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. Chemical reactions are often written as simple equations: Starting materials go in, and a product comes out. In reality, the same substrates can follow many different pathways depending on their concentrations, temperature, catalysts and other conditions. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-robots-ai-uncover-unexpected-pathway.html Analytical Chemistry Tue, 15 Sep 2026 10:00:01 EDT news708683881 Artificial intelligence is transforming how information is generated, processed and stored, but its rapid expansion is also driving unprecedented demand for computing power and electricity. Developing hardware that can process information more efficiently is therefore becoming one of the major technological challenges of the AI era. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-room-temperature-skyrmion-based-synapses.html Nanophysics Mon, 14 Sep 2026 19:20:01 EDT news708620821 Researchers at Stanford Medicine have developed two new artificial intelligence models of the biological cell. The first, called universal cell embedding, paved the way for a second-generation model called TranscriptFormer, which has been trained on data from 112 million cells representing 12 species, ranging from single-celled yeast to humans. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-ai-enable-species-cell-biology.html Cell & Microbiology Mon, 14 Sep 2026 17:30:02 EDT news708624361 Artificial intelligence systems, particularly those powered by large language models and designed to communicate with users on a one-to-one basis, are increasingly used worldwide. Some of these systems, such as Replika, are also marketed as "AI companions" that can engage socially with humans and use emotional language. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-ai-breakups-losses.html Social Sciences Mon, 14 Sep 2026 12:50:01 EDT news708605343 A research team from the University of Bern has shown in a large-scale field experiment that populations of the same fish species can be much more fine-tuned to their local environments than previously thought. Habitats that appear nearly identical to us can therefore make a decisive difference in evolution. This hidden diversity is not only key to understanding how biodiversity arises, but also has important implications for its conservation. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-evolutionary-home-advantage-field-reveals.html Evolution Mon, 14 Sep 2026 10:40:04 EDT news708600361 Researchers at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) have developed an artificial intelligence framework that helps researchers use atomic force microscopes to identify important nanoscale features while autonomously targeting the most informative areas of a sample for closer study. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-ai-microscopes-nanoscale-features-sample.html Bio & Medicine Sun, 13 Sep 2026 16:00:01 EDT news708262090 New research shows how artificial intelligence, combined with advanced experimental science, can help find "hidden" and unexplored proteins in the human body and reveal what they actually do, according to a new study published in Nature. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-ai-hidden-human-proteins-reveals.html Biotechnology Fri, 11 Sep 2026 17:40:05 EDT news708351781 A study by Politecnico di Milano and the University of Insubria (Varese and Como) has been published in PLOS Digital Health. The study involved more than 700 children from primary and lower secondary school. The participants used the THInkPen (Tele-Health Ink Pen) while completing two BVSCO-3 tasks from the Battery for the Clinical Assessment of Writing and Orthographic Skills. This is the most widely used test in Italy for assessing writing difficulties, dysgraphia and dysorthography. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-smart-pen-pressure-movement-children.html Education Fri, 11 Sep 2026 14:40:02 EDT news708343381 Researchers at the Eastern Institute of Technology (EIT), Ningbo, have developed a graph-based approach that directly extracts concise, accurate constitutive equations from solid-material experimental data. The study, published in Science Advances, describes a method for discovering constitutive models for alloy steels, lithium metal and filled rubbers. It outperforms mainstream empirical models in predictive accuracy while preserving explicit, physically interpretable mathematical formulations. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-ai-constitutive-laws-solid-mechanics.html General Physics Fri, 11 Sep 2026 14:00:01 EDT news708270721 For the first time, important features of the Antarctic coastal zone have been mapped at high resolution around the continent by training an artificial intelligence tool to accurately recognize grounded icebergs in satellite radar images. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-antarctic-wide-grounded-icebergs-reveals.html Earth Sciences Fri, 11 Sep 2026 12:40:02 EDT news708340082 Body weight monitoring is one of the most important tools for poultry farmers. It provides valuable information about growth, uniformity, feed conversion efficiency—how well birds turn feed into meat—and the occurrence of diseases in a flock. But obtaining frequent and accurate body weight measurements is a significant challenge in commercial poultry production, according to researchers at Penn State who may have developed a solution. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-turkey-ai-body-weight-weeks.html Biotechnology Fri, 11 Sep 2026 11:20:08 EDT news708339304 An international team of researchers, including those at the Earth-Life Science Institute (ELSI) at the Institute of Science Tokyo, has developed a protein language model that brings together two fundamental sources of information about proteins: their amino acid sequences and three-dimensional structures. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-sequence-protein-universe-billions-years.html Evolution Fri, 11 Sep 2026 10:00:06 EDT news708337379 For decades, scientists have understood proteins primarily through two defining features: their amino acid sequence and their three-dimensional structure. This framework has driven major advances in biology, biotechnology and medicine, culminating in recent artificial intelligence tools capable of predicting protein structures with remarkable accuracy. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-scientists-visualize-proteins-hidden-architecture.html Molecular & Computational biology Thu, 10 Sep 2026 20:00:01 EDT news708252668 So far, quantum computers have been held back by their extreme sensitivity to errors and external disturbances. The longer a quantum operation takes, the greater the risk of computational errors. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-faster-reliable-quantum-closer.html Quantum Physics Thu, 10 Sep 2026 13:40:10 EDT news708256741 A firm handshake used to be all a job candidate needed to make a good first impression, but today a growing number of firms are relying on artificial intelligence to screen applicants. