Phys.org news

Phys.org / Glaciers may flow into the ocean more quickly than we think

Models of glacial flow and retreat rely on estimates of glacial ice viscosity, the measure of the ice's resistance to flow. Ice viscosity is dependent on the stress applied to the glacier. Most ice sheet models use a standard ...

Apr 14, 2026
Phys.org / Simple rules guide how proteins assemble and evolve, study finds

Researchers at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev have identified simple rules that explain how complex protein structures assemble correctly and remain functional over time, despite having many theoretically possible configurations. ...

Apr 14, 2026
Phys.org / High school student designs low-cost teabags to remove arsenic from water and help millions

Arsenic contamination in drinking water is a global issue, with over 200 million people estimated to be at risk. While water treatment plants remove the metal, the problem persists in low-resource areas or undertreated well ...

Apr 14, 2026
Phys.org / Smart cable sharing gives quantum computers a big boost

A major obstacle in the development of powerful quantum computers is the growing number of cables required to control a computer as the number of qubits increases. Researchers at Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden ...

Apr 14, 2026
Phys.org / Shredded stars reveal how black holes ignite trillion-sun flares

Supermassive black holes are among the most enigmatic objects in the universe. They typically weigh millions or even billions of times the mass of the sun and sit at the centers of most large galaxies. At the heart of the ...

Apr 14, 2026
Phys.org / Fluorescent technique reveals hidden scale of microfiber pollution from our clothes

Pollution released from our textiles is smaller and more irregular in shape than previously thought, according to new research led by The University of Manchester. In a study published in Scientific Reports, Manchester researchers—in ...

Apr 14, 2026
Phys.org / Contaminants, including ink, detected in meteorites suggest sample preparation needs improving

The IBeA group of the EHU-University of the Basque Country is proposing new measures to safeguard the purity of extraterrestrial samples. Several contaminants, including traces of ink, originating in the preparation of subsamples, ...

Apr 14, 2026
Phys.org / Toothy snout recasts Australia's famed Muttaburrasaurus as a picky eater

In a surprising new study, Australia's most famous plant-eating dinosaur has been described as a "picky eater with a nose for good food" when it roamed across the continent around 96 million years ago. After examining different ...

Apr 14, 2026
Phys.org / Virtual sunspots help AI find rare magnetic matches in vast solar archives

Research led by Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) has integrated three types of machine learning models to generate solar magnetic patches with physical properties and used those as a query to find matching patches in real ...

Apr 14, 2026
Phys.org / Catching distant gamma-ray explosions with precisely aligned X-ray optics

Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) rank among the most powerful explosions in the universe, releasing immense energy in intense flashes of gamma rays. The most distant GRBs originate from the era when the first stars and galaxies formed. ...

Apr 14, 2026
Phys.org / Mirror-positioning method could make quantum gravity tests possible

In quantum physics, objects can exist in multiple states at the same time—a phenomenon known as quantum superposition, where a particle does not have a single definite value of position or momentum until it is measured. A ...

Apr 14, 2026
Phys.org / AI-guided electron microscope provides unique glimpse into the world of MXenes

The use of artificial intelligence has enabled researchers at the National Laboratory of the Rockies (NLR) to gain a greater understanding of two-dimensional (2D) materials that can be useful for energy storage, water purification, ...

Apr 14, 2026