https://phys.org/ en-us Phys.org internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. Polyester and a host of other plastic products could potentially be manufactured with non-toxic and sustainable BPA alternatives identified in a multidisciplinary study published in Nature Sustainability by researchers in Sweden. https://phys.org/news/2025-12-alternative-bpa-toxicity-sustainability-standards.html Polymers Thu, 04 Dec 2025 11:48:29 EST news684071281 Air quality in America's largest cities has steadily improved thanks to tighter regulations on key sources of particulate pollution. However, increased heat, wildfire smoke and other emerging global drivers of urban aerosol pollution are now combining to create a new set of challenges for public health officials tasked with protecting millions of people on the East Coast. https://phys.org/news/2025-09-frequent-wildfires-air-quality-issues.html Earth Sciences Tue, 30 Sep 2025 12:45:05 EDT news678455101 Mealworms and superworms may nibble at one of the world's most stubborn plastics, but new research from The University of Western Australia shows they can't actually break it down. https://phys.org/news/2025-08-worms-world-pvc-problem-analysis.html Plants & Animals Wed, 27 Aug 2025 10:15:03 EDT news675508501 Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are known as forever chemicals because of their extreme persistence. These compounds have useful properties including durability and waterproofing, so they're commonly used in consumer products like food packaging and cosmetics, as well as industrial processes. But PFAS' potential negative impacts on human health are driving the search for potentially safer substitutes. Now, researchers publishing in Environmental Science & Technology propose alternatives for many applications. https://phys.org/news/2025-02-online-database-potential-alternatives-chemicals.html Analytical Chemistry Tue, 25 Feb 2025 11:31:53 EST news659705502 We've all experienced the moment of panic when a glass slips from our hands, shattering into pieces upon hitting the ground. What if this common mishap could become a thing of the past? https://phys.org/news/2024-12-cooperative-motion-atoms-glass-fracturing.html Analytical Chemistry Mon, 02 Dec 2024 12:54:31 EST news652366469 Peregrine falcon populations across North America are heavily contaminated with harmful flame retardants–including those that have been phased out for years—according to a new study published in Environmental Science & Technology. https://phys.org/news/2024-04-peregrine-falcons-expose-flame-retardant.html Environment Tue, 09 Apr 2024 13:02:40 EDT news631886557 The matter of how metals deform or respond to external stresses has been extensively studied among metallurgists for centuries. When it comes to conventional metals—the crystalline kind with atoms that line up in neat patterns—the process is fairly well understood. But for the deformation of metallic glasses and other amorphous metals, easy answers have been elusive, particularly when it comes to how things work at the nanoscale. https://phys.org/news/2024-02-mysteries-metallic-glass-nanoscale.html Nanophysics Thu, 01 Feb 2024 10:08:03 EST news626004481 In a new study, researchers from North Carolina State University detected elevated PFAS levels in the blood of pet dogs and horses from Gray's Creek, N.C.—including dogs that only drank bottled water. The work establishes horses as an important sentinel species and is a step toward investigating connections between PFAS exposure and liver and kidney function in dogs and horses. https://phys.org/news/2023-06-pfas-blood-dogs-horses-fayetteville.html Plants & Animals Wed, 21 Jun 2023 00:00:01 EDT news606497914 In yet another example of the prevalence of the hazardous chemicals known as PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) in consumer products, industrial products and textiles, researchers have found notably high levels in school uniforms sold in North America. https://phys.org/news/2022-09-high-pfas-school-uniforms.html Environment Wed, 21 Sep 2022 08:00:02 EDT news582965675 Every day, millions of Americans rely on natural gas to power appliances such as kitchen stoves, furnaces, and water heaters, but until now very little data existed on the chemical makeup of the gas once it reaches consumers.  