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-ai-robot-affect-behavior.html Economics & Business Thu, 10 Sep 2026 12:39:27 EDT news708262709 University of Missouri researchers are paving the way as artificial intelligence transforms biomedical research. A team from the College of Engineering and collaborators recently published one of the most comprehensive reviews to date of an emerging AI approach for biology known as flow matching. The work, published in Nature Machine Intelligence, provides scientists around the world with a roadmap for applying the technology to accelerate drug discovery, precision medicine and other biomedical advances. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-ai-powered-biomedical-discoveries.html Biotechnology Wed, 09 Sep 2026 16:40:05 EDT news708177607 Cornell researchers have used artificial intelligence to uncover a previously unknown way cells control how proteins move inside them, a process essential for growth, communication and movement that is often disrupted in cancer. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-ai-reveals-class-cellular-linked.html Cell & Microbiology Wed, 09 Sep 2026 14:20:03 EDT news708172501 OpenAI said Tuesday that one of its unreleased artificial intelligence models had solved a mathematical puzzle that has eluded mathematicians for generations, a claim that also drew a fight with rival researchers over credit. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-openai-ai-agents-math-hardest.html Mathematics Wed, 09 Sep 2026 06:45:12 EDT news708155096 Families' interest in their kids' education is falling in many high-income countries as school systems struggle with plunging test scores, according to newly released results from a standardized test taken by 15-year-olds around the world. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-families-kids-falling-globe-scores.html Education Wed, 09 Sep 2026 04:40:08 EDT news708147022 Researchers at The University of Manchester have developed a new physics-based artificial intelligence approach that, for the first time, enables accurate global-scale predictions of how dissolved organic carbon moves between seawater and marine sediments, a crucial but previously unquantifiable component of the planet's carbon cycle. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-physics-based-ai-global-carbon.html Earth Sciences Tue, 08 Sep 2026 16:40:03 EDT news708097002 Researchers at the John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin (KUL) and the University of Eastern Finland have developed a new model of artificial intelligence governance inspired by the teachings of Pope Leo XIV as set out in his encyclical Magnifica Humanitas. The new model is intended to ensure that AI technologies are developed and used safely, fairly and with full respect for human rights. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-ai-pope-leo-xiv-aims.html Social Sciences Mon, 07 Sep 2026 17:40:02 EDT news708013683 A signal that appears to show ions moving inside a battery may, in fact, be an illusion caused by an uneven surface. A KAIST research team has identified the origin of this type of artifact, which can lead researchers to misinterpret what is happening inside a battery, and has developed a method to reduce it. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-bumpy-battery-surfaces-masquerade-nanoscale.html Nanomaterials Mon, 07 Sep 2026 17:20:04 EDT news708013082 It's difficult to imagine a song like Queen's 1975 "Bohemian Rhapsody" topping the charts today. Almost six minutes long, it moves through several radically different musical sections and famously ignores the conventional structure of a pop song. It seems almost designed to break the rules of what a hit single should be. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-hyperselection-modern-life-efficient-pleasant.html Social Sciences Mon, 07 Sep 2026 11:20:03 EDT news707992785 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 The human body and its gut microbiome produce thousands of small molecules that shape how the body functions—influencing immunity, metabolism and more. Identifying what those molecules actually are has been one of the biomedical sciences' most persistent bottlenecks. More than 80% of compounds detected in a typical biological sample cannot be matched to any known structure using current methods. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-ai-tool-hidden-universe-small.html Biochemistry Fri, 04 Sep 2026 17:00:01 EDT news707746802 In the realm of materials science, there is a plethora of datasets and tools at our disposal—the issue is how to effectively use these resources in harmony. Researchers at the Advanced Institute for Materials Research (WPI-AIMR), Tohoku University, have identified major bottlenecks holding back artificial intelligence-driven polymer innovation and created a system that integrates multiple tools (such as polymer databases, predictive models, AI agents and automated laboratories). https://phys.org/news/2026-09-ai-driven-polymer-discovery-years.html Polymers Fri, 04 Sep 2026 09:40:03 EDT news707731501 With the rapid spread of cloud computing, artificial intelligence and data centers, global energy consumption is rising to new heights. A promising way to reduce this burden is to develop memory devices that store information magnetically yet are written using electric fields. Magnetic memories are nonvolatile, meaning stored information is retained without a power supply. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-nanoscale-multiferroic-materials-path-efficient.html Nanophysics Thu, 03 Sep 2026 17:40:01 EDT news707661062 Most people assume plants reproduce through whatever pollen happens to land on them. This is not true. A collaborative research initiative involving the Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar (IITGN) has mapped and functionally tested the genes that control a natural "self-rejection" system in two widely grown Indian oilseed crops, Brassica rapa (mustard) varieties toria and yellow sarson. This system governs the molecular "lock-and-key" mechanism in certain mustard plants that allows them to reject their own pollen. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-pollinate-india-cooking-oil.html Plants & Animals Thu, 03 Sep 2026 16:50:01 EDT news707670301 A new study provides insight into the economic impact of melting permafrost on Arctic communities. Permafrost is ground that permanently remains below freezing for at least two consecutive years. Permafrost covers about 24% of the Northern Hemisphere, including large areas of Alaska, Canada and Siberia. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-permafrost-billion-infrastructure.html Earth Sciences Thu, 03 Sep 2026 14:20:01 EDT news707653982 A new study has demonstrated that it is possible to make a network of atoms and photons that could improve how artificial intelligence stores and recalls memories. This network, called a quantum-optical spin glass, works as an associative memory, a form of AI that enables the recall of full memories from partial information—much like how humans can recognize a person's face in a blurred photograph. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-quantum-optical-glass-ai.html Optics & Photonics Thu, 03 Sep 2026 14:00:01 EDT news707657764