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. Certain chemical substances, broadly called luminogens, have an inherent ability to emit light. Most fluorescent molecules emit light in solution but lose their emission in the solid state, where the molecules aggregate. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-small-molecular-substitutions-reshape-energy.html Analytical Chemistry Sun, 06 Sep 2026 14:30:01 EDT news707573895 Since scientists can't drill 2,900 km (1,800 miles) to the boundary between Earth's core and deep mantle, they must use information relayed by seismic waves recorded during earthquakes to study this region. In a new study published in the journal JGR Solid Earth, a group of scientists used deep learning to study a large set of a specific type of seismic wave. The analysis revealed six continuous bands of irregularities at the core-mantle boundary (CMB) that had previously appeared only as sparse patches. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-unusual-earth-core-mantle-boundary.html Earth Sciences Sun, 06 Sep 2026 13:00:01 EDT news707652667 With their slender bodies and long front legs, Miracinonyx trumani—often nicknamed the "American cheetah"—was long thought to be a North American analog of the African big cat. But in a new study published in the journal Current Biology, researchers reveal that the extinct cat was more closely related to pumas. Some populations living near the Arctic preyed almost exclusively on fish, challenging the long-held assumption that these "cheetahs" chased fast-running prey, such as pronghorns. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-extinct-american-cheetah.html Evolution Sun, 06 Sep 2026 11:00:01 EDT news707573172 As the electronics in our technology keep shrinking, traditional silicon-based chips are approaching their fundamental physical limits. Yet the wires connecting them might be able to shrink beyond conventional dimensions, as scientists have created one of the longest single-atom copper chains to date that could serve as molecular wires. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-extreme-pressure-blue-pigment-atom.html Nanomaterials Sun, 06 Sep 2026 10:20:01 EDT news707646364 The Pantone color of the year for 2026 is white. It's called Cloud Dancer, which is described as a "lofty white." This choice reflects a growing trend away from color in our visual world. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-algorithms-environments-bland.html Social Sciences Sun, 06 Sep 2026 09:00:02 EDT news707483640 Using more than 15 years of observations from the Parkes radio telescope, astronomers detected three rotational glitches in the pulsar PSR J1637−4642—a young neutron star that had shown no signs of glitches since its discovery. The three glitches included one that changed its rotation rate by nearly 3 parts per million. Their paper was posted to the arXiv preprint server on Aug. 20. It has been accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal Letters. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-quiet-pulsar-suddenly-reveals-glitches.html Astronomy Sun, 06 Sep 2026 08:40:03 EDT news707748985 Germany's Isar Aerospace launched a rocket into orbit from Norway on Saturday as Europe races to boost its ability to economically send satellites into space independently of the United States. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-germany-isar-aerospace-rocket-orbit.html Space Exploration Sun, 06 Sep 2026 04:00:01 EDT news707884608 Acrid smoke hung heavily over the Malaysian town of Serian, seeping into homes and cloaking roadside stalls, as residents navigated an air-quality emergency fueled by transboundary haze from Indonesia's raging fires. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-haze-emergency-malaysian-borneo-town.html Environment Sun, 06 Sep 2026 03:31:35 EDT news707884271 Conformational changes in proteins are vital to their function yet remain challenging for state-of-the-art artificial intelligence, such as AlphaFold3, to predict. Researchers at the Institute for Molecular Science (IMS), and the Graduate University for Advanced Studies, SOKENDAI introduced a repulsive force between predicted structures, allowing AlphaFold3 to sample the multiple conformational states that its default settings rarely capture. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-alphafold-limits-proteins.html Biotechnology Sat, 05 Sep 2026 17:00:05 EDT news707472556 A study led by the University of Jyväskylä in Finland evaluated, for the first time, an ecological threshold for the amount of clearcutting in boreal forests. According to the results, maintaining populations of bird species specialized in old-growth forests requires either a forest rotation period of at least 90 years on average or that approximately one-fifth of the forest area be excluded from clearcut management. The study provides a concrete target for the ecologically sustainable use of forests. