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. Most electronic memory storage devices require the ability to trap large numbers of electrons for each bit of memory. In an ideal world, however, it would take only one electron. This would reduce space requirements and power consumption for devices. Now, a team in China has realized this goal with an ultrathin device capable of minimizing the stray capacitance that plagued earlier attempts. The new study, published in Science, describes how this novel device has overcome challenges in implementing the single-electron design. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-2d-quantum-memory-device-electron.html Condensed Matter Wed, 29 Jul 2026 14:40:09 EDT news704550526 Comparing yourself with your partner is more common than you'd think. Psychologists even have a term for it: mate value discrepancy (MVD), which is the gap between how attractive, smart or successful each partner feels compared with the other. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-monogamy-jealousy-desirable-strain-relationships.html Social Sciences Wed, 29 Jul 2026 12:00:06 EDT news704539631 For most theories in physics, the order of operations has little impact on the result. When setting a dial to a certain position, for example, it doesn't matter whether it's turned clockwise or counterclockwise—the result will always be the same. Yet for non-Abelian gauge theories, order does matter. These theories underpin the Standard Model, but to test their more subtle predictions, researchers have so far relied on enormous particle accelerators. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-complex-field-physics-tabletop-photonic.html General Physics Wed, 29 Jul 2026 11:20:04 EDT news704539586 Astronomers have built the first three-dimensional map of gas temperature in the space surrounding our solar system, revealing a far messier and more dynamic picture than current models predict. The study was submitted to the arXiv preprint server on July 16. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-3d-reveals-hidden-thermal-nearby.html Astronomy Wed, 29 Jul 2026 09:40:01 EDT news704454447 Quantum technologies are devices and systems that exploit the laws of quantum mechanics and could perform tasks that are difficult or impossible to tackle using their classical counterparts. These technologies process and store information using qubits (i.e., quantum bits), which can exist in a superposition of multiple states simultaneously. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-rare-earth-ions-enable-telecom.html Optics & Photonics Wed, 29 Jul 2026 08:20:03 EDT news704367590 Scientists have uncovered an ancient population previously unknown to science in Ladakh, a high-altitude region in northern India. Their studies revealed individuals with a nearly perfect 50–50 mix of South Asian-related and Tibetan-related ancestry who lived approximately 1,500 years ago. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-dna-uncover-forgotten-population-world.html Archaeology Tue, 28 Jul 2026 14:20:09 EDT news704462958 Around a quarter of the U.S. food supply is grown in California's Central Valley. Most of its crops, like rice, fruit trees and nut trees, are water-intensive and require extensive groundwater pumping during droughts. Over time, heavy water extraction has contributed to changes in the aquifer systems under the San Joaquin and Sacramento valleys. Although some of these changes can be reversed, a new study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, indicates that large parts of the Sacramento Valley may have undergone irreversible ground compaction during recent droughts, leading to a permanent loss of groundwater storage. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-california-drought-sacramento-valley-aquifer.html Earth Sciences Tue, 28 Jul 2026 13:50:01 EDT news704462972 In 2010, scientists waiting to use the William Herschel Telescope in the Canary Islands captured a brief 36 minutes of images of Venus. They were waiting for the sun to set so they could look at distant stars and dust disks around young stars. Consequently, little attention was paid to the data, which was filed away in the archives. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-evidence-giant-venus-atmosphere-uncovered.html Planetary Sciences Tue, 28 Jul 2026 11:40:03 EDT news704452588 By analyzing data from NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) and conducting new radial velocity measurements, U.K. and French astronomers have found evidence that the mysterious Tabby's star may be orbited by an object about nine times more massive than Jupiter. The new findings are published on the preprint server arXiv. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-tabby-star-orbited-planetary-mass.html Astronomy Tue, 28 Jul 2026 10:00:03 EDT news704450067 Gravitational waves are tiny ripples in the fabric of spacetime that are produced when massive objects in the cosmos accelerate or collide. By detecting these waves, astrophysicists can study various cosmic events, including black hole mergers, neutron star collisions and the early evolution of the universe. