Phys.org news

Phys.org / When water meets rock: Exploring water quality impacts from legacy lithium mining in North Carolina

Starting just outside Charlotte, North Carolina, a vast underground deposit of lithium stretches south for 25 miles. A key component of rechargeable batteries and energy grid storage systems, the soft, silvery metal is a ...

Feb 9, 2026 in Earth
Phys.org / Can't tally love: Tracking favors may hurt relationship, research indicates

They say that love is a two-way street, but that may only hold true to a point. It turns out that couples who obsess over equal give-and-take may be sabotaging their relationship, suggests a study involving University of ...

Feb 9, 2026 in Other Sciences
Phys.org / Discovering new connections between Great Lakes' winter storms and global climate patterns

About a year ago, researchers at the University of Michigan found that the extratropical cyclones that are the biggest drivers of winter weather in the Great Lakes region are warming and trending northward. That means, outside ...

Feb 9, 2026 in Earth
Phys.org / Microbiomes interconnect on a planetary scale, new study finds

In a new study published in Cell, scientists in the Bork Group at EMBL Heidelberg reveal that microbes living in similar habitats are more alike than those simply inhabiting the same geographical region. By analyzing tens ...

Feb 9, 2026 in Biology
Phys.org / Glaciers in retreat: Uncovering tourism's contradictions

As glaciers around the world melt at unprecedented rates, tourism in these icy landscapes is booming, adding pressure to vulnerable regions and disrupting delicate ecosystems. A collective effort, led by UNIL and published ...

Feb 9, 2026 in Earth
Phys.org / How big can a planet be? With very large gas giants, it can be hard to tell

Gas giants are large planets mostly composed of helium and/or hydrogen. Although these planets have dense cores, they don't have hard surfaces. Jupiter and Saturn are the gas giants in our solar system, but there are many ...

Feb 9, 2026 in Astronomy & Space
Phys.org / A piece of Africa in Europe? New insights into plate tectonics of the Balkans

Around the Balkan Peninsula, the African plate is sinking beneath the European plate. A piece of deeply submerged African crust resurfaced 40 million years ago far away from the sinking zone. How this phenomenon of so-called ...

Feb 9, 2026 in Earth
Phys.org / Intense sunlight reduces plant diversity and biomass across global grasslands, study finds

The sun is the basis for photosynthesis, but not all plants thrive in strong sunlight. Strong sunlight constrains plant diversity and plant biomass in the world's grasslands, a new study shows. Temperature, precipitation, ...

Feb 9, 2026 in Biology
Phys.org / Physicists clarify key mechanism behind energy release in molybdenum-93

A team of physicists from the Institute of Modern Physics (IMP) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, together with collaborators, has identified the dominant physical mechanism responsible for energy release in the nuclear ...

Feb 9, 2026 in Physics
Phys.org / People act more helpfully in poor environments than rich ones, research reveals

People are more likely to act helpfully in situations where there are poorer choices to give to others, according to a new study that tested willingness to help others in different contexts.

Feb 9, 2026 in Other Sciences
Phys.org / Mitochondrial superoxide signal helps preserve the nuclear envelope and delay aging, study finds

The nuclear envelope (NE) is a dynamic and selective barrier that organizes genome function and nucleocytoplasmic communication, and its structural deterioration is a hallmark of aging associated with diverse human diseases. ...

Feb 9, 2026 in Biology
Phys.org / Why elite chess ratings get stuck: A new model treats draws as data

Here's a statistical challenge worthy of a grandmaster: How do you create an accurate ranking system when the best players usually don't win? This is the conundrum of elite chess. The stronger the players, the greater the ...

Feb 9, 2026 in Other Sciences