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. LIGO, the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory, has been called the most precise ruler in the world for its ability to measure motions more than 10,000 times smaller than the width of a proton. By making these extremely precise measurements, LIGO, which consists of two facilities—one in Washington and one in Louisiana—can detect undulations in space-time called gravitational waves that roll outward from colliding cosmic bodies such as black holes. https://phys.org/news/2025-09-algorithm-hushes-unwanted-noise-ligo.html Astronomy Thu, 04 Sep 2025 14:00:23 EDT news676195681 Sinus and congestion problems are more than just earthly annoyances, according to new research from Houston Methodist. A newly published study reveals that a staggering 85% of astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) experienced at least one nasal and sinus issue during their mission, which can significantly impact health. The work is published in the journal Laryngoscope Investigative Otolaryngology. https://phys.org/news/2025-08-houston-sinus-problem-astronaut-nasal.html Space Exploration Thu, 07 Aug 2025 13:10:04 EDT news673789300 People breathing contaminated air over the course of years are at greater risk of developing numerous diseases. This is thought to be due to highly reactive components in particulate matter, which affect biological processes in the body. However, researchers from the University of Basel, Switzerland, have now shown that precisely these components disappear within hours and that previous measurements therefore completely underestimate the quantities in which they are present. https://phys.org/news/2025-03-real-analysis-reveals-higher-proportion.html Environment Mon, 31 Mar 2025 15:45:03 EDT news662654701 Physicists like to measure things, and they like those measurements to be as precise as possible. That means working at unfathomably small scales, where distances are much smaller than even the diameters of subatomic particles. Researchers also want to measure time down to a precision of less than one second per tens of billions of years. The quest for these ultraprecise measurements in physics is part of a growing field called quantum metrology. https://phys.org/news/2024-10-merging-atomic-clocks-quantum-ultraprecise.html General Physics Wed, 09 Oct 2024 13:01:16 EDT news647697673 Researchers have successfully used a coherent transceiver prototype to detect polarization changes that preceded a cable break in a live network. The work, which is one of the first demonstrations of field-based measurements for an active cable break, shows the potential of transceiver-based sensing for actively monitoring and improving the stability of fiber networks. https://phys.org/news/2024-02-transceiver-based-fiber-networks.html Optics & Photonics Thu, 15 Feb 2024 16:55:16 EST news627238511 Atoms of the metal ytterbium-171 may be the closest things in nature to perfect qubits. A recent study shows how to use them for repeated quantum measurements and qubit rotations, which may aid in the development of scalable quantum computing. https://phys.org/news/2023-10-nondestructive-ytterbium-qubits-aiding-scalable.html Quantum Physics Wed, 18 Oct 2023 14:22:03 EDT news616857721 Geoscientists have long thought that water—along with shallow magma stored in Earth's crust—drives volcanoes to erupt. Now, thanks to newly developed research tools at Cornell, scientists have learned that gaseous carbon dioxide can trigger explosive eruptions. https://phys.org/news/2023-08-carbon-dioxide-triggers-explosive-basaltic.html Earth Sciences Mon, 07 Aug 2023 15:00:02 EDT news610621629 While we humans generally experience the world through sight, dogs use scent to learn about the environment around them. What their nose knows is crucial for finding food, mates and safe spaces. https://phys.org/news/2023-05-doctor-dog-canine-companions-covid.html Plants & Animals Thu, 25 May 2023 12:50:02 EDT news604237011 The more than 1.2 million km of fiber-optic cables that crisscross the planet carry the world's phone calls, internet signals and data. But this summer, researchers published the eerie sounds of blue and fin whales detected by a fiber-optic cable on the west coast of Svalbard—a first. https://phys.org/news/2023-01-fiber-optic-cable-networks-low-cost-real-time.html Earth Sciences Thu, 12 Jan 2023 15:30:05 EST news592759801 Based on the strontium optical lattice clock platform, a research team led by Prof. Chang Hong from the National Time Service Center of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, together with Zhang Xuefeng from Chongqing University observed the interference effect between Floquet quasi-particles. Relevant results were published in Physical Review Letters. https://phys.org/news/2021-09-effect-floquet-quasi-particles-strontium-optical.html Quantum Physics Wed, 29 Sep 2021 08:47:56 EDT news552124074 People around the world have been spending more time at home since the start of 2020. For many of these people, this seemed like the perfect opportunity to get a pet. https://phys.org/news/2021-06-stressed-pets-dogs.html Veterinary medicine Wed, 02 Jun 2021 11:30:01 EDT news541850478 Researchers have spent more than three decades developing and studying miniature biosensors that can identify single molecules. In 5 to 10 years, when such devices may become a staple in doctors' offices, they could detect molecular markers for cancer and other diseases and assess the effectiveness of drug treatment to fight those illnesses. https://phys.org/news/2021-04-nanopore-biosensor.html Bio & Medicine Tue, 27 Apr 2021 15:39:19 EDT news538756754 Using a new method, physicists from TU Freiberg, in