Phys.org news

Phys.org / Next-generation CT scanner reveal new details inside 2,300-year-old Egyptian mummy remains

Egyptian mummy remains were examined at Semmelweis University's Medical Imaging Center (OKK). The archaeological finds arriving from the Semmelweis Museum of Medical History, Hungarian National Museum Public Collection Center ...

Apr 15, 2026
Phys.org / How farming changed us: Ancient DNA reveals natural selection sped up in recent human evolution

A massive study of ancient DNA from nearly 16,000 people across more than 10,000 years in West Eurasia reveals that natural selection has shaped modern human genomes far more than previously thought.

Apr 15, 2026
Phys.org / Planets need more water to support life than scientists previously thought

Unfortunately for science fiction fans, desert worlds outside our solar system are unlikely to host life, according to new research from the University of Washington. Scientists show that an Earth-sized planet needs at least ...

Apr 15, 2026
Phys.org / 4,000-year-old clay tablets inscribed with magical spells… and beer tabs

For over 100 years, the National Museum has housed a large collection of inscribed tablets from the earliest civilizations of the Middle East—many over 4,000 years old and written in languages that are now extinct. The tablets ...

Apr 15, 2026
Phys.org / Astronomers crack a decades-old mystery, catching gas morphing into planet-building disks around newborn stars

An international team led by Dr. Indrani Das of Academia Sinica Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics (ASIAA) has shown, for the first time, how infalling gas from star-forming cores gradually transitions into planet-forming ...

Apr 15, 2026
Phys.org / Earth's microbes may hide a near-universal plastic-eating arsenal, with 600,000 proteins poised to attack waste

Researchers have identified more than 600,000 microbial proteins capable of breaking down natural and synthetic plastics, revealing a far broader biodegradation potential across microbes than previously known.

Apr 15, 2026
Phys.org / Shakespeare's 'missing' London house mapped with new discovery

The exact location of William Shakespeare's only London property can now be pinpointed to a quiet Blackfriars street, thanks to the discovery of a previously unknown floorplan. The discovery, made by Shakespeare expert Professor ...

Apr 15, 2026
Phys.org / Any color you like: Scientists create 'any wavelength' lasers in tiny circuits for light

Computer chips that cram billions of electronic devices into a few square inches have powered the digital economy and transformed the world. Scientists may be on the cusp of launching a similar technological revolution—this ...

Apr 15, 2026
Phys.org / 'Interstellar glaciers': NASA's SPHEREx maps vast galactic ice regions

NASA's SPHEREx (Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization, and Ices Explorer) mission has mapped interstellar ice at an unprecedented scale. Covering regions in our Milky Way galaxy more than ...

Apr 15, 2026
Phys.org / Autonomy key to happiness, study finds

If you can't get no satisfaction, then maybe it's because happiness does not only stem from pleasure or a meaningful existence. Instead, a new Simon Fraser University study suggests that freedom is the key to happiness.

Apr 15, 2026
Phys.org / Electrons crack open organic solar cells, exposing their hidden 3D molecular architecture in a single microscope

How do organic solar cells work on the inside? The answer lies in structures far too small to see—and difficult to access even with advanced techniques. So far, researchers have relied mainly on X-ray methods to understand ...

Apr 15, 2026
Phys.org / Scientists develop 'light switch' for the love hormone

Researchers have developed a molecular "light switch" for the so-called love hormone oxytocin, offering new insights into how social behavior, partnership bonding, emotions, and mental health are wired in the brain. Professor ...

Apr 15, 2026