced various technologies that operate leveraging quantum mechanical effects, including quantum sensors, computers and memory devices. Most of these technologies leverage ...

Mar 20, 2026
Phys.org / ShadowCam search casts doubt on abundant lunar ice

New observations by a team of US astronomers have cast fresh doubt on whether the lunar surface could host abundant water ice. Publishing their results in Science Advances, a team led by Shuai Li at the University of Hawaii ...

Mar 20, 2026
Phys.org / Researchers uncover gut-liver serotonin pathway that limits nanoparticle and viral delivery

A new study has for the first time elucidated the gut-liver immune regulatory axis jointly maintained by intestinal commensal bacteria and the intestinal endocrine system, and uncovered the fundamental mechanism underlying ...

Mar 20, 2026
Phys.org / Why some regions are winning the fight against groundwater depletion

For half the world's population, the water in their drinking glasses comes from below them. Groundwater also supplies 40% of global irrigation projects. Alarmingly, more than a third of the planet's aquifers, or groundwater ...

Mar 20, 2026
Phys.org / The deep freshwater reservoir hidden beneath the Great Salt Lake

A potentially huge underground reservoir of freshwater beneath the Great Salt Lake is coming into sharper focus with a new study that used airborne electromagnetic (AEM) surveys to X-ray geologic structures under Farmington ...

Mar 20, 2026