Phys.org news

Phys.org / Dishwashing with side effects: Kitchen sponges release microplastics

Kitchen sponges are considered a potential, yet largely understudied, source of microplastics in households. A study in Environmental Advances investigated how many microplastic particles are released from kitchen sponges ...

Mar 21, 2026
Phys.org / JWST probes emerging young star clusters in nearby spiral galaxy NGC 628

Using the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), an international team of astronomers has observed a nearby spiral galaxy known as NGC 628. Results of the observational campaign, published March 10 on the arXiv pre-print server, ...

Mar 21, 2026
Phys.org / Two buried Iron Age hoards reveal first evidence for four-wheeled wagons in Britain

In 2021, a man named Peter Heads made a fascinating discovery while using his metal detector in Melsonby, North Yorkshire in the UK. The find prompted him to contact Tom Moore at the Department of Archaeology at Durham University, ...

Mar 21, 2026
Phys.org / Superconducting altermagnets could carry spin without energy loss

Researchers have proposed that a newly identified class of magnetic materials could extend the zero-resistance currents of superconductors to electron spins. Publishing their calculations in Physical Review X, Kyle Monkman ...

Mar 21, 2026
Phys.org / Kimchi-derived probiotic found to promote binding and excretion of intestinal nanoplastics

A lactic acid bacterium isolated from kimchi may help promote the removal of nanoplastics from the body by binding to them in the intestine. Nanoplastics are ultrafine plastic particles measuring less than 1 micrometer that ...

Mar 21, 2026
Phys.org / Critically endangered monkey gives birth after surgery saves her foot

A critically endangered monkey has given birth just months after pioneering surgery saved her from undergoing an amputation. Masaya, a 15-year-old roloway monkey at Chester Zoo, had a golf-ball-sized mass removed from her ...

Mar 21, 2026
Phys.org / Mussel-inspired glue from recycled plastics can be detached and reused

Researchers at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory have invented a reusable adhesive from waste polymers that is tougher than commercial glues, works underwater as well as in dry environments, and bonds ...

Mar 21, 2026
Phys.org / Physicists find electronic agents that govern flat band quantum materials

Physicists have directly visualized the fundamental electronic building blocks of flat-band quantum materials, a class of systems in which electron motion is effectively quenched and strong interactions give rise to emergent ...

Mar 21, 2026
Phys.org / How DICER cuts microRNAs with single-nucleotide precision

A research team from The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) has made an advance in understanding the molecular machinery of RNA silencing. The team uncovered how the human enzyme DICER achieves highly ...

Mar 21, 2026
Phys.org / Saturday Citations: Merging brown dwarfs, ancient machine guns, gravitational wave detection

This week, among a lot of other important findings, we learned that emperor cichlid fish have gaze sensitivity and dislike it if you look at them—or especially their children. England is looking for a solution to its 5-billion-liter ...

Mar 21, 2026
Phys.org / Satellite radar shows Alaska glaciers melt three extra weeks for each 1°C of summer warming

Alaska's glaciers respond to climate change by melting for three additional weeks with every 1 degree Celsius increase in the average summer temperature, data from satellite-mounted radars show.

Mar 21, 2026
Phys.org / Predicting RNA activity expands therapeutic possibilities

With AI, it's now possible for researchers to predict the three-dimensional structures of proteins directly from their amino-acid sequences. But what biologists really want to predict, says Columbia biophysicist Hashim Al-Hashimi, ...

Mar 21, 2026