Phys.org news

Phys.org / Porpoises can 'turn down the volume' to withstand ship noise

Porpoises are entirely dependent on their hearing for survival. They navigate, hunt, and communicate by emitting rapid click sounds and listening to the returning echoes. However, with increasingly noisy oceans, it is getting ...

Mar 2, 2026 in Biology
Phys.org / Color shortcut reveals bumblebees are efficient decision-makers

During their search for food, most insects head specifically for the flowers that promise the highest reward. But how do they know which ones to choose? Researchers from the University of Konstanz and the University of Würzburg ...

Mar 2, 2026 in Biology
Phys.org / Mott and Kondo insulators—how external stimuli can modify electronic energy bands

A study from the Research Center for Materials Nanoarchitectonics (MANA) has uncovered a theoretical mechanism showing how the electronic band structures of strongly correlated insulators can be reshaped by spin and charge ...

Mar 2, 2026 in Physics
Phys.org / Limiting global warming can reduce US wildfire smoke-related deaths by thousands annually

Using future climate scenarios based on wildfire damages in North America, scientists estimate that up to 10,000 or more lives may be saved annually in the United States if society is able to mitigate climate change by keeping ...

Mar 2, 2026 in Earth
Phys.org / Greenhouse gas fluxes in Everglades provide path for maximizing carbon capture via water management

The Florida Everglades is a complicated climate actor. The 1.5-million-acre wetland system remains a carbon sink, removing an average of 13.7 million metric tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere each year, but the system ...

Mar 2, 2026 in Earth
Phys.org / Soil saturation data sharpens atmospheric river flood warnings, study of 71,000 storms finds

Atmospheric rivers carry unfathomable amounts of water across the sky, bringing moisture to drought-stricken regions like the Western U.S. But whether a particular incoming atmospheric river storm will result in disastrous ...

Mar 2, 2026 in Earth
Phys.org / Scientists rescue lost song of the critically endangered regent honeyeater

Scientists from The Australian National University (ANU) and the Taronga Conservation Society Australia have successfully restored the lost traditional song of one of Australia's most endangered birds, offering new hope for ...

Mar 2, 2026 in Biology
Phys.org / Ancient DNA reveals life and death of Late Bronze Age in Central Europe

A new interdisciplinary study published in Nature Communications provides the first detailed insights, from a biomolecular and archaeological perspective, into the lives of people living in Central Europe during the Late ...

Mar 2, 2026 in Other Sciences
Phys.org / Isolating vesicle-cloaked viruses in city and hospital wastewater

Viruses such as human norovirus can travel in vesicles, small fluid-filled sacs that are like shipping containers for cells. Viruses hidden in these containers are often harder to detect and may be more infectious than free-floating ...

Mar 2, 2026 in Earth
Phys.org / Laser-within-a-laser delivers MeV X-ray radiography in picoseconds

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory's National Ignition Facility (NIF) is the hottest place on Earth for the briefest of moments during an experiment. Now, it can be one of the brightest places thanks to the Advanced Radiographic ...

Mar 2, 2026 in Physics
Phys.org / Oman ophiolite study suggests subduction zones can lock away CO₂

A research team led by a Keele scientist has shed new light on how a mysterious rock formation in Oman was created, which could reveal new details about Earth's ability to store carbon dioxide (CO2). The study, led by Dr. ...

Mar 2, 2026 in Earth
Dialog / Built to withstand, or built to worry? Housing and disaster risk perception

I have always been interested in how people make decisions under uncertainty—especially decisions about safety. But it was not until I began studying housing conditions and disaster risk that I realized how deeply our built ...

Mar 2, 2026 in Earth