https://phys.org/ en-us Latest news from Universitaet Mainz The name "IceCube" not only serves as the title of the experiment, but also describes its appearance. Embedded in the transparent ice of the South Pole, a three-dimensional grid of more than 5,000 extremely sensitive light sensors forms a giant cube with a volume of one cubic kilometer. This unique arrangement serves as an observatory for detecting neutrinos, the most difficult elementary particles to detect. https://phys.org/news/2026-02-icecube-ready-uncover-secrets-universe.html General Physics Fri, 13 Feb 2026 16:00:03 EST news690197718 The Institute of High Energy Physics (IHEP) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has successfully completed the Jiangmen Underground Neutrino Observatory (JUNO) and released its first physics results. https://phys.org/news/2025-11-juno-physics-results-months.html General Physics Wed, 19 Nov 2025 09:10:06 EST news682765484 When Junior Professor Catherine Teitz leaves the front door, she steps right into her research field. "I live in Mainz's Kästrich quarter, in the footprint of the Roman legionary camp of Mogontiacum," she says. Even her daily route to the Institute of Ancient Studies leads through traces of the past: on foot she passes the remains of a late Roman city gate and along the course of the aqueduct. Returning to Mainz after fieldwork, she sees the ancient theater on the train. "It was one of the largest north of the Alps—and I feel incredibly lucky that this city is my home." https://phys.org/news/2025-11-digitizing-layers-rome.html Archaeology Wed, 12 Nov 2025 16:57:05 EST news682189022 Large language models such as GPT-5 and Llama systematically rate speakers of German dialects less favorably than those using Standard German. This is shown by a recent collaborative study between Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) and the universities of Hamburg and Washington, in which Professor Katharina von der Wense and Minh Duc Bui of JGU played a leading role. https://techxplore.com/news/2025-11-ai-language-bias-regional-german.html Computer Sciences Wed, 12 Nov 2025 14:32:04 EST news682180322 A previously unexploited source of information is now throwing new light on Earth's climate during the age of dinosaurs. Fossilized dinosaur teeth show that concentrations of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere during the Mesozoic Era, i.e., 252 to 66 million years ago, were far higher than they are today. This has been determined by researchers at the universities in Göttingen, Mainz, and Bochum following the analysis of oxygen isotopes in the dental enamel of dinosaur teeth. https://phys.org/news/2025-08-dinosaur-teeth-climate-capsules-secrets.html Earth Sciences Tue, 05 Aug 2025 12:45:22 EDT news673616711 What occurs during the melting process in two-dimensional systems at the microscopic level? Researchers at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) have explored this phenomenon in thin magnetic layers. https://phys.org/news/2025-08-scientists-capture-real-2d-skyrmion.html Nanophysics Mon, 04 Aug 2025 15:20:02 EDT news673539254 Insects use a wax layer on their bodies to prevent water loss. Furthermore, they use the layer for communication. Although the chemical composition of this layer has been extensively studied, researchers at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) in Germany and Université Paris Cité in France have now, for the first time, turned to examining its physical properties, especially its phase behavior. https://phys.org/news/2025-07-ants-dehydration.html Plants & Animals Tue, 08 Jul 2025 09:07:03 EDT news671184421 When the brain is under pressure, certain neural signals begin to move in sync—much like a well-rehearsed orchestra. A new study from Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) is the first to show how flexibly this neural synchrony adjusts to different situations and that this dynamic coordination is closely linked to cognitive abilities. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-06-sync-brain-rhythms-intelligence.html Psychology & Psychiatry Mon, 16 Jun 2025 09:39:04 EDT news669285541 Researchers have identified a form of molecular motion that has not previously been observed. When what are known as "guest molecules"—molecules that are accommodated within a host molecule—penetrate droplets of DNA polymers, they do not simply diffuse in them in a haphazard fashion, but propagate through them in the form of a clearly-defined frontal wave. The team includes researchers from Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU), the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research and the University of Texas at Austin. https://phys.org/news/2025-06-molecular-motion-guest-molecules-dna.html