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-clearcutting-nature-sustain-ecological-limit.html Plants & Animals Sat, 05 Sep 2026 16:30:01 EDT news707584342 Astronomers have found two clouds of hydrogen near the Whirlpool galaxy that appear to contain almost no stars. The clouds, discovered with China's FAST radio telescope, each contain roughly 3 million times the mass of the sun in hydrogen but have no detectable optical counterpart. Their properties are outlined in a new paper published in the Astronomy & Astrophysics journal on Aug. 4. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-fast-mysterious-hydrogen-clouds-visible.html Astronomy Sat, 05 Sep 2026 14:40:02 EDT news707748935 The human-animal bond is often so strong that pet owners may delay or forgo medical treatment or leave a health care facility against medical advice if they have no one to care for their pet at home. A perspective paper published in the New England Journal of Medicine explains why pet owners may need different approaches to care when hospitalized, according to an Emory University physician and an Ohio State University veterinarian. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-views-physician-veterinarian-barriers-pet.html Veterinary medicine Sat, 05 Sep 2026 14:00:04 EDT news707734865 Here's a novel idea for countering the painful side effects of chemotherapy: Beforehand, take the hallucinogenic drug found in magic mushrooms. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-psilocybin-cancer-side-effects.html Molecular & Computational biology Sat, 05 Sep 2026 13:30:01 EDT news707716019 In 1974, Stephen Hawking made a prediction that transformed our understanding of black holes. Black holes, he showed, are not truly black: They slowly lose energy through a quantum process now known as Hawking radiation. The lighter the black hole, the faster it evaporates. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-black-hole-tons-star-dark.html Astronomy Sat, 05 Sep 2026 13:00:01 EDT news707737356 New research has found that tree species diversity can play a crucial role in protecting forests from the growing threat of extreme climate events. The study analyzed data from 88,116 separate forest plots across the United States to investigate the impact of "compound climate extremes," when events such as drought and extreme heat occur at the same time. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-tree-species-diversity-forests-climate.html Plants & Animals Sat, 05 Sep 2026 12:00:01 EDT news707665667 Narwhals have nature's only straight tusk, a single tooth up to three meters (10 feet) long, so strange they were sold as magical unicorn horns during the Middle Ages. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-scientists-narwhals-nature-straight-tusk.html Plants & Animals Sat, 05 Sep 2026 11:00:07 EDT news706274391 When humans are making decisions, they are known not to rely solely on their own considerations and the evidence available to them. Past behavioral science and psychology studies have shown that people are often also influenced by the choices and opinions of others. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-disagreement-groups-trustworthy-mathematical-framework.html Mathematics Sat, 05 Sep 2026 10:00:04 EDT news707734830 Lakes may look like picturesque stopping points along a river or stream, but they can have a big influence on what happens to carbon as it moves through a landscape. New research suggests that the more lake-rich a network of streams is, the more carbon is released into the atmosphere rather than carried downstream. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-lakes-theyre-carbon.html Earth Sciences Sat, 05 Sep 2026 08:20:01 EDT news707386128 Has El Niño reached the West Coast? You might think it has. After all, the ocean off Southern and Central California is unusually warm. But that warmth is from a recent marine heat wave that predates the current El Niño. Much of the Pacific Coast is experiencing relatively normal conditions while still awaiting the impacts of what could be a very strong El Niño. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-ocean-indicators-noaa-scientists-tracking.html Earth Sciences Sat, 05 Sep 2026 07:40:01 EDT news707807952 A study on Roman law by the Carlos III University of Madrid analyzes the regulations and complex imperial logistics governing the capture, transport and safety of animals used in spectacles in the Roman Empire—which were far more popular than gladiatorial combat. