Phys.org news

Phys.org / Looped polymers unlock stronger, faster molecular binding through entropy, model suggests

Entropy gets a bad rap. Typically associated with randomness and chaos, it can also correlate with freedom and diversity. Cornell researchers have found that, thanks to the latter qualities, entropy can help bind certain ...

May 11, 2026
Phys.org / Earth's first continents may trace back to subduction 3.5 billion years ago

An international team of researchers' analysis of minerals from the Pilbara region of Western Australia has given new insight into how ancient continents on Earth formed as far back as 3.5 billion years ago. Professor Tony ...

May 11, 2026
Phys.org / An everyday sweetener offers a surprisingly powerful engine for transparent, stretchable electronics

Professor Kyungwho Choi's team of the School of Mechanical Engineering at Sungkyunkwan University, in collaboration with Professor Jinsoo Kim's team in the Department of Chemical Engineering at Kyung Hee University, have ...

May 11, 2026
Phys.org / Old plant populations offer new clues to climate resilience

When scientists think about how plants will respond to climate change, they often look north. As temperatures rise, many species are expected to shift their ranges toward cooler regions with a loss of populations in warmer ...

May 11, 2026
Phys.org / Cut marks on 1.6 million-year-old bones reveal early humans moved prized meat

There is an old adage that goes, "you are what you eat," meaning that the food you consume helps build your body and fuel your mind. The same is true now as it ever was. When it comes to early humans, studying what they ate ...

May 10, 2026
Phys.org / Radio telescopes confirm 3.3-million-light-year halo in unusually quiet galaxy cluster

Astronomers have employed the upgraded Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (uGMRT) and the MeerKAT radio telescope to observe a galaxy cluster known as RXCJ0232–4420. Results of the new observations, published April 29 on the ...

May 10, 2026
Phys.org / Under mushroom caps, 17-plus bacterial species help drive stubborn blotch disease

A University of Florida study has made a key discovery in understanding a disease that for over a century has plagued the white button mushroom—a nutrient-dense vegetable that is valued for its versatility and health benefits. ...

May 10, 2026
Phys.org / Alaska's near‑record landslide tsunami sent a wave 1,580 feet up the fjord walls

On the evening of Aug. 9, 2025, passengers on the Hanse Explorer finished taking selfies and videos of the South Sawyer Glacier, and the ship headed back down the fjord. Twelve hours later, a landslide from the adjacent mountain ...

May 10, 2026
Phys.org / Good vibrations for quantum communications: Engineers couple single phonon to single atomic spin

Researchers at the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) have demonstrated, for the first time, a single quantum of vibrational energy interacting with a single atomic spin, seeding a pathway ...

May 10, 2026
Phys.org / Reading genetic activity from living cells without destroying them

Until now, studying the genetic processes in cells required destroying them—making it impossible to observe these processes over extended periods of time. A team from the Technical University of Munich (TUM) and Helmholtz ...

May 10, 2026
Phys.org / Ganymede's unique magnetic field may be powered by ongoing core formation—not a cooling core

Ganymede is not only Jupiter's largest moon, but also the largest in our solar system and one of the few that hosts a massive ice ocean. Adding to this planet-like moon's uniqueness is the fact that among the hundreds of ...

May 9, 2026
Phys.org / A close brush with Mars will reshape NASA's Psyche journey in a way few missions attempt

NASA's Psyche spacecraft will get a boost from Mars on Friday, May 15, passing just 2,800 miles (4,500 kilometers) from the planet's surface at some 12,333 mph (19,848 kph). The spacecraft will harness the planet's gravitational ...

May 9, 2026