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. A new study from the Institute for Food and Resource Economics at the University of Bonn shows that the success of nature conservation measures depends partly on the credible enforcement of environmental laws. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-forest.html Environment Thu, 29 Oct 2026 10:40:06 EDT news712481300 Theoretical physicists at Emory University have discovered a way to use light to detect the "spectral fingerprints" of anyons—exotic quasiparticles that emerge from the collective behavior of many electrons. Their findings are published in Physical Review Letters. The work offers a new tool for the study of anyons, which hold potential as fundamental building blocks for quantum computing. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-theoretical-method-anyons-potential-quantum.html Optics & Photonics Thu, 29 Oct 2026 10:40:01 EDT news712484101 A tiny fossil discovered exactly a century ago has caused an enormous change in our understanding of when flying insects first appeared on Earth. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-fossil-scans-insect-flight-timeline.html Evolution Thu, 29 Oct 2026 10:20:18 EDT news712483323 A harmonic increment provides a new way to improve smooth approximations of the minimum function. In a recent paper, published in the Journal of Inequalities and Applications, Prof. Thomas A. Weber shows how a harmonic-increment transformation brings any smooth estimate that lies strictly below the minimum closer to it, while keeping the improved estimate below the minimum, so it remains a conservative estimate of a worst realization, or weakest link. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-mathematical-method-limited-smallest.html Mathematics Thu, 29 Oct 2026 10:20:07 EDT news712479738 Flying foxes are the biggest bats in the world; they look like German shepherd puppies with 5-foot (1.5-meter) wingspans. But Madagascar's flying foxes are shrinking. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-museum-specimens-reveal-flying-foxes.html Evolution Thu, 29 Oct 2026 10:00:08 EDT news712397762 Rare, complete fossils of ancient fish discovered in Alberta are helping fill in the gaps in our knowledge about which freshwater fish were living in North America at the end of the age of the dinosaurs, and how they evolved into their modern descendants. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-ancient-alberta-fish-fossils-reveal.html Evolution Thu, 29 Oct 2026 10:00:01 EDT news712479141 In a study published in Eco-Environment and Health, a team of 35 international experts led by Surrey's Global Centre for Clean Air Research (GCARE) reviewed several studies from across the world on the performance of indoor greenery. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-indoor-air-quality-cooling.html Environment Thu, 29 Oct 2026 09:40:01 EDT news712478540 "Ammonia was first used as a fuel during World War II, when gasoline was hard to get hold of," explains David Emberson, associate professor at NTNU's Department of Marine Technology. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-hydrogen-ammonia-life.html Materials Science Thu, 29 Oct 2026 09:20:05 EDT news712477949 Viewed under a microscope, the air above the Amazon rainforest teems with activity. It is full of pollen, fungal spores, tiny plant particles and bacteria. Normally, the composition of this bioaerosol community is quite stable. A team that included researchers from the University of Graz, the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry in Mainz and Brazilian partner institutions has now shown that microorganisms are transported across the Atlantic along with desert dust from the Sahara. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-saharan-bacteria-atlantic-amazon-rainforest.html Environment Thu, 29 Oct 2026 09:20:01 EDT news712482062 With family budgets stretched ever tighter, swimming lessons can be one of the first expenses to be cut back—but with research showing swimming helps children not just physically but developmentally, researchers are calling for greater government support. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-children-academic-social-milestones.html Social Sciences Thu, 29 Oct 2026 09:10:02 EDT news712384159 Job loss and career uncertainty can take a toll that extends well beyond the workplace. New research suggests that a psychological intervention based on the principles of acceptance and commitment therapy, or ACT, may help individuals navigate work-related challenges while improving well-being and reducing psychological distress. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-struggling-career-psychological-intervention.html Economics & Business Thu, 29 Oct 2026 09:00:05 EDT news712388238 Worldwide, antibiotic resistance is associated with millions of deaths every year, and the World Health Organization warns that the number of resistant infections is rising. Colistin is a last-resort antibiotic used when other treatments fail, but rates of colistin-resistant infections are rising as well, putting people at even greater risk and increasing the urgency for new therapeutic approaches. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-amino-acid-boosts-resort-antibiotic.html Cell & Microbiology Thu, 29 Oct 2026 09:00:01 EDT news712404121 The energy required for brains of different sizes to function could play a role in how different species evolved over time. While the energetic costs of brains have long been deemed important in evolution, direct measurements of the rate at which the brains of different species consume energy, also known as brain metabolic rates (MRs), remain scarce. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-smaller-ants-devote-resting-energy.html Plants & Animals Thu, 29 Oct 2026 08:20:14 EDT news712411896 A new study published in Individual-Based Ecology presents the first individual-based model (IBM) of basking shark behavior. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-individual-based-basking-sharks-replicates.html Plants & Animals Thu, 29 Oct 2026 08:20:01 EDT news712476140 In the final stretch to the midterm elections, polls have come out tracking candidates' likelihood of victory at the local, state and federal levels. According to Tim Servinsky, project manager at Penn State Harrisburg's Center for Survey Research, polls built with the right questions and asked to the right population can be accurate and a critical tool for policymakers. However, particularly in the context of political polling, there are important details to keep in mind when reading and interpreting the most recent polling projections. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-qa-polls-trustworthy.html Political science Thu, 29 Oct 2026 08:00:06 EDT news712473202 Keeping the lights on nationwide is a feat of engineering that depends on millions of miles of power lines and thousands of power-generation plants. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-electricity-uncertain-federal-policy.html Political science Thu, 29 Oct 2026 07:40:02 EDT news712472659 In 2001, Brenda Andrew was convicted of murdering her husband, and in 2004 she was sentenced to death. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-prosecutors-invoke-gender-stereotypes-capital.html Political science Thu, 29 Oct 2026 07:30:01 EDT news712471363 Ocean fish stocks have been increasingly exploited over time, and remote sensing shows they have declined in the open ocean over the last three decades, particularly in the tropics. But it's uncertain how fish populations will fare in the future, as climate models show both increases and decreases in global trends by the end of this century. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-ancient-oceans-carbon-export-fish.html Earth Sciences Thu, 29 Oct 2026 07:20:02 EDT news712402208 American jobs have become increasingly stressful over the past two decades—but workers have also gained greater ability to exercise independence and make decisions at work. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-american-jobs-autonomy-stress.html Economics & Business Thu, 29 Oct 2026 07:00:05 EDT news712470858 Across the world, people have felt the impacts of climate change firsthand. The Northern Hemisphere has had another record-breaking summer season of heat and extreme weather events. The Southern Hemisphere now faces a summer of heat waves, flooding, wildfires and droughts. This is driven by decades of climate change, now supercharged by an unprecedented El Niño—the warm phase of the El Niño Southern Oscillation, which is a cyclical warming and cooling of the Pacific Ocean driven by changing trade winds, with global impacts on the climate. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-declare-climate-health-emergency.html Environment Thu, 29 Oct 2026 04:55:47 EDT news712468492 A new study has found that in U.S. counties that ended COVID-19 pandemic-era Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Emergency Allotments, child maltreatment rates went up. The findings from the study in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine suggest that changes to food assistance programs have consequences that extend beyond food security and also affect child and family well-being. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-covid-era-snap-emergency-food.html Social Sciences Thu, 29 Oct 2026 00:10:01 EDT news712385300 A new report co-authored by researchers from the University of York and WWF highlights how local communities across the U.K. imagine positive, sustainable, and resilient futures for the places where they live and work. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-optimistic-climate-futures-local-communities.html Environment Wed, 28 Oct 2026 22:00:02 EDT news712393576 When we think about Europe's winter weather, the Indian Ocean is probably not the first place we look. We might picture Atlantic storms, cold air arriving from the north or rain sweeping across the Mediterranean. In my research, however, I look at how these familiar weather systems fit into a much larger climate system. My colleagues and I asked whether an ocean thousands of kilometers away could leave a detectable signature on Europe's early winter. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-indian-ocean-linked-europe-early.html Earth Sciences Wed, 28 Oct 2026 21:00:06 EDT news712411997 There are two lighthouses on Lady Elliot Island, at the southernmost tip of Australia's Great Barrier Reef. The first was built in 1873, but was decommissioned in 1995 when the second took over the job of warning ships off the reef. Visitors to the island, however, regularly report seeing signs of a third lighthouse. At night the beams of a nonexistent phantom lighthouse are seen far off, shining on the horizon. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-phantom-lighthouse-australia-strangest-illusions.html Mathematics Wed, 28 Oct 2026 19:40:01 EDT news712402306 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 Macromolecular crowding can serve as a design tool for controlling the formation and organization of synthetic DNA droplets, a study from Science Tokyo reveals. Researchers investigated this strategy using DNA nanostars and polymeric crowding agents to mimic the crowded cellular environment. They found that crowding promoted droplet formation and enabled control over droplet size, interactions and organization. The findings could support the development of programmable artificial cell systems. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-macromolecular-crowding-artificial-cell.html Cell & Microbiology Wed, 28 Oct 2026 18:40:01 EDT news712420261 An international study investigating why wild tomatoes are more resistant to the tomato leafminer (Phthorimaea absoluta) than cultivated varieties revealed that the secret lies in the spatial structure of a plant defense molecule. The researchers mapped the biochemical origin of this difference and demonstrated that altering four amino acids in a single enzyme is sufficient to alter the structure of the substance and increase its toxicity against the pest. This finding paves the way for creating resistant tomatoes through gene editing. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-molecular-architecture-tomato-resistance-main.html Molecular & Computational biology Wed, 28 Oct 2026 18:20:06 EDT news712420202 Glasses are (mostly) brittle, metals can be ductile (plastic), and liquids flow easily. Polymers are interesting because they exhibit all three types of behavior, depending on their chemical nature, temperature, and deformation rate. If polymers are not able to crystallize, their low-temperature state is glassy, and they are hard and transparent. One example is poly(methylmethacrylate) [PMMA], which has been used as an artificial glass since the early 20th century. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-difference-brittle-ductile-behavior-polymer.html Soft Matter Wed, 28 Oct 2026 18:00:01 EDT news712244706 Computational biologist Christina Leslie, Ph.D., has spent nearly two decades at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK) building computational tools that help make sense of some of the most complex data in biology. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-qa-decoding-cell-conversation-biologist.html Cell & Microbiology Wed, 28 Oct 2026 17:40:06 EDT news712425721