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-late-roman-decrees-uncover-military.html Archaeology Sat, 05 Sep 2026 07:20:01 EDT news707750426 UC Riverside scientists have developed a way to identify where Earth's biggest earthquakes are most likely to occur, offering a powerful new tool for improving disaster preparation in some of the most dangerous seismic regions. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-method-massive-earthquakes.html Earth Sciences Sat, 05 Sep 2026 07:00:04 EDT news707807847 Thick smog has blanketed parts of Indonesia as the vast archipelago battles fires that have burned large swaths of Borneo and Sumatra for weeks. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-haze-indonesian-impacts-southeast-asia.html Environment Sat, 05 Sep 2026 07:00:01 EDT news707807553 An orangutan mother and her baby, threatened by wildfires encroaching on their habitat in Indonesia, were rescued earlier this week, authorities said in a statement Saturday. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-indonesia-orangutan-mother-baby-wildfire.html Environment Sat, 05 Sep 2026 06:40:01 EDT news707807533 After an eight-year journey, a spacecraft carrying European and Japanese probes began the monthslong, high-risk approach to Mercury on Thursday to study the sun-scorched planet. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-spacecraft-bound-mercury-tricky.html Planetary Sciences Sat, 05 Sep 2026 06:20:01 EDT news707723332 Rice University researchers have used a magnetically levitated particle to search for ultraheavy dark matter, extending the hunt for some of the heaviest possible forms of the invisible matter thought to hold galaxies together. Led by Christopher Tunnell, associate professor of physics and astronomy, the researchers used a tiny floating magnet as a highly sensitive detector designed to register the faint push an ultraheavy dark matter particle could produce as it passed through. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-levitated-magnet-frontier-ultraheavy-dark.html General Physics Sat, 05 Sep 2026 06:15:28 EDT news707807701 Generative artificial intelligence (Gen-AI) has become a routine part of working life, but overreliance on the technology may erode managers' ability to build moral insights, contextual understanding and know-how to get a job done, according to a new study from the University of Bath. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-ai-undermine-judgment.html Economics & Business Sat, 05 Sep 2026 04:40:02 EDT news707748753 School suspensions are associated with a complex combination of socioeconomic disadvantage, special educational needs, peer relationships and students' experiences of school, according to new research from The University of Manchester. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-reveals-pupils-school-suspension.html Education Fri, 04 Sep 2026 21:20:01 EDT news707722249 The catastrophic flooding in July 2021 claimed the lives of more than 200 people in Germany and Belgium. The high death toll makes it clear that hazard mapping and risk communication must be improved urgently. Researchers at the University of Potsdam, the Helmholtz Centre for Geosciences, the University of Louvain and Johns Hopkins University analyzed the locations and specific circumstances of 224 deaths. Their findings show that many occurred outside the officially mapped flood hazard zones and that older people were particularly affected. The work is published in the journal Earth's Future. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-deadly-gaps-hazard.html Environment Fri, 04 Sep 2026 19:40:01 EDT news707748862 Beneath the Arctic Ocean is an orchestra featuring natural and human composers, from cracking sea ice and whistling beluga whales to humming shipping-vessel engines. Researchers from MIT Lincoln Laboratory heard some of this cacophony when analyzing data from commercial off-the-shelf sensors that they integrated and deployed in 2024 during the U.S. Navy's Operation Ice Camp (OIC). This past March, during OIC 2026, the researchers returned to the Arctic with a higher-fidelity version of one of the sensors, a geophone that detects vibrations in the sea ice. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-tune-arctic-ice-communication.html Earth Sciences Fri, 04 Sep 2026 18:20:01 EDT news707750417 Researchers at Lund University have developed a new type of light-emitting diode based on thin, branched nanowires that could offer significantly higher efficiency and lower production costs than current technology. By controlling where in the structure the light is generated, the researchers have reduced the losses that would otherwise limit the amount of light that can be used. Their study is published in the journal Nano Research. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-significant-efficiency-gains.html Condensed Matter Fri, 04 Sep 2026 18:00:02 EDT news707748782