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. The mangroves of Biscayne Bay have been getting help from an unlikely neighbor—the seagrass meadows just offshore. Dead seagrass blades and seaweed drift loose until the tide carries them into the mangroves, where they pile up, rot slowly and then become part of the ground. https://phys.org/news/2026-11-seagrass-biscayne-bay-mangroves-seas.html Plants & Animals Wed, 04 Nov 2026 09:40:08 EST news713006401 Waste dumped into the Tijuana River can travel seven times farther than expected before becoming airborne and affecting San Diego's air, at least 20 miles (32 kilometers) from its source, according to new UC Riverside research. https://phys.org/news/2026-11-tijuana-river-pollution-doesnt-stay.html Environment Tue, 03 Nov 2026 18:30:01 EST news712950001 The Hawaiian volcano Kīlauea is among the most active on Earth. Not only did it erupt almost continuously from 1983 to 2018, but it also began a new series of eruptions in late 2024 that continue as of late 2026. The activity and accessibility of the volcano have enabled scientists to collect a wealth of data. https://phys.org/news/2026-11-klauea-magma-reservoirs-high-resolution.html Earth Sciences Tue, 03 Nov 2026 14:20:06 EST news712926962 One approach to making information storage in quantum computing less prone to errors is known as topological quantum computing. It relies on special quantum states that are expected to be more resistant to local disturbances. https://phys.org/news/2026-11-theoretical-foundation-potentially-error-resistant.html Quantum Physics Mon, 02 Nov 2026 13:30:01 EST news712848081 Creating better-performing materials comes down to having more control over their structure at the smallest possible scale. One particularly effective way to accomplish that is using nanoparticles, which have highly customizable shapes and sizes and have already shown promise in applications across energy, medicine and electronics. https://phys.org/news/2026-11-flexible-connectors-enable-materials-built.html Nanomaterials Mon, 02 Nov 2026 10:40:11 EST news712833724 In a study spanning 192 sites and four continents, researchers have discovered that conifers planted in the Southern Hemisphere grow up to four times faster and are more drought-resistant than those growing in their native ranges. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-trees-home-carbon.html Environment Sun, 01 Nov 2026 13:00:01 EST news712381931 Researchers have experimentally demonstrated, for the first time, that it is possible to obtain from an altermagnet a spin current that can transport magnetic information. This result is supported by the theoretical model of electron transport developed by the CFM group. Altermagnets are a new class of materials that, despite not exhibiting the net magnetization characteristic of conventional magnets, can generate this type of current. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-electrical-reveal-hidden-magnetic-altermagnets.html General Physics Thu, 29 Oct 2026 15:40:04 EDT news712497013 With the help of artificial intelligence, researchers at Linköping University in Sweden have found previously overlooked occurrences of the 2D materials MXenes in older databases. The findings have inspired the researchers to create new materials using more sustainable synthesis methods. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-ai-uncover-overlooked-2d-materials.html Nanomaterials Thu, 29 Oct 2026 14:00:18 EDT news712484282 Researchers at Kyushu University have found that an ultrathin layer of iridium manganese (IrMn) can improve two spin-related signals in a structure made of a magnetic insulator and a platinum film. By examining how spin currents are generated and absorbed, the team gained insights into how the intermediate layer improves spin transfer. The findings could inform the development of ultralow-power devices for computing and energy harvesting. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-ultrathin-metal-layer-boosts-door.html Condensed Matter Wed, 28 Oct 2026 19:20:02 EDT news712421221 Two nearly identical materials have completely different chemical behavior. Research teams at the University of Vienna and TU Wien studied catalysts that use the energy of sunlight to produce ammonia. Surprisingly, when the three iron atoms that form tiny triangles in these catalysts are replaced by chromium atoms, the chemical reaction no longer takes place. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-atomic-magnetism-reveals-iron-chromium.html Analytical Chemistry Wed, 28 Oct 2026 19:00:01 EDT news712420921 The Antarctic Intermediate Water (AAIW)—a vast layer of fresh water spanning much of the Southern Hemisphere's ocean—has rapidly reversed its long-term trends in salinity and density, according to new research. The AAIW helps store carbon, supply oxygen and drive global ocean currents. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-major-southern-hemisphere-ocean-layer.html Earth Sciences Wed, 28 Oct 2026 06:00:01 EDT news712321742 The 2026 Report of The Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change finds that many of the health risks and harms of climate change grew faster in the decade since the Paris Agreement was introduced (2016–2025) than in the decade before it (2006–2015). https://phys.org/news/2026-10-climate-health-outpace-action-prompting.html Environment Tue, 27 Oct 2026 20:10:02 EDT news712229643 Since the production of graphene in 2004, two-dimensional materials have been sparking scientific and technological interest. As they are only a few atomic layers thick, or even just a single atomic layer, they can exhibit special electronic, magnetic or chemical properties—which make them particularly interesting for applications such as electronics, catalysis and energy storage. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-nanostructures-classic-layered.html Nanophysics Tue, 27 Oct 2026 16:30:02 EDT news712334221 Levels of carbon dioxide (CO₂) and other major greenhouse gases in the atmosphere reached unprecedented highs in 2025, locking in more long-term warming for the planet, according to a new report from the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). https://phys.org/news/2026-10-greenhouse-gases-highs.html Environment Tue, 27 Oct 2026 12:40:04 EDT news712315081 Greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere rose to new record highs in 2025, locking in climate impacts that will persist for centuries to come, the United Nations said Tuesday. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-greenhouse-gas-highs.html Environment Tue, 27 Oct 2026 10:02:50 EDT news712314106 Researchers at AIST have demonstrated the synthesis of nanoporous carbonaceous materials and carbonaceous materials with layered nanostructures through a simple process involving the chemical modification of common sugars such as sucrose and fructose. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-chemically-sugars-enable-nanostructure-formation.html Nanomaterials Fri, 23 Oct 2026 16:40:08 EDT news711981001 The Kronshtadskiy subglacial lake near East Antarctica's Amery Ice Shelf was hidden beneath Antarctica's ice, but its drainage left a mark visible from space as a broad depression that deepened by more than 6 meters (20 feet) at its center. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-antarctic-ice-reveals-hidden-lake.html Earth Sciences Fri, 23 Oct 2026 10:00:07 EDT news711808123 From photos and videos to documents, vast amounts of data are stored on hard drives in large data centers. These devices use tiny magnetic regions whose orientation determines the information stored. But how could data be stored even faster in the future? One possible approach involves ultrashort laser pulses, which can alter the magnetic order of materials in an extremely short time. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-iron-laser-driven-demagnetization.html Nanophysics Thu, 22 Oct 2026 18:40:10 EDT news711903961 Microgreens are nutritional powerhouses. A team of plant scientists at Penn State conducting research on multiple aspects of microgreens recently published three studies reporting progress on multiple fronts, including iron enrichment, productive indoor growth and a faux lightning technique that could improve microgreens' growth, yield and nutritional quality. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-microgreens-nutritional.html Agriculture Thu, 22 Oct 2026 17:50:02 EDT news711908341 New research started with a special material that behaves unusually when it's extremely cold—135 degrees below zero Fahrenheit (minus 93 degrees Celsius), close to the most frigid temperature ever recorded in Antarctica—and showed that the unusual behavior could be extended to well above room temperature—up to about 135 F (57 degrees Celsius), close to the highest heat ever measured in Death Valley, California. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-amino-acid-stabilizes-material-quantum.html Nanophysics Thu, 22 Oct 2026 17:40:13 EDT news711902942 New research from the University of St Andrews has uncovered a previously unknown process that may have helped drive Earth into past ice ages. Published today (Oct. 22) in the Journal of Climate, the paper links ice sheets in the Northern Hemisphere to changes in ocean circulation and sea ice in the Southern Hemisphere understood to drive down atmospheric CO₂. Linking these two key features of the ice ages has long been a challenge, given how far apart the two regions are. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-earth-hemispheres-ice-ages.html Earth Sciences Thu, 22 Oct 2026 14:00:06 EDT news711733921 In a study published in Advanced Optical Materials, researchers at Vilnius University (VU) demonstrated perovskite-based laser structures that maintained stable performance over more than 400 million pulses. Their findings address one of the major challenges limiting the practical use of perovskites: their instability. These semiconductor materials could play an important role in next-generation optical technologies, but their tendency to degrade has long posed a challenge for researchers worldwide. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-perovskite-laser-stable-million-pulses.html Condensed Matter Wed, 21 Oct 2026 18:00:02 EDT news711813781 Imagine encountering a rattlesnake in your backyard or while on a hike. It will most likely "freeze" to avoid attracting attention, but if it feels especially threatened, it may rattle and even strike, delivering a painful dose of venom. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-rattlesnakes-alike-personality-venom.html Plants & Animals Wed, 21 Oct 2026 17:40:01 EDT news711793881 Despite being known for more mundane uses such as sticking notes to refrigerators or keeping bags shut, magnetization is one of the most fundamental and useful properties of a material. Indeed, it forms the physical basis for storing most of our digital information, encoding the bits used in hard drives, computer memories and credit cards. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-ultrafast-ferromagnetism.html Condensed Matter Wed, 21 Oct 2026 13:40:04 EDT news711801302 Quantum networks, systems that connect devices and allow them to exchange information encoded in the quantum states of particles, could enable more secure communications. To build these networks, physicists need to devise strategies that allow distant particles to share quantum states, preserving them long enough to perform calculations or enable communication between devices. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-atomic-memory-distant-ions-entangled.html Optics & Photonics Wed, 21 Oct 2026 07:40:12 EDT news711706392 In the early 1980s, scientists observed an anomaly. Embedded within cell membranes, they identified ion channels with extraordinarily high conductance. These so-called "BK" (Big K, or Big Potassium) channels had roughly 10 times the unitary conductance (i.e., conductance per individual channel molecule) of other potassium channels, enabling much more efficient, rapid transport of potassium ions. And while later structural characterization explained how this happened, no one could understand why. That is, until now. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-current-calcium-longstanding-ion-channel.html Evolution Wed, 21 Oct 2026 05:00:06 EDT news711713221 The site of a former U.S. military base in Greenland was ice-free at a time when summers were a few degrees warmer than today, according to a new University at Buffalo–led study of ancient sediment recovered from beneath the site in the 1960s. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-forgotten-samples-greenland-cold-war.html Earth Sciences Tue, 20 Oct 2026 19:40:01 EDT news711727681 Biochar can store carbon in the soil and reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere—yet we still know too little about how long the biochar will persist. Now, researchers from the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences have found a new way to measure this, using wood from the 1960s that was affected by nuclear weapons testing. The paper is published in the journal Radiocarbon. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-carbon-wood-stability-biochar-soil.html Earth Sciences Tue, 20 Oct 2026 13:20:30 EDT news711713461 Can protecting elephants and whales help mitigate climate change? https://phys.org/news/2026-10-large-animals-mitigate-climate-complicated.html Earth Sciences Tue, 20 Oct 2026 11:40:09 EDT news711708181 Researchers have discovered honey beehives act as "living immune systems" that help protect the bee colony, its offspring and food supplies from disease. The finding underlines the need to protect bee habitat to ensure their health. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-beehives-immune-layered-antimicrobial-defenses.html Plants & Animals Mon, 19 Oct 2026 18:00:11 EDT news711643621