Phys.org news

Phys.org / Scientists discover 210-million-year-old dinosaur in Zimbabwe

A newly discovered dinosaur from Zimbabwe is offering fresh clues to how the animals diversified, suggesting they spread across distinct ecosystems in southern Africa, scientists said Wednesday.

Jul 29, 2026
Phys.org / Strain turns non-chiral crystals left- or right-handed on demand

Mechanical strain is one of the most common tools used to tailor the properties of materials. In piezoelectric materials, stretching or compressing a crystal generates an electrical polarization. In piezomagnetic materials, ...

Jul 29, 2026
Phys.org / First electrically pumped perovskite polariton laser diode solves a decades-long challenge

Resolving a long-standing problem in semiconductor physics and optoelectronics, a team of researchers from Skoltech—a VEB.RF group institution—and their colleagues from ITMO University and HSE University have for the first ...

Jul 29, 2026
Phys.org / Gonorrhea's own enzyme triggers therapy against multidrug-resistant strains in lab tests

Scientists at the Universities of Liverpool and Oxford have developed a promising new way to kill antibiotic-resistant strains of Neisseria gonorrhoeae, the bacterium that causes gonorrhea, using a targeted therapy that is ...

Jul 29, 2026
Phys.org / Five-year study finds rewilded elephants develop successful coping mechanisms, with individual differences

Ex-captive elephants released into the wild adapt well to wild environments, according to a study published July 29, 2026, in the journal PLOS One by Tenisha Roos and Tamara Eggeling of the Elephant Reintegration Trust of ...

Jul 29, 2026
Phys.org / The cost of memory: How organisms balance thinking and sensing

Remembering the past can help living organisms make better decisions, but memory comes at a cost. Whether it is an animal searching for food or a single cell responding to its surroundings, storing and using information requires ...

Jul 29, 2026
Phys.org / Lake ice loss could accelerate after winter temperatures cross critical thresholds

For lakes across the Northern Hemisphere, winter ice is more than a frozen surface. It is a seasonal regulator that shapes underwater ecosystems and energy balance. But as the planet warms, this frozen season is disappearing ...

Jul 29, 2026
Phys.org / Antarctic storms are becoming more frequent and intense, affecting sea ice

Winters in Antarctica's Ross Sea have become stormier in recent decades, affecting sea-ice conditions and field operations, new University of Otago—Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka research shows.

Jul 29, 2026
Phys.org / Icelandic fish 'hot tubs' reveal genetic adaptations to warming—and unexpected overeating

New research, led by the University of Glasgow reveals that adaptation to warmer waters causes fish to display a range of behavioral and biological differences, including obesity, overeating and lower metabolism.

Jul 29, 2026
Phys.org / What sheep's teeth can tell us about life in a medieval Kazakhstan town

You might not often think about the molars of livestock, but everything from the grass they eat to the water they drink can tell a story about how people lived centuries ago. An international collaboration led by University ...

Jul 29, 2026
Phys.org / Shipwreck cargo reveals surprising global trade secrets of the 1600s

Using cargo recovered from one of Australia's most infamous shipwrecks, new Curtin University-led research has revealed how surprisingly sophisticated global supply chains helped source and transport construction materials ...

Jul 29, 2026
Phys.org / Private mission to rescue NASA's aging telescope runs into its own trouble

The spacecraft rushing to the rescue of an aging and sinking NASA telescope has run into its own problem.

Jul 29, 2026