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. Researchers led by Carina Hahn at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), U.S., have found that forensic specialists in facial identification need only one or two features, such as eyes or ears, to identify a face when looking for a match. Published in PLOS One, the study found that specialists find ears to be the most useful but are capable of adapting when recognizing that another feature might be more beneficial. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-forensic-specialists-facial-features-individuals.html Social Sciences Wed, 21 Oct 2026 14:00:28 EDT news711733561 Most natural gas leakage in Indianapolis likely originates from homes and other buildings, not exterior pipelines and large-scale distribution infrastructure that deliver the fossil fuel, according to Penn State researchers who assessed nearly a decade of data. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-natural-gas-midwest-city-leaks.html Earth Sciences Fri, 16 Oct 2026 15:30:02 EDT news711377822 The world would look radically different without rulers and measuring tapes that fit into a pocket. Carpenters, fashion designers and engineers rely on these trusty tools to check the size of everything from a wooden board to a fabric swatch. But physicists who work with light lack that same convenience for one of the basic measurements of their craft. They routinely need to measure and compare the frequencies—colors—of the light waves they are using. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-chip-based-frequency-potential-portable.html Optics & Photonics Tue, 06 Oct 2026 15:00:10 EDT news710504281 Douglas Seiler painstakingly sourced papyrus and reed pens from Egypt and traditional lampblack ink from Japan, then paid some high school students to inscribe the papyrus with lines from Star Wars and the Bible and a quote from the '60s sci-fi TV show The Outer Limits. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-year-scrolls-scientists.html Archaeology Fri, 18 Sep 2026 15:00:04 EDT news708957783 To monitor the amount and type of nuclear material at power plants and weapons facilities, scientists look for a special signal—the unique pattern of gamma rays emitted by specific radioactive elements. However, some of these elements also emit X-rays in the same energy range as the gamma-ray emissions, masking the signal and making nuclear stockpiles harder to assess. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-ultra-cold-quantum-sensors-ray.html General Physics Thu, 10 Sep 2026 19:00:01 EDT news708269641 Our everyday life is flooded with photons, the quantum building blocks of light. For cutting-edge technology, from quantum computing to deep-tissue imaging, detecting every single photon counts. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-supersized-quantum-sensors-faint-photons.html Optics & Photonics Mon, 24 Aug 2026 18:30:01 EDT news706809782 Nanoscience, which studies small objects, has a big problem. According to a team of scientists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the field confronts a pervasive data analysis error that can give misleading insights into how these tiny objects' properties depend on their size. The team also offers a practical solution—a mathematical correction that can reveal how these materials truly behave. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-sizing-errors-true-nanoparticle-behavior.html Nanomaterials Thu, 06 Aug 2026 03:00:02 EDT news705141061 In early 2025, special signals wended their way through a fiber-optic highway strung above the streets and sidewalks of the Maryland suburbs. The arrival of those signals at their destination marks a significant step toward a long-held dream of building a "quantum network." Researchers believe that this emerging technology could someday link quantum devices in ways that supercharge scientific research, enable ultrasecure communications and boost the power of future quantum computers. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-spooky-particles-transit-dc-suburbs.html Optics & Photonics Wed, 05 Aug 2026 16:30:01 EDT news705164821 The time had come to open the envelope, but Stephan Schlamminger, a physicist at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), wasn't sure he wanted to know the secret number that lay inside. For the past 10 years, Schlamminger had spent most of his working hours trying to measure a single quantity, known as the universal gravitational constant, which determines the strength of gravity everywhere in the universe. The secret number would allow Schlamminger to unscramble his data and get his answer. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-mystery-gravitational-constant.html Astronomy Thu, 16 Apr 2026 19:10:01 EDT news695576162 Computer chips that cram billions of electronic devices into a few square inches have powered the digital economy and transformed the world. Scientists may be on the cusp of launching a similar technological revolution—this time using light. