Phys.org news

Phys.org / Positive interactions dominate among marine microbes, six-year study reveals

A six-year analysis of marine microbes in coastal California waters has overturned long-held assumptions about how the ocean's smallest organisms interact.

Jan 21, 2026 in Biology
Phys.org / Two-dimensional materials expand options for next-generation terahertz quantum devices

Scientists from the National University of Singapore (NUS) have discovered that atomic-scale substitutional dopants in ultra-thin two-dimensional (2D) materials can act as stable quantum systems operating at terahertz (THz) ...

Jan 21, 2026 in Nanotechnology
Phys.org / Scientists design molecules 'backward' to speed up discovery

Every medication in your cabinet, every material in your phone's battery, and virtually every compound that makes modern life work started as a molecular guess, with scientists hypothesizing that a particular arrangement ...

Jan 21, 2026 in Chemistry
Phys.org / 2.6-million-year-old Paranthropus fossil expands early hominin range

In a paper published in Nature, a team led by University of Chicago paleoanthropologist Professor Zeresenay Alemseged reports the discovery of the first Paranthropus specimen from the Afar region of Ethiopia, 1,000 km north ...

Jan 21, 2026 in Biology
Phys.org / Natural peptides from cyanobacteria offer eco-friendly solution to marine biofouling

A new CIIMAR study demonstrates that natural peptides produced by cyanobacteria are capable of replacing toxic biocides that dominate the market for anti-fouling paints used in the maritime industry. The use of these peptides ...

Jan 21, 2026 in Biology
Phys.org / US forests store record carbon as natural and human factors combine

U.S. forests have stored more carbon in the past two decades than at any time in the last century, an increase attributable to a mix of natural factors and human activity, finds a new study.

Jan 21, 2026 in Earth
Phys.org / Solar flares triggered by cascading magnetic avalanches, new observations reveal

Just as avalanches on snowy mountains start with the movement of a small quantity of snow, the ESA-led Solar Orbiter spacecraft has discovered that a solar flare is triggered by initially weak disturbances that quickly become ...

Jan 21, 2026 in Astronomy & Space
Phys.org / New method creates acinar cells involved in formation of pancreatic cancer

Organoids are three-dimensional miniature models of organs, grown in a dish. They have become a valuable tool for studying human development, organ regeneration, function, and disease progression. Organoids derived from patient ...

Jan 21, 2026 in Biology
Phys.org / Rare Florida scrub millipedes reproduce in captivity for the first time

Before scientists even knew how many Florida scrub millipedes were left in the wild, a quiet breakthrough happened in a University of South Florida lab. The rare, giant millipedes reproduced in captivity.

Jan 21, 2026 in Biology
Phys.org / Velocity gradients prove key to explaining large-scale magnetic field structure

All celestial bodies—planets, suns, even entire galaxies—produce magnetic fields, affecting such cosmic processes as the solar wind, high-energy particle transport, and galaxy formation. Small-scale magnetic fields are ...

Jan 21, 2026 in Physics
Phys.org / World's first high-resolution global leaf chlorophyll map can closely track plant health

A research team led by Profs. Li Jing and Liu Qinhuo from the Aerospace Information Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (AIRCAS) has developed the world's first global, high-resolution map of leaf chlorophyll ...

Jan 21, 2026 in Earth
Phys.org / Critical Atlantic Ocean currents kept going during last ice age, microfossils suggest

During the last ice age, the Atlantic Ocean's powerful current system remained active and continued to transport warm, salty water from the tropics to the North Atlantic despite extensive ice cover across much of the Northern ...

Jan 21, 2026 in Earth