Phys.org news

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
Phys.org / Genetics link Angola's 'ghost elephants' to populations hundreds of miles away

For more than a decade, conservation biologist Steve Boyes searched for "ghost elephants"—nocturnal giants rumored to roam a remote, high-altitude wetland in eastern Angola. When a motion-sensor camera finally captured their ...

May 9, 2026
Phys.org / Non-rotating early galaxy is a surprise to astronomers

Astronomers using the James Webb Space Telescope have made a surprising discovery about a galaxy long, long ago and far, far away: It isn't rotating. That's something only seen in the most massive, mature galaxies that are ...

May 9, 2026
Phys.org / CRISPR safeguard changes how engineered microbes can be controlled

Engineered microorganisms are widely used in industrial biotechnology and biopharmaceutical applications, including the production of biofuels, sustainable chemicals, and therapeutic compounds. However, concerns remain regarding ...

May 9, 2026
Phys.org / New catalyst unlocks carbon-free ammonia heat for steel, cement and chemicals

A single-atom platinum catalyst lights ammonia at 200 °C and keeps it burning steadily at 1,100 °C with low NOx, generating high-grade, carbon-free heat for steel, cement and chemicals.

May 9, 2026
Phys.org / Bee more specific: New radar tech could improve identification and tracking of key pollinators

Scientists from Trinity and Technical University of Denmark have developed a new radar-based technique that could address a critical gap in global conservation efforts, by transforming how we identify and track the insects ...

May 9, 2026
Phys.org / How river DNA can track fish, frogs, fungi and human feces all at once

A single scoop of water from an Irish river has revealed evidence not only of Ireland's only frog species—as expected—but also signs of the dreaded B. dendrobatidis fungus, marking the first time this devastating amphibian ...

May 9, 2026
Phys.org / Heavy Atlantic rain can block African aerosols from fertilizing Amazon, study finds

How are cold air masses advancing in the United States connected to fertilizers carried by "flying rivers" from Africa that nourish the soils of the Brazilian Amazon? An article published in Geophysical Research Letters reveals ...

May 9, 2026