Nanophysics Thu, 12 Jun 2025 16:00:03 EDT news668962430 For the first time, a research team has successfully produced one of the most neutron-rich isotopes, hydrogen-6, in an electron scattering experiment. https://phys.org/news/2025-04-electron-results-method-extremely-heavy.html General Physics Wed, 30 Apr 2025 14:50:03 EDT news665243401 The rate of development of poikilothermic animals, such as insects, fish, and reptiles, is determined by environmental temperature. A research team at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) has demonstrated how temperature can affect brain development in fruit flies. https://phys.org/news/2025-03-temperature-neurons-behavior-fruit-flies.html Plants & Animals Wed, 12 Mar 2025 13:16:49 EDT news661004205 Skyrmions are nanometer- to micrometer-sized magnetic whirls that exhibit particle-like properties and can be moved efficiently by electrical currents. These properties make skyrmions an excellent system for new types of data storage or computers. However, for the optimization of such devices, it is usually too computationally expensive to simulate the complicated internal structure of the skyrmions. https://phys.org/news/2025-01-simulation-aligns-skyrmion-dynamics-real.html Condensed Matter Thu, 30 Jan 2025 15:39:24 EST news657473961 The role of electrons and their negative charge in electric current is well established. Electrons also exhibit other intrinsic properties that are associated, for example, with considerable potential for enhancing data storage devices: the electron's spin or magnetic moment. https://phys.org/news/2025-01-spintronic-view-chiral-molecules-physicists.html Condensed Matter Thu, 30 Jan 2025 10:58:42 EST news657457116 Researchers from Mainz University and EMBL Hamburg present a new approach to determine the form of disordered proteins by using two different methods simultaneously in a single sample. Their findings are published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. https://phys.org/news/2025-01-simultaneous-techniques-disordered-proteins.html Molecular & Computational biology Mon, 20 Jan 2025 13:09:06 EST news656600935 A team of researchers from GSI/FAIR, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, and the Helmholtz Institute Mainz has succeeded in exploring the limits of the so-called island of stability within the superheavy nuclides more precisely by measuring the superheavy rutherfordium-252 nucleus, which is now the shortest-lived known superheavy nucleus. https://phys.org/news/2025-01-rf-shortest-superheavy-nucleus-subsequent.html General Physics Wed, 15 Jan 2025 11:10:11 EST news656161802 The continuing release of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere is a major driver of global warming and climate change with increased extreme weather events. Researchers at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) have now presented a method for effectively converting carbon dioxide into ethanol, which is then available as a sustainable raw material for chemical applications. https://phys.org/news/2024-11-cobalt-copper-tandem-sustainable-approach.html Analytical Chemistry Mon, 04 Nov 2024 12:40:10 EST news649946401 When light conditions rapidly change, our eyes have to respond to this change in fractions of a second to maintain stable visual processing. This is necessary when, for example, we drive through a forest and move through alternating stretches of shadows and clear sunlight. https://phys.org/news/2024-10-fruit-flies-accurate-visual-behavior.html Plants & Animals Thu, 31 Oct 2024 16:36:26 EDT news649611377 Inspired by nature's photosynthesis, photocatalysts use light to trigger a chemical reaction that would otherwise only occur at high temperatures or under harsh conditions. For this concept to be widely applicable in an economical fashion, the quantum efficiency of the light-induced transformation has to be high. https://phys.org/news/2024-09-superior-chemical-energy-conversion-coulombic.html Analytical Chemistry Wed, 11 Sep 2024 12:02:03 EDT news645274921 Young people aged 14 to 20 years are more satisfied nowadays with being single than their counterparts ten years ago. This is the conclusion of a study undertaken by the Institute of Psychology at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU). https://phys.org/news/2024-06-adolescents-today.html Social Sciences Tue, 25 Jun 2024 15:45:01 EDT news638549097 Altermagnets represent a newly recognized class of materials in magnetism that could enable novel applications in spin-based electronics. Their magnetically ordered state consists of an antiparallel arrangement of microscopic magnetic moments, so-called spins, as in antiferromagnets. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-good-prospects-altermagnets-based-electronics.html Condensed Matter Wed, 13 Mar 2024 12:07:20 EDT news629550439 Weather-related disasters and climatological extremes, including rivers bursting their banks and flooding as well as heat waves and droughts, cause tragic loss of life and cost billions of dollars in property damage each year. https://phys.org/news/2024-02-limits-weather-future.html Environment Mon, 05 Feb 2024 12:48:01 EST news626359678 Poignant prehistoric burials containing the remains of an adult and child laid in a grave as though embracing in death have long fascinated archaeologists. https://phys.org/news/2024-01-evidence-patrilineal-descent-western-eurasian.html Archaeology Mon, 29 Jan 2024 09:50:04 EST news625744202 Bitcoin has made global headlines in recent years, with a significant portion of the cryptocurrency discourse taking place on Twitter, renamed X this year. A single tweet by Elon Musk, who in 2021 announced on Twitter that Bitcoin would be accepted in payment for Tesla products, can have significant impact on the crypto market as a whole. Yet there are others on Twitter who also play a role in shaping the way Bitcoin is viewed. https://techxplore.com/news/2023-11-decentralized-opinion-leaders-twitter-bitcoin.html Business Mon, 20 Nov 2023 15:52:03 EST news619717921 Heavy precipitation, wind storms, heat waves—when severe weather events such as these occur they are frequently attributed to a wavy jet stream. The jet stream is a powerful air current in the upper troposphere that balances the pressure gradient and Coriolis forces. It is still not known whether the jet stream is really undergoing changes at decadal timescales and, if so, to what extent. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-jet-stream.html Earth Sciences Wed, 01 Nov 2023 14:08:32 EDT news618066510 The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) recently presented its second report on the status of global water resources. According to this report, large parts of the world experienced drier conditions in 2022 than those recorded on average for the equivalent periods over the last 30 years. https://phys.org/news/2023-10-status-global-resources-published.html Environment Fri, 13 Oct 2023 13:47:03 EDT news616423621 The research teams of Professor René Ketting at the Institute of Molecular Biology (IMB) in Mainz, Germany, and Dr. Sebastian Falk at the Max Perutz Labs in Vienna, Austria, have identified a new enzyme called PUCH, which plays a key role in preventing the spread of parasitic DNA in our genomes. These findings may reveal new insights into how our bodies detect and fight bacteria and viruses to prevent infections. https://phys.org/news/2023-10-scientists-enzyme-cells-genomic-parasites.html Cell & Microbiology Mon, 02 Oct 2023 10:47:03 EDT news615462419 Given the urgent need for transforming how we use and produce energy, researchers are working hard to find sustainable and cost-effective materials for light-driven chemical applications. To date, this research field heavily relies on expensive precious metal or rare-earth metal complexes with limited abundance in Earth's crust. https://phys.org/news/2023-09-low-cost-molybdenum-complex-paves-sustainable.html Analytical Chemistry Mon, 04 Sep 2023 09:49:52 EDT news613039783 Polyamides are present in many different products, such as ropes for mountaineering, parachutes of nylon, and materials for 3D printing. Dicarboxylic acids are used as chemical building blocks for these polyamides. However, their production has been challenging to date because current methods of generating dicarboxylic acids from saturated or unsaturated hydrocarbons frequently involve multiple steps as well as the use of heavy metals and strong acids, while the related energy consumption and costs are extensive. https://phys.org/news/2023-08-carboxylic-acids-environmentally-friendly-technique.html Polymers Mon, 28 Aug 2023 11:52:02 EDT news612442321 The thorium isotope with the mass number 229 (229Th) is highly exciting in many respects—for fundamental physics as well as for future applications, for example in the sense of a nuclear clock. https://phys.org/news/2023-06-thorium-nuclear-transition-lasers-visible.html General Physics Thu, 01 Jun 2023 15:42:12 EDT news604852929 Miniaturization is progressing rapidly in many fields, and the trend toward the creation of ever smaller units is also prevalent in the world of robot technology. In the future, minuscule robots used in medical and pharmaceutical applications might be able to transport medication to targeted sites in the body. Statistical physics can contribute to the foundations for the development of such technologies. https://phys.org/news/2023-05-swarming-behavior-microrobots.html General Physics Fri, 26 May 2023 10:38:20 EDT news604316296