cooperation with researchers from Berkeley and Hamburg, are for the first time analyzing at the femtosecond scale the processes in a model system for organic solar cells. This can be used to develop high-performance and efficient solar cells. Key to this are ultra-fast flashes of light, with which the team led by Dr. Friedrich Roth works at FLASH in Hamburg, the world's first free-electron laser in the X-ray region. https://phys.org/news/2021-03-ultra-fast-electron-important-solar-industry.html General Physics Tue, 02 Mar 2021 10:22:03 EST news533902920 Griffith University researchers are conducting an experiment at ANSTO that will test a revolutionary physics theory that time reversal symmetry-breaking by neutrinos might cause a time dilation at the quantum scale. https://phys.org/news/2021-02-neutrinos-atomic-clocks-dilation.html General Physics Mon, 08 Feb 2021 07:02:48 EST news531990161 It is the most explosive Paris exhibition of the summer—Mount Vesuvius erupting several times a day in a new immersive 3D show which opens Wednesday in the Grand Palais. https://phys.org/news/2020-07-paris-relives-pompeii-horrifying-hours.html Archaeology Wed, 01 Jul 2020 05:29:03 EDT news512800141 Chiral superconductors are unconventional superconducting materials with distinctive topological properties, in which time-reversal symmetry is broken. Two of the first materials to be identified as chiral superconductors are UPt3 and Sr2RuO4. So far, experimental evidence for broken time-reversal symmetry in both these materials was based primarily on surface measurements collected at a magnetic field equal to zero. https://phys.org/news/2020-03-evidence-broken-time-reversal-symmetry-topological.html Superconductivity Mon, 23 Mar 2020 13:00:01 EDT news504183345 Researchers from Tokyo Medical and Dental University develop a novel gas imaging system to simultaneously visualize and measure gases that are released through the skin in real-time. Gases emitted from the human body have been used since ancient Greek times to diagnose the sick; the same principle with a modern, technological makeover could now become a simple tool to identify metabolic disorders, genetic diseases and cancer. https://phys.org/news/2020-02-invisiblea-gas-imaging.html Analytical Chemistry Mon, 03 Feb 2020 11:45:20 EST news499952717 The April 15 fire that devastated the roof of the 850-year-old Notre Dame de Paris Cathedral left many people around the globe wondering whether it's possible to rebuild it in a way that can recreate the cultural icon's complex signature acoustics. https://phys.org/news/2019-05-reconstructing-acoustics-notre-dame.html General Physics Mon, 06 May 2019 10:05:59 EDT news476355952 Twitter said Wednesday it was stepping up security measures for the popular messaging service following a series of high-profile breaches by hackers hitting media organizations and others. https://phys.org/news/2013-05-twitter-tightens-high-profile-breaches.html Internet Wed, 22 May 2013 16:05:15 EDT news288457504 (Phys.org)—A team of researchers in Boston University's Department of Earth and Environment have developed a new, bottom-up model for measuring on-road vehicle emissions. The model will be used in Massachusetts to more accurately analyze roadway-level traffic data obtained from the Highway Performance Monitoring System (HPMS). Their findings have been published online in the journal Environmental Science and Technology https://phys.org/news/2013-02-scientists-vehicle-emissions.html Environment Wed, 27 Feb 2013 08:06:29 EST news281174723 What is the simplest, most fundamental clock? Physicist Holger Müller and his UC Berkeley colleagues have shown that a single atom is sufficient to measure time using its high-frequency matter wave. Conversely, the frequency of matter can be used to define its mass. The feat is a fundamental demonstration of wave-particle duality central to quantum mechanics. https://phys.org/news/2013-01-clock-physicists.html Quantum Physics Thu, 10 Jan 2013 14:00:06 EST news277045766 (Phys.org)—Researchers from the University of Zurich say that atomic clock technology has sufficiently progressed to the point that it should now be feasible to use them to measure the Earth's geoid, thereby producing more accurate geophysical estimates of oil and mineral deposits, as well as water reservoirs. The team, led by Ruxandra Bondarescu write in their paper published in Geophysical Journal International, that atomic clock accuracy now approaches a frequency ratio inaccuracy of 10-18 which they say should provide an accuracy in measuring a equipotential surface area equivalent to just one centimeter. https://phys.org/news/2012-10-atomic-clocks-good-earth-geoid.html General Physics Mon, 01 Oct 2012 07:45:09 EDT news268296170 (Phys.org)—The temperature of the Earth, through its thermal and reflected energy, is now being measured more accurately than ever thanks to the operation of a new satellite based and UK developed detector called GERB 3. This device will be key to the tracking of climate trends over the next 5 years. https://phys.org/news/2012-08-satellite-begun-earth-temperature.html Earth Sciences Mon, 27 Aug 2012 10:09:25 EDT news265280932 Atomic processes take place on extremely short time scales. Measurements at the Vienna University of Technology (TU Vienna) can now visualize these processes. https://phys.org/news/2012-05-electron-born.html General Physics Tue, 15 May 2012 08:27:16 EDT news256289218 Leading scientists from around the world are meeting in Britain from Thursday to consider a proposal that could eventually see Greenwich Mean Time relegated to a footnote in history. https://phys.org/news/2011-11-scientists-discuss-gmt.html Other Thu, 03 Nov 2011 05:45:46 EDT news239517936