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. Physicists at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) have developed a technology that uses quantum sensors to measure biomagnetic signals, such as heart activity. Researchers from the DIAQNOS (DIAmond-based Quantum Sensing for NeurOSurgery) flagship project, coordinated by Dr. Arne Wickenbrock in Mainz, have demonstrated the potential of quantum technology for future medical applications. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-diamond-quantum-sensors-heart-magnetism.html Condensed Matter Thu, 17 Sep 2026 11:40:08 EDT news708854822 Cephalopods are a group of soft-bodied marine mollusks that include cuttlefish, octopuses, squid and nautiluses. Many of these mollusks have muscular suckers on their arms that allow them to seize prey or grip other surfaces in their surroundings. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-cuttlefish-suckers-reveal-rough-prey.html Plants & Animals Thu, 17 Sep 2026 07:40:04 EDT news708600523 Astronomers have found that a nearby galaxy's black hole is blasting out a far more powerful and hidden gas outflow than previously realized. Studying NGC 1068, a well-known galaxy with an actively feeding black hole at its center, researchers combined new infrared observations with existing data to map how the black hole's energy is reshaping the surrounding gas. The results are reported in a paper published Aug. 6 in Astronomy & Astrophysics. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-famous-galaxy-black-hole-violent.html Astronomy Tue, 15 Sep 2026 07:20:01 EDT news707994714 A "peculiar" new species of Jurassic squid-like animal has been unearthed in Wyoming, U.S., following the discovery of two exceptionally rare fossils dating to around 160 million years ago. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-peculiar-species-jurassic-squid-wyoming.html Evolution Thu, 10 Sep 2026 08:40:01 EDT news708248042 Has El Niño reached the West Coast? You might think it has. After all, the ocean off Southern and Central California is unusually warm. But that warmth is from a recent marine heat wave that predates the current El Niño. Much of the Pacific Coast is experiencing relatively normal conditions while still awaiting the impacts of what could be a very strong El Niño. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-ocean-indicators-noaa-scientists-tracking.html Earth Sciences Sat, 05 Sep 2026 07:40:01 EDT news707807952 Research led by scientists at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette challenges a long-held assumption about the effects of climate change on marine life: Warmer oceans won't simply make animals smaller. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-seas-mollusks.html Plants & Animals Thu, 03 Sep 2026 18:40:03 EDT news707666701 We often think of microbes as organisms that live around us, like the Salmonella bacteria and flu viruses that cause illness. But some of our most intimate relationships are with the microbes living inside us. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-ancient-fossil-china-reveals-animalmicrobe.html Evolution Wed, 02 Sep 2026 16:20:08 EDT news707579761 A new study by University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa researchers shows that nearly 23% of short-finned pilot whales that stranded over 13 years in the main Hawaiian Islands ingested several pounds of plastic ropes, netting, fishing gear and plastic bags discarded in the ocean. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-tangled-plastic-fishing-gear-whales.html Plants & Animals Wed, 26 Aug 2026 11:20:06 EDT news706956718 Astronomers can't see dark matter directly, but they know it's there: Its gravity shapes galaxies and the large-scale structure of the cosmos. In an effort to uncover the composition of this hidden mass, a team at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) is pursuing evidence of particles that exist beyond the standard model of physics. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-plutonium-probe-universe-magneto-advances.html General Physics Tue, 25 Aug 2026 15:13:14 EDT news706889564 This year's cuttlefish season has been unlike any other. Every winter, more than 100,000 giant Australian cuttlefish can usually be found mating along the rocky coastline of Point Lowly, northeast of Whyalla, South Australia. They put on shape-shifting, colorful displays in their attempts to attract a mate. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-australia-home-mass-cuttlefish-world.html Ecology Mon, 10 Aug 2026 11:20:02 EDT news705572642 Added protein is showing up in foods from breakfast cereal to pasta, but not many condiments … yet. Researchers have now developed an enriched tomato ketchup by incorporating protein extracted from algae. A panel of taste testers preferred recipes containing up to 3% added algal extract, saying the samples maintained the sweet, tangy taste and reddish appearance expected of the condiment. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-protein-enriched-ketchup-boost-algae.html Agriculture Fri, 07 Aug 2026 12:00:03 EDT news705322138 If scientists could find a material that acts as a superconductor—that is, one that transmits energy with zero resistance—at normal pressures and relatively high temperatures, it would open up a vast number of possibilities. These include medical imaging, quantum computing and numerous other fields. So, yes, it would be a big deal. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-repurposing-deep-earth-tools-superconductors.html Superconductivity Thu, 06 Aug 2026 10:00:03 EDT news705220742 Deep in the world's oceans, large male sperm whales emit slow, low-frequency clicks with the highest source levels of any animal communication sounds. These slow clicks are not the echolocation clicks the whales use to locate prey, but loud, low-frequency communication signals. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-male-sperm-whales-loudest-communication.html Plants & Animals Mon, 03 Aug 2026 17:20:01 EDT news704986802 Extant and ancient cephalopods—including octopuses, squids, extinct ammonites, cuttlefish and nautiluses—have all had to solve the problem of buoyancy, whether they have hard external shells or not. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-early-cambrian-fossil-uncovers-key.html Evolution Wed, 29 Jul 2026 13:40:05 EDT news704541901 The octopus is a biological oddity. It can use tools, open jars, and its complex nervous system supports as many neurons as a small primate. Now Harvard biologists have discovered a mysterious distinction in octopuses' core biology: Some octopuses have an unusual adaptation in the protein-making machinery of their cells that helps ensure accuracy, perhaps an evolutionary byproduct of their acute sensory system. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-biology-cells-octopus-sleeve.html Plants & Animals Wed, 29 Jul 2026 11:00:10 EDT news704447041 An ancient marine 'crime scene' discovered near Richmond captures the world first evidence of a flying reptile being eaten by a sea monster… before that predator became dinner itself. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-bag-bones-rare-tier-prehistoric.html Paleontology & Fossils Tue, 28 Jul 2026 18:40:06 EDT news704476081 Imagine holding one of our most precise quantum devices at a fixed position outside a black hole. A Josephson junction—two superconductors separated by an ultrathin barrier—can turn a voltage into a quantum oscillation with extraordinary precision. Would intense gravity change that quantum rule, or only change how a faraway observer reads the device? https://phys.org/news/2026-07-black-hole-gravity-quantum-circuit.html General Physics Sun, 26 Jul 2026 19:00:01 EDT news704113655 Marine biologists have observed the Arctic bobtail squid in its natural habitat in the North Atlantic Ocean for the first time, including the rare discovery of a mature female with eggs. Dr Paige Maroni, from The University of Western Australia's School of Biological Sciences, is lead author of the study published in Polar Biology, which recorded the Arctic bobtail squid, Rossia moelleri, in Northeast Greenland National Park. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-rare-sighting-reveals-arctic-bobtail.html Plants & Animals Mon, 20 Jul 2026 13:20:03 EDT news703771202 Ready meals containing fish and seafood can expose consumers to chemical contaminants that are present in the environment or introduced during processing and packaging. A study by the Universitat Rovira i Virgili (URV) has, for the first time, analyzed the presence of a wide range of high-volume chemical substances in ready-made fish and seafood dishes sold in Tarragona, Spain. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-pre-cooked-seafood-based-meals.html Analytical Chemistry Thu, 09 Jul 2026 17:40:04 EDT news702833827 An ongoing research project exploring the effects of rising levels of oceanic CO2 on squid neurology reveals that exposure to future levels of ocean acidification could shrink their brain volume by around 50%. This severe brain shrinkage appears to be most pronounced in the areas that interpret visual information, correlating with significant reductions in normal feeding behaviors and suggesting serious consequences for the future of squid and other cephalopods. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-ocean-acidification-brains-world-intelligent.html Plants & Animals Wed, 08 Jul 2026 12:00:05 EDT news702630449 Octopuses, squid and cuttlefish may have evolved large brains because of the challenges posed by their environments rather than the demands of social life, according to a new study published in iScience today. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-ecological-factors-social-behavior-brain.html Evolution Thu, 02 Jul 2026 18:40:03 EDT news702223381 How does a stripy tree snail hide from hungry birds? The Hypselostyla camelopardalis from the Philippines and Reinia variegata from Japan have both evolved a form of dynamic camouflage to survive. Their light-colored patterns vanish in the rain, and the shell turns dark brown, similar to damp tree bark. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-camouflaging-snails.html Plants & Animals Tue, 30 Jun 2026 10:00:03 EDT news702030541 Sertraline is one of the most widely prescribed antidepressants in the world. Global sertraline sales are expected to keep growing, projected to expand from an estimated US$1.94 billion in 2025 to approximately US$3.13 billion by 2032. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-scientists-antidepressant-brains-sharks-coast.html Ecology Fri, 26 Jun 2026 09:00:03 EDT news701674201 Destructive fishing practices and inadequate management allowed industrial fisheries operating in the waters of Saint Pierre and Miquelon to dump about 80,000 metric tons of fish back into the ocean from 1950 to 2022, with authorities failing to track the wasteful practice. This is enough fish to fill 32 Olympic-sized pools. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-industrial-fisheries-discarded-metric-tons.html Ecology Mon, 22 Jun 2026 11:30:02 EDT news701078943 More than 100 million years ago, a flying reptile called a pterosaur flew over the oceans hunting squid and fish. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-microbes-destroyed-ancient-pterosaur-wingbone.html Paleontology & Fossils Fri, 19 Jun 2026 08:20:06 EDT news701075582 An international study led by Curtin University has revealed new insights into how an ancient flying reptile was preserved in extraordinary detail for 113 million years, offering a rare glimpse into a vanished world. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-pterosaur-wing-rewrites-fossil-rulebook.html Paleontology & Fossils Thu, 18 Jun 2026 11:00:11 EDT news700897502 There is a more than 60% chance that a "super" El Niño will develop by the end of this year. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-super-el-nio-power-devastate.html Plants & Animals Wed, 17 Jun 2026 15:40:08 EDT news700920662 Europe's first and only TES spectrometer at a synchrotron source is now in operation at BESSY II, developed within a collaboration between the HZB, the MPI-CEC (Mühlheim-an-der-Ruhr, Germany) and the NIST (Boulder, Colorado, U.S.). The photon detection efficiency of the new instrument exceeds that of wavelength-dispersive X-ray emission spectrometers by a factor of 100 to 1,000. It will be used to investigate the electronic properties of atomically thin layers, nanostructures and highly diluted atomic and molecular samples. The team is looking forward to receiving exciting research proposals from the user community. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-superconducting-tes-array-ray-spectrometer.html Optics & Photonics Wed, 17 Jun 2026 15:40:03 EDT news700917181 On his fishing boat moored in the Greek port of Ierapetra in southwestern Crete, Alexis Charlambakis pries open the mouth of a freshly caught pufferfish to reveal two massive teeth on each jaw. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-greek-fishermen-struggle-pufferfish-invaders.html Ecology Mon, 15 Jun 2026 03:51:18 EDT news700714223 Approximately 160 million years ago, during the Age of Dinosaurs, giant marine reptiles ruled the seas. One such creature, an ichthyosaur, swam in a sea near present-day Peterborough, England. This huge animal, shaped like a dolphin, was a quick swimmer that chased prey such as ammonites and squid for sustenance. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-fossil-discovery-interaction-giant-marine.html Ecology Wed, 10 Jun 2026 10:20:06 EDT news700305061