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-scientists-wavelength-lasers-tiny-circuits.html Optics & Photonics Wed, 15 Apr 2026 13:40:13 EDT news695473441 Scientists have made leaps and bounds in bending atoms to their will, making them into everything from ultraprecise clocks to bits of quantum data. Translating these quantum technologies from obedient atoms to unruly molecules could offer greater possibilities. Molecules can rotate and vibrate. That makes molecules more sensitive to certain changes in the environment, like temperature. https://phys.org/news/2025-12-physicists-unruly-molecules-quantum-party.html General Physics Thu, 18 Dec 2025 14:10:03 EST news685288929 Ask someone on Earth for the time and they can give you an exact answer, thanks to our planet's intricate timekeeping system, built with atomic clocks, GPS satellites and high-speed telecommunications networks. https://phys.org/news/2025-12-mars-physicists.html Astronomy Mon, 01 Dec 2025 13:40:31 EST news683818792 Scientists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have developed a new technology for measuring how radiation damages DNA molecules. This novel technique, which passes DNA through tiny openings called nanopores, detects radiation damage much faster and more accurately than existing methods. It could lead to improved radiation therapy for cancer and more personalized care for individuals during radiological emergencies. https://phys.org/news/2025-08-nanopore-technique-dna-cancer-therapy.html Bio & Medicine Thu, 21 Aug 2025 14:50:01 EDT news675006040 Researchers can use a metric called the particle number concentration (PNC) to calculate the number of particles in a sample, such as the number of marbles in a jar. https://phys.org/news/2025-08-formula-accuracy-particle-diverse-samples.html Analytical Chemistry Thu, 21 Aug 2025 01:57:34 EDT news674960249 There's a new record holder for the most accurate clock in the world. Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have improved their atomic clock based on a trapped aluminum ion. Part of the latest wave of optical atomic clocks, it can perform timekeeping with 19 decimal places of accuracy. https://phys.org/news/2025-07-world-precise-clock-decimal-accuracy.html Optics & Photonics Mon, 14 Jul 2025 14:17:26 EDT news671721440 Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have demonstrated a new and faster method for detecting and measuring the radioactivity of minuscule amounts of radioactive material. The innovative technique, known as cryogenic decay energy spectrometry (DES), could have far-reaching impacts, from improving cancer treatments to ensuring the safety of nuclear waste cleanup. https://phys.org/news/2025-07-individual-radioactive-decays-enables-faster.html General Physics Tue, 08 Jul 2025 16:21:43 EDT news671210499 Some of the most innovative and useful inventions have been inspired by nature. Take the Shinkansen bullet train in Japan, whose aerodynamic design is modeled after the kingfisher bird. Or Velcro, which a Swiss engineer invented after observing that the burrs that stick to a dog's fur have tiny hooks in them. https://phys.org/news/2025-06-impact-resistant-material-mimics-mantis.html Nanomaterials Tue, 24 Jun 2025 14:14:04 EDT news669993241 Randomness is incredibly useful. People often draw straws, throw dice or flip coins to make fair choices. Random numbers can enable auditors to make completely unbiased selections. Randomness is also key in security; if a password or code is an unguessable string of numbers, it's harder to crack. Many of our cryptographic systems today use random number generators to produce secure keys. https://phys.org/news/2025-06-quantum-mechanics-random-demand.html Quantum Physics Wed, 11 Jun 2025 11:00:11 EDT news668766840 Clocks on Earth are ticking a bit more regularly thanks to NIST-F4, a new atomic clock at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) campus in Boulder, Colorado. https://phys.org/news/2025-04-atomic-fountain-clock-elite-group.html General Physics Mon, 28 Apr 2025 13:25:09 EDT news665065499 Monoclonal antibodies, or mAbs, are important tools in medicine. These laboratory-made proteins are widely used in treatments for diseases such as cancer, Alzheimer's disease, autoimmune disorders and infectious diseases. Recent research from the Florida State University Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry shows that a particular type of monoclonal antibody known as NISTmAb retains its structure even if the sugar molecules attached to it are changed. https://phys.org/news/2025-01-imaging-monoclonal-antibodies-protein-dynamics.html Biochemistry Thu, 30 Jan 2025 15:39:13 EST news657473950 