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. Amines are a functional group characterized by the presence of a nitrogen atom bonded to one or more alkyl or aryl (aromatic ring) groups. Derived from ammonia, amines play crucial roles in biological systems and various industrial applications. In everyday life, they can be found in common products such as medicines and cosmetics, where they act as active ingredients or stabilizers. However, the production of amines typically relies on complex chemical processes that are often based on intermediates derived from fossil fuels or involve energy-intensive steps. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-sustainable-electrosynthesis-enables-production-amines.html Analytical Chemistry Wed, 13 May 2026 15:35:50 EDT news697904761 Astronomers led by the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian (CfA) have made the first direct detection of turbulence distorting light in the interstellar medium. The findings will help scientists achieve clearer imaging of the supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way galaxy. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-astronomers-turbulence-stars-distorts.html Astronomy Wed, 13 May 2026 15:27:45 EDT news697904339 We hardly give them a second thought, but everyday objects like bags and backpacks belong to a long technological tradition that may stretch back hundreds of thousands of years. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-history-ancient-technology-hundreds-thousands.html Archaeology Wed, 13 May 2026 14:40:02 EDT news697899984 It all began with a perfectly ordinary chat over coffee between four researchers. How many films featuring geologists can we think of? Quite quickly, the colleagues were able to come up with about 10 films. But then the scientific mind of one of them sprang into action. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-geologists-good-guys-die.html Earth Sciences Wed, 13 May 2026 13:14:32 EDT news697896842 Sitting in a restaurant, you reach for the ketchup bottle, eyeing the basket of fries in front of you. You give the bottle a shake, then a tap. For a moment, nothing happens—the ketchup clings stubbornly to the glass. Then, all at once, it lets go and rushes out, sometimes in a steady stream, sometimes in a messy surge that threatens to flood the basket. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-tiny-big-effects-particle-interactions.html General Physics Wed, 13 May 2026 13:03:41 EDT news697896181 When you hear the word "epoxide," what do you think? If anything, likely "glue." But epoxides are quite common in our everyday lives. You might be sitting on a foam seat cushion made from epoxides. There is a good chance the synthetic textiles in your clothing involve epoxides in their production. The same is true of the paint on your car and the printed circuit boards in your electronic devices. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-electrified-route-epoxides-pollution-common.html Analytical Chemistry Wed, 13 May 2026 11:37:32 EDT news697890970 It's been 37 years since scientists first demonstrated the ability to move single atoms, suggesting the possibility of designing materials atom by atom to customize their properties. Today there are several techniques that allow researchers to move individual atoms in order to give materials exotic quantum properties and improve our understanding of quantum behavior. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-3d-atomic-rearrangement-quantum-defects.html Condensed Matter Wed, 13 May 2026 11:00:10 EDT news697802941 Insulators are materials in which electrons cannot move freely. Past theoretical studies predicted the existence of an unusual insulating state dubbed obstructed atomic insulator (OAI), in which electrons are localized inside a crystal, while their centers of charge lie in empty spaces between atoms, rather than on the atoms themselves. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-atomic-bands-transition-metal-dichalcogenides.html Condensed Matter Wed, 13 May 2026 06:40:02 EDT news697807903 A new study shows that a single radioactive cloud was responsible for a large share of the nuclear fallout during the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster on 11 March 2011. The work is published in the Journal of Hazardous Materials. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-radioactive-cloud-fukushima-particle-contamination.html Environment Tue, 12 May 2026 18:00:06 EDT news697816141 The kingfisher's brilliant blue feathers were once used like paint to create works of art. The technique, known as tian-tsui, was popular during China's Qing Dynasty. And because tian-tsui uses delicate feathers, previous scientists struggled to study them using traditional analytical techniques. So, researchers reporting in ACS Omega developed new methods of investigating these featherworks without harming them. The team found that multiple bird species and layered pigments provided a one-of-a-kind palette. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-qing-featherwork-scans-reveal-multiple.html Analytical Chemistry Tue, 12 May 2026 16:10:02 EDT news697819621 Quantum computers could someday solve pressing problems that are too convoluted for classical computers, such as modeling complex molecular interactions to streamline drug discovery and materials development. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-quantum-circuit-exposes-warping.html Superconductivity Tue, 12 May 2026 12:40:04 EDT news697799460 Living organisms sustain themselves through intricate metabolic processes that continuously convert energy and materials into useful functions. Inspired by these biological systems, researchers are now engineering synthetic materials that can replicate such dynamic behaviors. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-metabolism-hydrogels-replicate-heartbeat-motion.html Polymers Tue, 12 May 2026 12:20:05 EDT news697799252 For decades, the search for life beyond Earth has revolved around a key question: What molecules should scientists be looking for on other planets or moons? A new study, published in Nature Astronomy, suggests that the more revealing clue may not be the molecules themselves, but the hidden order connecting them. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-alien-life-mars-europa-missions.html Astronomy Mon, 11 May 2026 17:00:05 EDT news697733705 An international team of researchers' analysis of minerals from the Pilbara region of Western Australia has given new insight into how ancient continents on Earth formed as far back as 3.5 billion years ago. Professor Tony Kemp, from The University of Western Australia's School of Earth and Oceans, was a co-author of the study published in Science Advances, which was led by researchers at Nanjing University in China. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-earth-continents-subduction-billion-years.html Earth Sciences Mon, 11 May 2026 11:00:07 EDT news697713343 Astronomers using the James Webb Space Telescope have made a surprising discovery about a galaxy long, long ago and far, far away: It isn't rotating. That's something only seen in the most massive, mature galaxies that are closer to us in space and time, said Ben Forrest, a research scientist in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of California, Davis, and first author on the paper published May 4 in Nature Astronomy. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-rotating-early-galaxy-astronomers.html Astronomy Sat, 09 May 2026 11:00:02 EDT news697113449 For more than a decade, conservation biologist Steve Boyes searched for "ghost elephants"—nocturnal giants rumored to roam a remote, high-altitude wetland in eastern Angola. When a motion-sensor camera finally captured their image in 2024, Boyes turned to Stanford scientists for help answering a deeper question: Who are these elephants, and where did they come from? https://phys.org/news/2026-05-genetics-link-angola-ghost-elephants.html Plants & Animals Sat, 09 May 2026 09:00:03 EDT news697281772 A new study, published in Science Advances, has refined some important details about the moon's largest and oldest impact crater, which stretches more than 1,200 miles (2,000 km) on the far side of the moon. The new details can help guide some of the planning for NASA's upcoming Artemis mission to the moon, which is planned for 2028. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-moon-largest-impact-crater-priceless.html Space Exploration Fri, 08 May 2026 13:50:01 EDT news697463270 Battery acid from old cars, with a little help from a catalyst, can give plastic waste a new purpose, using it to drive the production of useful chemicals, powered by sunlight alone. A recent study by researchers at the University of Cambridge found a way to turn everyday plastics such as PET from water bottles, nylon, and polyurethane into useful chemical feedstocks. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-bottles-battery-acid-production-valuable.html Polymers Fri, 08 May 2026 12:40:01 EDT news697453249 In a new study published in the journal Science, researchers from the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, ZSL (Zoological Society of London) and their international collaborators including Boise State University present the first global assessment of risk to the angiosperm (flowering plants) tree of life, warning that more than a fifth of all angiosperm evolutionary history is at risk of extinction. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-evolutionary-history-extinction-experts.html Evolution Fri, 08 May 2026 09:20:01 EDT news697448101 Researchers at the University of São Paulo (USP) in Brazil have discovered that high-frequency ultrasound waves similar to those used in medical exams can eliminate viruses such as SARS-CoV-2 and H1N1 without damaging human cells. In an article published in Scientific Reports, they describe how the phenomenon, known as acoustic resonance, causes structural changes in viral particles until they rupture and become inactivated. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-ultrasound-rupture-covid-flu-viruses.html Cell & Microbiology Thu, 07 May 2026 17:20:08 EDT news697378206 In a process analogous to how solids melt into liquids, the electrons in many different metals form crystal-like patterns that can deform and melt, opening new pathways for neuromorphic computing and superconductors, University of Michigan Engineering researchers have found. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-quantum-metallurgy-electron-crystals-deform.html Superconductivity Thu, 07 May 2026 16:20:02 EDT news697389121 For years, quantum computers have lived under a huge bubble of hype, promising to revolutionize numerous fields, from medicine and battery design to materials science and cybersecurity. But realizing their potential on any serious practical level will only be possible if large numbers of qubits (the basic units of information) can interact with each other with high precision and flexibility. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-mobile-qubits-chip-closer-everyday.html Quantum Physics Thu, 07 May 2026 12:00:01 EDT news697365738 Mixing tree species can lead to better growth in the forest—at least above ground. A new study published in Nature shows that mixed forests had lower activity in the complex belowground ecosystems than previously thought. Researchers suspect this could affect the long-term growth of forests. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-tree-communities-hidden-energy-european.html Ecology Thu, 07 May 2026 09:20:05 EDT news697362781 An international research team, including scientists from the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR), has achieved a methodological breakthrough in the study of superhydrides, a promising class of superconductors. For the first time, the team succeeded in analyzing lanthanum superhydrides under extreme pressure using nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-magnetic-super-lenses-window-high.html Condensed Matter Wed, 06 May 2026 19:40:03 EDT news697296601 The growing popularity of electronic devices—from fitness trackers and laptops to smartphones—is driving demand for more energy-efficient computing chips. Now, researchers have found a way to change the electronic properties of a common semiconductor material, potentially laying the foundation for faster, lower-power data storage and processing. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-pathway-energy-efficient-chips.html Nanophysics Wed, 06 May 2026 19:00:05 EDT news697296121 The bacterium Segatella copri is one of the most common inhabitants of the human gut. In their latest study, researchers at the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) have discovered that some strains of this bacterial species possess genetic bonus material that makes them more oxygen-tolerant. The presence of the molecular regulator OxyR is crucial for this. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-genetic-bonus-material-boosts-gut.html Cell & Microbiology Wed, 06 May 2026 17:40:08 EDT news697291861 The closest-ever detailed look at a key enzyme inside the virus that causes COVID-19 could lead to more effective treatment of the disease. Nucleotide analogs are a common type of antiviral medication that mimic the genetic material viruses use to replicate, essentially duping them into inserting faulty building blocks into new copies of the virus. Many nucleotide analogs don't work as well as expected against SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, because coronaviruses carry an enzyme that identifies and removes genetic errors in its RNA—a "proofreader" called exoribonuclease (ExoN). https://phys.org/news/2026-05-atomic-snapshots-enzyme-covid-drugs.html Biochemistry Wed, 06 May 2026 17:00:07 EDT news697291621 Quantum geometry describes quantum states in systems with changing system parameters, such as an electron spinning in a magnetic field whose direction is slowly changing. The state of the electron evolves, and this change is quantified by what is known as the quantum geometric distance. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-quantum-geometry-based-toolkit-topological.html Optics & Photonics Wed, 06 May 2026 15:40:01 EDT news697291021 About 75 years ago, scientists accidentally synthesized a compound called ferrocene in which the iron (Fe) atom is sandwiched between two C5H5 rings—(C5H5)Fe(C5H5). This compound opened up a new era in transition metal chemistry, and became an important reagent in catalysis, materials, biology, and medicine. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-carbon-free-ferrocene-alternative-possibilities.html Analytical Chemistry Wed, 06 May 2026 15:30:01 EDT news697297681 Scientists have discovered the cause of a persistent glitch that continues to disrupt superconducting quantum computers, even when they have built-in defenses. For all their advanced hardware, superconducting quantum computers are vulnerable to errors caused by ionizing radiation from space or the environment. Radiation particles interfere with the chip substrate (the silicon base the processor is built on), which leads to the creation of rogue particles (quasiparticles) that disrupt the qubits, the basic units of quantum computers. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-persistent-quantum-error.html Quantum Physics Wed, 06 May 2026 08:00:02 EDT news697208518