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-moon-thick-crust-amplify-elusive.html Astronomy Tue, 28 Jul 2026 07:00:03 EDT news704365472 Gene editing is a highly precise and powerful technology that allows scientists to insert, delete, modify or replace DNA bases in living organisms. It has a variety of uses, including correcting disease-causing mutations and improving crops. Tools like CRISPR act as molecular scissors that target specific places in a genome to make these changes. But the technology is not perfect and can accidentally edit the wrong pieces of DNA or RNA. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-ai-tiny-gene-editor-unintended.html Biotechnology Mon, 27 Jul 2026 13:38:56 EDT news704378300 Positrons—the antimatter counterpart of electrons—are created in high-energy cosmic processes. When normal matter meets its antimatter counterpart, they annihilate, or vanish, and produce a distinctive 511 keV gamma-ray signal. Scientists use this signal to detect where these annihilations occur. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-extragalactic-positron-annihilation-hotspots-milky.html Astronomy Mon, 27 Jul 2026 12:30:02 EDT news704373911 Neural networks have transformed how machines find patterns in data, from recognizing faces in photos to predicting the shapes of proteins. So far, all of this progress has been made on ordinary classical computers, but with quantum computers now edging into practical use, there is a real possibility that neural networks could tap into distinctly quantum effects and operate in ways that classical machines never could. So far, however, neural networks have proven far more difficult to run on quantum hardware. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-quantum-neural-networks-hardware.html Quantum Physics Mon, 27 Jul 2026 10:50:01 EDT news704365485 The idea of having living fungi cover your body might not be the most appealing thing in the world. But what if it was part of a clothing fabric that could change color, protect you from UV rays and even repair its own tears? Those are just some of the possibilities of a new material described in a paper published in the journal Science. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-future-fashion-involve-fungi.html Biochemistry Mon, 27 Jul 2026 10:20:04 EDT news704365358 Animals are constantly moving to find food, water, suitable habitats, mates and safe places to rest. Because moving requires substantial energy, animals often rely on various biological and behavioral strategies to reduce unnecessary costs while seeking available resources. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-flying-andean-condors-energy.html Plants & Animals Mon, 27 Jul 2026 08:40:01 EDT news704119624 A new study published in Nature Physics reports the first direct experimental evidence of a Floquet topological state, a novel light-induced phase of matter that, until now, has existed only on paper and in simulations. Topological insulators can conduct electricity along their surface while remaining insulating throughout their bulk. Physicists have spent years developing Floquet engineering, a technique that uses intense, rapidly oscillating light fields to temporarily reshape a material's electronic structure. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-physicists-capture-evidence-floquet-topological.html Condensed Matter Mon, 27 Jul 2026 08:00:01 EDT news704113591 By analyzing the data from NASA's Fermi gamma-ray space telescope, Chinese astronomers have investigated a recently identified millisecond pulsar known as PSR J0435+3233. As a result, they found that the pulsar exhibits gamma-ray pulsations. The discovery was detailed in a paper published July 17 on the pre-print server arXiv. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-gamma-ray-pulsations-reveal-extreme.html Astronomy Sun, 26 Jul 2026 14:00:01 EDT news704105534 The laws of thermodynamics state that heat naturally flows from hotter systems or regions to colder systems or regions until a state of thermal equilibrium is reached. This simple principle underpins the operation of numerous technologies, ranging from refrigerators to power plants. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-quantum-simultaneously-refrigeration.html General Physics Sun, 26 Jul 2026 12:20:01 EDT news704017786 As the construction of a hydroelectric dam loomed, archaeologists raced to uncover Angola's earliest dated burials and its only known cremation at a 15th-century settlement before it vanished beneath the water. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-angola-oldest-burials-ancient-cremation.html Archaeology Sun, 26 Jul 2026 09:00:02 EDT news703772273 Historians and archaeologists know that maize was a central food source and cultural symbol across the ancient Maya world, but much of what is known has come from studies focused on large Maya cities and elite burials. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-ancient-bones-smaller-maya-communities.html Archaeology Sat, 25 Jul 2026 11:20:01 EDT news704029965 Chinese astronomers report the detection of a peculiar optical transient event that occurred in the center of a dwarf galaxy. The newly discovered event, designated AT2019ijn, is a fast-rising, slow-decaying blue optical transient with exceptionally bright radio emission. The finding was detailed in a paper published July 6 in The Astrophysical Journal Letters. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-rare-blue-optical-transient-class.html Astronomy Sat, 25 Jul 2026 08:40:01 EDT news703824942 The pearly razorfish (Xyrichtys novacula) is a small marine animal that lives in sandy coastal waters and feeds on creatures like shrimp. Known locally in Spain's Balearic Islands as raors, it is a popular dish in many homes and restaurants across the region. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-fishing-fish-species-molecular.html Plants & Animals Fri, 24 Jul 2026 13:40:06 EDT news704113560 Birdsong carries meaning across open space, helping birds attract mates, defend territory and communicate with rivals. While there has been much research into the use of birdsong across species, researchers have lacked a single global framework that explains birdsong complexity and how it differs from place to place. But now, in a study recently published in Science, a group of researchers in France have analyzed more than 116,000 bird songs from 3,160 passerine species around the world, allowing them to identify eight common motifs and explain differences in birdsong. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-birdsong-differs-world-motifs.html Plants & Animals Fri, 24 Jul 2026 12:50:02 EDT news704113567 Evolution is all about trade-offs. Traits that may be beneficial in one situation may backfire in another. Over millions of years, species can become specialized for one way of living rather than being equally good at everything. This explains why mammal teeth look the way they do today. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-evolution-mammal-teeth-slice-equally.html Evolution Fri, 24 Jul 2026 11:20:01 EDT news704105217 Birds can inhabit various environments with different climates and temperatures, ranging from cold polar regions to scorching hot deserts. To survive and thrive in these very different environments, they need to effectively regulate their body temperature. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-plumage-framework-insight-birds-evolved.html Plants & Animals Fri, 24 Jul 2026 09:40:06 EDT news704021324 Astronomers have discovered a remarkably tiny group of six young galaxies just 1.2 billion years after the Big Bang. This may be a rare glimpse of how some of the universe's largest galaxies formed. The paper outlining the findings was submitted to the arXiv preprint server on July 13. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-astronomers-massive-galaxy-piece-billion.html Astronomy Fri, 24 Jul 2026 08:40:02 EDT news703844724 Millions of people living on tropical islands could face a future of increasingly dangerous heat as climate change drives longer and more intense periods of humid conditions. While rising temperatures are often discussed as the main consequence of climate change, humidity plays a crucial role in determining how much heat the human body can tolerate. When the air is already full of moisture, sweat evaporates less effectively, making it harder for people to cool down. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-small-tropical-islands-dangerous-humid.html Earth Sciences Fri, 24 Jul 2026 07:20:01 EDT news704017856 Human sacrifice was deeply ingrained in Inca civilization. Children and young people were selected for sacrifice to appease the gods and sacred mountain spirits. Being chosen was considered a great honor for both the victims and their families. Now, research into the remains of three individuals sacrificed as part of an ancient Inca ritual is revealing new insights into how they died. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-modern-forensics-uncovers-clues-inca.html Archaeology Thu, 23 Jul 2026 13:40:08 EDT news704029954 Dating has entered a new era in which finding a potential soulmate is increasingly shaped by the digital world and, often, by algorithms. On dating apps, the way people present themselves through their profiles can significantly influence how approachable, trustworthy and likable they appear. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-reveal-dating-profile-scientists-sweet.html Social Sciences Thu, 23 Jul 2026 10:30:02 EDT news704017840 Heavy polar molecules are some of the most sensitive tools physicists have for probing what lies beyond the Standard Model, the theory that describes the particles and forces we know about. But turning that sensitivity into precise, trustworthy measurements has long been held back by one stubborn problem: Stray electric and magnetic fields drown out the tiny signals researchers are actually looking for. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-molecular-clock-transitions-tune-noise.html General Physics Thu, 23 Jul 2026 10:00:07 EDT news703934328