Phys.org news

Phys.org / How AI-generated cartoons reshaped Taiwan's 2024 protests

In spring 2024, more than 100,000 people protested in Taiwan's streets. On Threads, a parallel fight was underway.

Jun 22, 2026
Phys.org / Molecular 'Velcro' gel removes PFAS from water without fluorinated materials

A new gel-based material developed by University of Florida chemical engineers filters PFAS forever chemicals from water more efficiently than many widely used commercial options. The advance offers a potential new path to ...

Jun 22, 2026
Phys.org / Machine learning helps identify six promising solvents for carbon dioxide electroreduction

Carbon dioxide (CO2) is a primary driver of climate change in Earth's atmosphere. At the State University of New York at Stony Brook (Stony Brook University), Ph.D. researcher Kuldeepsinh Raj, along with principal investigator ...

Jun 22, 2026
Phys.org / High-severity fires burn 30 times more acreage than 40 years ago, researchers find

Forest fires now burn 10 times more acreage annually than in 1985, while wildfire severity has gotten even worse. In California, 30 times more acreage burned from high-severity, forest-killing fires, according to new UCLA ...

Jun 22, 2026
Phys.org / Heat stress exposure climbed from 16% to 22% worldwide over 50 years, study shows

The number of people exposed to dangerous heat stress worldwide has risen sharply over the past half-century, propelled by climate change, according to a study released Monday as Europe sweltered through a punishing heat ...

Jun 22, 2026
Phys.org / CRISPR safety check evaluates intended and unintended mutations

A team of researchers led by Professor Akitsu Hotta (Department of Clinical Application) developed a comprehensive framework that combines computational prediction, experimental validation and whole-genome analysis to evaluate ...

Jun 22, 2026
Phys.org / Cryo-EM imaging reveals how a molecular gate lets bulky proteins pass cell membranes intact

How large, fully folded proteins can pass through cell membranes without destroying them has long been one of the open questions in cell biology. Using cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM), Leonid Sazanov and Ziyu Zhao at the ...

Jun 22, 2026
Phys.org / Algae microbots take aim at bladder cancer

Tiny algae-based robots guided by magnets could improve bladder cancer treatment by boosting delivery of chemotherapy drugs into tumors, researchers say.

Jun 22, 2026
Phys.org / Human sacrifice in Inca Empire may have been driven by political motives, not religion

Three decades ago, researchers working atop the Llullaillaco volcano, located on the border between Argentina and Chile, discovered exceptionally well-preserved remains. The find included the mummified bodies of three children ...

Jun 21, 2026
Phys.org / Well-known planetary nebula's ear-like lobes rewrite its evolutionary timeline

Using the Multi Unit Spectroscopic Explorer (MUSE) and the Manchester Echelle Spectrograph (MES), astronomers from Turkey and Mexico have investigated a planetary nebula discovered two centuries ago, known as NGC 6563. Results ...

Jun 21, 2026
Phys.org / Quantum mechanics theory may work without imaginary numbers, new analysis suggests

Physicists from Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf (HHU) have examined a fundamental property of quantum mechanics in collaboration with the German Aerospace Center (DLR). In an article published in the journal Physical ...

Jun 21, 2026
Phys.org / Nanoscale CoAl design delivers 6 GPa strength with 15% plastic strain at room temperature

Materials engineers have developed the ability to manipulate structure and matter at the nanoscale for solid-state alloys called intermetallics, making it possible to alter their properties for improved performance.

Jun 21, 2026