Scientists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have created a new thermometer using atoms boosted to such high energy levels that they are a thousand times larger than normal. By monitoring how these giant "Rydberg" atoms interact with heat in their environment, researchers can measure temperature with remarkable accuracy. The thermometer's sensitivity could improve temperature measurements in fields ranging from quantum research to industrial manufacturing. https://phys.org/news/2025-01-quantum-thermometer-giant-rydberg-atoms.html Quantum Physics Thu, 23 Jan 2025 12:42:04 EST news656858522 For decades, the moon's subtle gravitational pull has posed a vexing challenge—atomic clocks on its surface would tick faster than those on Earth by about 56 microseconds per day. This extremely small difference doesn't seem like much, but it could disrupt the precise timing needed for important activities like spacecraft landings and communicating with Earth. https://phys.org/news/2024-08-moon-precise-timekeeping.html Astronomy Mon, 12 Aug 2024 10:40:03 EDT news642678001 Imagine pulling on the long ends of a rectangular piece of rubber. It should become narrower and thinner. But what if it instead became wider and fatter? Now, push in on those same ends. What if the rubber became narrower and thinner? https://phys.org/news/2024-05-auxetic-materials.html Analytical Chemistry Fri, 31 May 2024 12:05:03 EDT news636375902 By modifying a refrigerator commonly used in both research and industry, researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have drastically reduced the time and energy required to cool materials to within a few degrees above absolute zero. https://phys.org/news/2024-04-big-quantum-chill-scientists-common.html Condensed Matter Tue, 23 Apr 2024 12:38:50 EDT news633094727 Nearly every modern cellphone has a built-in compass, or magnetometer, that detects the direction of Earth's magnetic field, providing critical information for navigation. Now a team of researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has developed a technique that uses an ordinary cellphone magnetometer for an entirely different purpose—to measure the concentration of glucose, a marker for diabetes, to high accuracy. https://phys.org/news/2024-04-cellphone-compass-tiny-compounds-important.html Analytical Chemistry Mon, 01 Apr 2024 12:54:51 EDT news631194888 Devices that capture the brilliant light from millions of quantum dots, including chip-scale lasers and optical amplifiers, have made the transition from laboratory experiments to commercial products. But newer types of quantum-dot devices have been slower to come to market because they require extraordinarily accurate alignment between individual dots and the miniature optics that extract and guide the emitted radiation. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-method-accurately-center-quantum-dots.html Optics & Photonics Tue, 19 Mar 2024 09:38:04 EDT news630059881 Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have upgraded a highly precise technology designed to monitor emissions of methane, a critical greenhouse gas, and other trace gases, even in harsh field conditions. Measuring methane emissions and pinpointing their source is an important step toward reducing them—the goal of the Global Methane Pledge recently signed by more than 150 nations at the 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference. https://phys.org/news/2024-01-team-technology-methane-emissions.html Earth Sciences Tue, 16 Jan 2024 14:16:04 EST news624636961 A single-atom-thick sheet of carbon known as graphene has remarkable properties on its own, but things can get even more interesting when you stack up multiple sheets. https://phys.org/news/2023-10-quantum-ruler-explore-exotic.html Condensed Matter Thu, 05 Oct 2023 14:00:02 EDT news615716614 To effectively repel an enemy invasion, it helps to have accurate intelligence about that enemy's weaponry and attack plan. Medical scientists laboring to repel infectious viruses, such as those that cause COVID-19 and HIV, now have a better method for obtaining that intel because of research from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). https://phys.org/news/2023-09-method-sneaky-sugars-viruses-spiky.html Molecular & Computational biology Thu, 28 Sep 2023 14:25:04 EDT news615129901 Photonic thermometers, which measure temperature using light, have the potential to revolutionize temperature measurement by being faster, smaller, and more robust than traditional thermometers. In essence, the sensors work by passing light into a structure that is sensitive to temperature. The light that comes out of the device gives scientists information about the temperature to which the sensor was exposed. https://phys.org/news/2023-08-dual-frequency-technology-photonic-thermometers.html Optics & Photonics Tue, 29 Aug 2023 14:45:05 EDT news612539101