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. Superconductors are materials that carry electrical current with zero resistance below a specific critical temperature. In conventional superconductors, the transition to superconductivity generally occurs at very low temperatures. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-superconducting-gap-ultrathin-nickelate-defies.html Condensed Matter Sun, 23 Aug 2026 10:10:01 EDT news706441308 Ammonia is one of the most important chemicals produced in the world, ranking second only to sulfuric acid in the total volume produced each year. It is used mostly to make fertilizer, which is essential to feeding the world's population. Yet its production accounts for up to 2% of the world's energy consumption and about 1.5% of greenhouse gas emissions, so the search has been underway for ways to produce ammonia more sustainably. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-catalysts-fossil-fueled-ammonia-production.html Analytical Chemistry Sat, 22 Aug 2026 17:00:04 EDT news706462942 Biomolecular nanomachines, such as enzymes and molecular motors, are the workhorses behind the synthesis and organization of complex materials in life. Powered by chemical energy, they build, transport and organize biomolecules, allowing living systems to create and maintain highly ordered structures far from thermodynamic equilibrium. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-dynamic-duo-hierarchical-dna-materials.html Bio & Medicine Sat, 22 Aug 2026 15:00:01 EDT news706360039 Researchers at Tampere University have developed a versatile hydrogel platform that makes it easier to create customized biomaterials for tissue engineering, disease modeling, drug discovery and regenerative medicine. Their plug-and-play crosslinking technology enables the design of a wide range of hydrogels in which biological molecules, such as proteins, peptides and nucleic acids, can be incorporated under gentle, cell-friendly conditions. The paper is published in the journal Cell Reports Physical Science. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-hydrogel-platform-vitamin-b2-blue.html Cell & Microbiology Fri, 21 Aug 2026 17:40:01 EDT news706537981 Earth's inner core, composed primarily of iron with a small percentage of light elements, may enter a superionic state at extreme pressure and temperature, according to experimental results from researchers at Science Tokyo. Using laser-heated and electrically wired diamond-anvil cells, the researchers identified experimental signatures of superionic iron hydride at conditions relevant to Earth's core. These findings provide new insights into the composition and dynamics of Earth's deep interior. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-iron-hydride-exotic-state-earth.html Earth Sciences Fri, 21 Aug 2026 16:00:04 EDT news706536301 In productive marine environments, a square meter (10.8 square feet) of seafloor can be perforated by hundreds to thousands of isolated and interconnected tunnels through which crawl and writhe a cornucopia of clams, shrimp, sea stars, sand dollars, snails, worms and other animals. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-twenty-years-fossils-reveal-blurs.html Paleontology & Fossils Fri, 21 Aug 2026 13:00:07 EDT news706530721 From the daily weather forecast to a baseball player's batting average to an individual's risk of developing lung cancer, understanding statistics can help people in the United States navigate their lives, according to Mark Ramos, assistant research professor of health policy and administration at Penn State. However, more than half of adults in the U.S. reported knowing little or nothing about basic statistical concepts, according to a recent study led by Ramos. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-adults-lack-basic-statistical.html Mathematics Fri, 21 Aug 2026 11:20:03 EDT news706525741 We each need a roof over our heads, classrooms to learn in and offices or spaces to work in. To meet this unprecedented demand for new buildings, globally, we're constructing the equivalent of an entire New York City every month. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-yorksized-city-month-climate.html Environment Fri, 21 Aug 2026 10:40:05 EDT news706522502 Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is one of the most aggressive and treatment-resistant subtypes of breast cancer, accounting for 15% to 20% of all cases. Unlike other breast cancers, TNBC lacks targetable receptors, leaving patients dependent largely on chemotherapy, with limited treatment options. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-blood-camouflaged-nanoparticles-defeat-drug.html Bio & Medicine Fri, 21 Aug 2026 09:40:03 EDT news706523702 For decades, archaeologists have been uncovering rare and mysterious incised obsidian arrowheads across Neolithic Central Anatolia, each one bearing a unique design etched into its glassy black surface nearly 9,000 years ago. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-archaeologists-uncover-rare-arrowheads-tepecik.html Archaeology Fri, 21 Aug 2026 07:20:04 EDT news706433318 AR and VR glasses once seen only in science fiction may soon be realized not as bulky stacks of lenses but as a single eyeglass-like optical element. That future is now closer to reality. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-thinner-lenses-brighter-metalens-hurdles.html Nanophysics Thu, 20 Aug 2026 19:20:02 EDT news706451041 Researchers from the MPIK in Heidelberg used an atomic gas as a time-dependent lens to shape and spectrally manipulate intense high-frequency laser pulses. This gas-based optical element could pave the way toward better XUV- and X-ray pulse control for applications such as chemical reaction steering, quantum computing, and advanced spectroscopy methods for fundamental science. The paper is published in the journal Science Advances. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-intense-bent-ultrafast-lenses-gas.html Optics & Photonics Thu, 20 Aug 2026 17:50:02 EDT news706464781 Over the past 230,000 years, the growth and retreat of the Icelandic ice sheet have led to major changes in the seawater chemistry of the North Atlantic, caused by the interaction between volcanism and ice in Iceland. Scientists at the Institute of Environmental Physics at Heidelberg University have demonstrated this using sediment cores from the northeastern Atlantic—the Rockall Plateau. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-dynamics-icelandic-ice-sheet-north.html Earth Sciences Thu, 20 Aug 2026 17:00:01 EDT news706449482 A research team led by Yang Lu from the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the Faculty of Engineering, The University of Hong Kong (HKU), has uncovered the microscopic physical nature of ultralarge elasticity in covalent semiconductors such as silicon and diamond. The discovery provides quantitative guidance for deep elastic strain engineering (DESE), paving the way for the development of next-generation electronic, optoelectronic and quantum devices. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-silicon-diamond-extreme-reversible.html Condensed Matter Thu, 20 Aug 2026 16:20:06 EDT news706448821 Rice University researchers have developed a way to stabilize diamond during high-temperature and low-pressure processing, creating a strong bulk composite and discovering that high-speed collisions can rapidly transform diamond into graphite. Their study is published in Materials Today. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-hypersonic-impact-rapidly-diamond-graphite.html Analytical Chemistry Thu, 20 Aug 2026 16:00:06 EDT news706448761 The use of antibiotics has traditionally been considered the gold standard in bacterial infection control—the more bacterial cells you kill, and the faster you kill them, the better. University of Tennessee, Knoxville Professor Dacheng Ren champions a different approach: engineer an antibiotic-free surface that prevents bacteria from establishing an infection at all. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-biofilm-topography-bacterial-infections.html Cell & Microbiology Thu, 20 Aug 2026 15:00:01 EDT news706447144 Neanderthals are largely associated with colder climates across Eurasia. But researchers know that both Homo sapiens and Neanderthals moved through nearby Southwest Asia between about 100,000 and 50,000 years ago, and Arabia was a crossroads between Africa, Europe and Asia during the Ice Age. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-stone-tools-neanderthals-inhabited-arabian.html Archaeology Thu, 20 Aug 2026 14:30:01 EDT news706454381 A paper published in the journal Science lays out a roadmap for broadening access to the process of discovering molecular tools that can benefit society, including medicines, materials and a wide range of everyday consumer products. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-blocc-chemistry-automate-molecular-discovery.html Analytical Chemistry Thu, 20 Aug 2026 14:00:09 EDT news706368781 Lithium titanate (LTO, Li4Ti5O12) is a well-established battery material that in its pristine state is a poor conductor of lithium ions. It develops high ionic conductivity only during charging, when additional lithium ions and electrons are incorporated into the material. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-oxygen-vacancies-fast-lithium-ion.html Analytical Chemistry Thu, 20 Aug 2026 13:40:01 EDT news706445461 Nearly every cell in the human body contains essentially the same genetic information, yet different cells activate different genes. For regulatory proteins to reach these genes, DNA must be accessible. This accessibility depends not only on the genetic code itself but also on DNA's physical properties—its shape, flexibility and ability to interact with proteins. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-dna-physical-properties-mutations-evolution.html Evolution Thu, 20 Aug 2026 12:40:05 EDT news706440961 Researchers at the University of São Paulo (USP) in Ribeirão Preto, Brazil, have developed a nanoparticle that can address the various factors hindering the healing of chronic wounds, which include ulcers associated with diabetes and pressure ulcers common among bedridden individuals. These wounds, which may persist for months or even years, affect about 1% to 2% of the population and represent a significant public health concern because they increase the risk of infection and amputation and significantly impair patients' quality of life. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-nanoparticle-combines-strategies-chronic-wounds.html Bio & Medicine Thu, 20 Aug 2026 11:40:07 EDT news706439401 A new Northwestern Medicine study has uncovered key molecular design principles that could help supramolecular therapeutics cross the blood-brain barrier, a major challenge for this novel approach to treating neurological disorders. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-supramolecular-therapies-blood-brain-barrier.html Bio & Medicine Thu, 20 Aug 2026 11:20:03 EDT news706438405 Astronomers have discovered a chemically rich collection of sulfur-bearing molecules surrounding the rare massive star HD 87643. The observations include the first detection of sulfur monoxide and sulfur dioxide around a B[e] supergiant. The paper was published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters on July 1. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-alma-uncovers-sulfur-rare-class.html Astronomy Thu, 20 Aug 2026 09:20:07 EDT news706267123 Archaeological artifacts offer valuable insights into the history of past societies. They reveal not only technological developments but also the changing economic systems, cultural traditions and everyday practices of the people who lived at the time. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-uncovering-evolution-edo-period-japanese.html Archaeology Thu, 20 Aug 2026 09:00:04 EDT news706433702 It's one of the origins-of-life chicken-or-egg problems: How could RNA have helped give rise to the first cells before there were cells to contain it? https://phys.org/news/2026-08-rna-droplets-life-earth.html Molecular & Computational biology Thu, 20 Aug 2026 08:40:04 EDT news706432081 The mission to save NASA's sinking Swift Observatory was called off Wednesday, dooming the telescope to a fiery reentry later this year. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-mission-nasa-aging-swift-space.html Space Exploration Thu, 20 Aug 2026 04:17:08 EDT news706418201 Self-assembling, anthracene-based supramolecular nanofibers can enable excitons to migrate hundreds of nanometers, according to a new experimental finding by researchers at Science Tokyo. Coupling these nanofibers with a plasmonic gold nanohole substrate further doubles exciton diffusivity. By mitigating the limited diffusivity of singlet excitons in organic semiconductors, this approach offers a new strategy for improving optoelectronic technologies. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-supramolecular-nanofibers-paired-nanohole-substrate.html Nanophysics Wed, 19 Aug 2026 19:40:01 EDT news706378622 New research from Purdue University demonstrates how organic aerosol molecules can influence one another's behavior in ways that existing atmospheric models do not fully capture. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-insights-aerosol-behavior-air-quality.html Environment Wed, 19 Aug 2026 14:20:02 EDT news706358101 Did brands exist before modern society, in noncapitalist economies? An international team led by Marta Luciani of the University of Vienna has made unexpected discoveries about Bronze Age trade: Yes, brands did indeed exist 3,200 years ago. Findings from the oasis of Qurayyah in northwestern Arabia offer unprecedented insights into the production of two-color painted pottery. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-oases-arabia-brands-bronze-age.html Archaeology Wed, 19 Aug 2026 14:00:14 EDT news706275417 An interdisciplinary team of engineers and chemists at Penn State has laid the groundwork for 3D printing spheroids—tiny clusters of living cells—capable of regenerating bone tissue in response to severe trauma or infections. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-genetic-3d-bone-tissue-blood.html Cell & Microbiology Wed, 19 Aug 2026 13:40:01 EDT news706357924