https://phys.org/news/2022-06-natural-gas-homes-hazardous-air.html Environment Tue, 28 Jun 2022 06:00:01 EDT news575613238 Cellulose diacetate (CDA), a bio-based plastic widely used in consumer goods, disintegrates, and degrades in the ocean far quicker than previously assumed, according to a new study published in Environmental Science & Technology Letters. https://phys.org/news/2021-12-bio-based-cellulose-acetate-plastic-disintegrates.html Environment Wed, 08 Dec 2021 12:40:01 EST news558187519 More than half the cosmetics sold in the United States and Canada likely contain high levels of a toxic industrial compound linked to serious health conditions, including cancer and reduced birth weight, according to a new study. https://phys.org/news/2021-06-cosmetics-toxic-chemicals.html Environment Tue, 15 Jun 2021 16:59:40 EDT news542995173 Scientists at UC San Francisco have detected 109 chemicals in a study of pregnant women, including 55 chemicals never before reported in people and 42 "mystery chemicals," whose sources and uses are unknown. https://phys.org/news/2021-03-evidence-chemicals-people.html Environment Wed, 17 Mar 2021 00:00:01 EDT news535128854 Coconut oil production may be more damaging to the environment than palm oil, researchers say. https://phys.org/news/2020-07-coconut-reveals-consumer-conundrum.html Environment Mon, 06 Jul 2020 12:48:52 EDT news513258526 When consumers are trying to decide between traditional and online shopping, many factors come into play, such as price, quality, convenience and timeframe. Now, thanks to new research reported in ACS' Environmental Science & Technology, eco-conscious consumers could have another consideration: greenhouse gas emissions. In the study, researchers estimated that shopping at brick-and-mortar stores for personal and home care products often produces less greenhouse gas than one type of online shopping, but more than another. https://phys.org/news/2020-02-greenhouse-gas-footprints-online-traditional.html Environment Wed, 26 Feb 2020 09:13:29 EST news501930805 When you're waiting in a busy restaurant or doctor's office, it may matter whether the tables, light fixtures and other objects are round or square. https://phys.org/news/2018-05-angles-businesses-affect-customer-response.html Economics & Business Tue, 01 May 2018 12:09:34 EDT news444395275 (Phys.org)—A trio of researchers at the Rochester Institute of Technology has found that despite dramatically reduced power requirements for new electronic gadgets, the average American home consumes more power than ever—because consumers keep using the old-school technology devices, along with the new, adding to the total number of devices used. In their paper published in Environmental Science and Technology, Erinn Ryen, Callie Babbitt and Eric Williams describe how they looked at gadgets in the average American home as an ecosystem made up of electronic virtual organisms and what they found in doing so. https://phys.org/news/2015-02-users-technology-power.html Environment Mon, 09 Feb 2015 09:00:02 EST news342691228 Can a computer "read" an online blog and understand it? Several Concordia computer scientists are helping to get closer to that goal. https://phys.org/news/2012-09-blogosphereresearchers-tools-social-media.html Computer Sciences Thu, 06 Sep 2012 12:51:38 EDT news266154677 A study of more than 100 popular websites used by tens of millions of people has found that three quarters directly leak either private information or users' unique identifiers to third-party tracking sites. The study, co-authored by Craig Wills, professor of computer science at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI), also demonstrated how the leakage of private information by many sites, including email addresses, physical addresses, and even the configuration of a user's web browser -- so-called browser fingerprints -- could permit tracking sites to link many disparate pieces of information, including browsing histories contained in tracking cookies and the contents of searches on health and travel sites, to create detailed profiles of individuals. https://phys.org/news/2011-06-leakage-private-popular-websites-common.html Internet Thu, 02 Jun 2011 11:20:01 EDT news226230304 As a government agency pushes for a "do not track" mechanism to protect online consumer privacy, a pair of Stanford researchers is developing the technology to make it work. https://phys.org/news/2010-12-stanford-students-track-software.html Internet Fri, 03 Dec 2010 11:20:46 EST news210597560 Picture the following hypothetical scenario: A trolley is headed toward five helpless victims. The trolley can be redirected so that only one person's life is at stake. Psychologists and philosophers have been using moral dilemmas like this for years asking, would you redirect the train? Is it morally acceptable to do this? Experts usually switch up the details to see how different sub-scenarios affect moral judgment. Many researchers have come to the conclusion that an individual's moral judgment in this type of scenario is strongly guided by abstract moral principles. https://phys.org/news/2009-12-moral-dilemma-scenarios-prone-biases.html Social Sciences Mon, 14 Dec 2009 12:17:04 EST news180015364