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. College students are facing one of the most precarious labor markets in years. A recent New York Federal Reserve study pointed to a sharp increase in unemployment among recent college graduates compared with other workers, with explanations ranging from artificial intelligence job displacement to a broader slowdown in hiring. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-job-internships-key-young-people.html Economics & Business Tue, 15 Sep 2026 10:40:01 EDT news708683942 Chemical reactions are often written as simple equations: Starting materials go in, and a product comes out. In reality, the same substrates can follow many different pathways depending on their concentrations, temperature, catalysts and other conditions. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-robots-ai-uncover-unexpected-pathway.html Analytical Chemistry Tue, 15 Sep 2026 10:00:01 EDT news708683881 Most of our experience with the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) has focused on capturing radio signals that alien species have sent out, whether intentionally or unintentionally. That creates a huge "synchronicity" problem—what if there aren't any alien civilizations broadcasting radio signals now, but there were a billion years ago? The Milky Way is around 13 billion years old—hoping that we exist at the same time as an alien civilization that happens to be actively messaging is a huge leap of faith. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-clues-ancient-alien-civilizations-moon.html Astrobiology Tue, 15 Sep 2026 06:20:01 EDT news708611555 Artificial intelligence is transforming how information is generated, processed and stored, but its rapid expansion is also driving unprecedented demand for computing power and electricity. Developing hardware that can process information more efficiently is therefore becoming one of the major technological challenges of the AI era. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-room-temperature-skyrmion-based-synapses.html Nanophysics Mon, 14 Sep 2026 19:20:01 EDT news708620821 Researchers at Stanford Medicine have developed two new artificial intelligence models of the biological cell. The first, called universal cell embedding, paved the way for a second-generation model called TranscriptFormer, which has been trained on data from 112 million cells representing 12 species, ranging from single-celled yeast to humans. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-ai-enable-species-cell-biology.html Cell & Microbiology Mon, 14 Sep 2026 17:30:02 EDT news708624361 Artificial intelligence systems, particularly those powered by large language models and designed to communicate with users on a one-to-one basis, are increasingly used worldwide. Some of these systems, such as Replika, are also marketed as "AI companions" that can engage socially with humans and use emotional language. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-ai-breakups-losses.html Social Sciences Mon, 14 Sep 2026 12:50:01 EDT news708605343 A research team from the University of Bern has shown in a large-scale field experiment that populations of the same fish species can be much more fine-tuned to their local environments than previously thought. Habitats that appear nearly identical to us can therefore make a decisive difference in evolution. This hidden diversity is not only key to understanding how biodiversity arises, but also has important implications for its conservation. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-evolutionary-home-advantage-field-reveals.html Evolution Mon, 14 Sep 2026 10:40:04 EDT news708600361 The publication of the latest results from the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA 2025) on Sept. 8 prompted the usual flurry of commentary, comparisons and rankings. France has slipped, some countries have improved, while others have proved more resilient. As always, attention quickly turns to where each country stands. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-pisa-school-schooling.html Education Mon, 14 Sep 2026 10:00:01 EDT news708593342 Researchers at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) have developed an artificial intelligence framework that helps researchers use atomic force microscopes to identify important nanoscale features while autonomously targeting the most informative areas of a sample for closer study. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-ai-microscopes-nanoscale-features-sample.html Bio & Medicine Sun, 13 Sep 2026 16:00:01 EDT news708262090 New research shows how artificial intelligence, combined with advanced experimental science, can help find "hidden" and unexplored proteins in the human body and reveal what they actually do, according to a new study published in Nature. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-ai-hidden-human-proteins-reveals.html Biotechnology Fri, 11 Sep 2026 17:40:05 EDT news708351781 A study by Politecnico di Milano and the University of Insubria (Varese and Como) has been published in PLOS Digital Health. The study involved more than 700 children from primary and lower secondary school. The participants used the THInkPen (Tele-Health Ink Pen) while completing two BVSCO-3 tasks from the Battery for the Clinical Assessment of Writing and Orthographic Skills. This is the most widely used test in Italy for assessing writing difficulties, dysgraphia and dysorthography. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-smart-pen-pressure-movement-children.html Education Fri, 11 Sep 2026 14:40:02 EDT news708343381 Researchers at the Eastern Institute of Technology (EIT), Ningbo, have developed a graph-based approach that directly extracts concise, accurate constitutive equations from solid-material experimental data. The study, published in Science Advances, describes a method for discovering constitutive models for alloy steels, lithium metal and filled rubbers. It outperforms mainstream empirical models in predictive accuracy while preserving explicit, physically interpretable mathematical formulations. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-ai-constitutive-laws-solid-mechanics.html General Physics Fri, 11 Sep 2026 14:00:01 EDT news708270721 For the first time, important features of the Antarctic coastal zone have been mapped at high resolution around the continent by training an artificial intelligence tool to accurately recognize grounded icebergs in satellite radar images. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-antarctic-wide-grounded-icebergs-reveals.html Earth Sciences Fri, 11 Sep 2026 12:40:02 EDT news708340082 Body weight monitoring is one of the most important tools for poultry farmers. It provides valuable information about growth, uniformity, feed conversion efficiency—how well birds turn feed into meat—and the occurrence of diseases in a flock. But obtaining frequent and accurate body weight measurements is a significant challenge in commercial poultry production, according to researchers at Penn State who may have developed a solution. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-turkey-ai-body-weight-weeks.html Biotechnology Fri, 11 Sep 2026 11:20:08 EDT news708339304 NASA is bringing artificial intelligence to the study of the moon, helping researchers transform how they analyze its surface. In an ongoing collaboration with IBM Research and several academic institutions, NASA has launched the NASA-IBM Lunar Foundation Model, one of the first open-source AI models built specifically for lunar science. The model, trained primarily on data from NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO), is hosted publicly on Hugging Face for anyone to use, with the complete codebase available on GitHub for testing and experimentation. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-ai-years-lunar-ice-craters.html Planetary Sciences Fri, 11 Sep 2026 10:40:09 EDT news708340141 An international team of researchers, including those at the Earth-Life Science Institute (ELSI) at the Institute of Science Tokyo, has developed a protein language model that brings together two fundamental sources of information about proteins: their amino acid sequences and three-dimensional structures. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-sequence-protein-universe-billions-years.html Evolution Fri, 11 Sep 2026 10:00:06 EDT news708337379 Artificial intelligence (AI) isn't yet causing widespread job losses in Australia. But with some high-profile business leaders still predicting a looming unemployment "crisis," it's little wonder many people fear AI is coming for their job. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-backlash-industrial-revolution-handcrafts-age.html Social Sciences Fri, 11 Sep 2026 08:00:09 EDT news708328562 A revolution in forecasting natural disasters is underway, say researchers in Switzerland who are training AI models using vast troves of NASA climate data to produce potentially lifesaving data at lightning speed. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-eye-ai-revolution-natural-disaster.html Environment Fri, 11 Sep 2026 03:53:40 EDT news708317582 For decades, scientists have understood proteins primarily through two defining features: their amino acid sequence and their three-dimensional structure. This framework has driven major advances in biology, biotechnology and medicine, culminating in recent artificial intelligence tools capable of predicting protein structures with remarkable accuracy. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-scientists-visualize-proteins-hidden-architecture.html Molecular & Computational biology Thu, 10 Sep 2026 20:00:01 EDT news708252668 Learning is often thought to require a brain. But learning is a broad concept that does not necessarily depend on neurons. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-brain-bacteria-memories-artificial-neural.html Cell & Microbiology Thu, 10 Sep 2026 17:40:07 EDT news708262394 So far, quantum computers have been held back by their extreme sensitivity to errors and external disturbances. The longer a quantum operation takes, the greater the risk of computational errors. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-faster-reliable-quantum-closer.html Quantum Physics Thu, 10 Sep 2026 13:40:10 EDT news708256741 A firm handshake used to be all a job candidate needed to make a good first impression, but today a growing number of firms are relying on artificial intelligence to screen applicants. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-ai-robot-affect-behavior.html Economics & Business Thu, 10 Sep 2026 12:39:27 EDT news708262709 Artificial intelligence is changing work in Ireland for the better, according to a new study led by Taha Yasseri, Workday Professor of Technology and Society at Trinity's School of Social Sciences & Philosophy. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-ai-reshaping-workplace-jobs.html Economics & Business Thu, 10 Sep 2026 12:00:04 EDT news708247321 High school student Khushi Khurana creates and leads coding and artificial intelligence (AI) summer camps for K–12 students in her community outside Philadelphia. Priya Kumar, PNC Technologies Career Development Professor in Penn State's College of Information Sciences and Technology (IST), studies how young people navigate the digital world. Their shared interests led to a research collaboration exploring a youth-led STEM learning model that puts children's voices at the center of the learning experience. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-peer-engage-children.html Education Thu, 10 Sep 2026 11:00:09 EDT news708243662 In 2025, associate professor Christian Busch's Palisades home burned down in one of the most destructive wildfires in Los Angeles history. Busch says the disaster wasn't blind bad luck; it was a clear case of "zemblanity," which he defines as a patterned and preventable form of misfortune built into the way a system, organization or individual operates. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-bad-luck-isnt-random-zemblanity.html Social Sciences Thu, 10 Sep 2026 10:20:02 EDT news708243121 An Anthropic researcher said he is resigning from the company over concerns the artificial intelligence firm and its competitors are not acting responsibly in AI development, echoing concerns raised inside and outside of the industry about the technology's potential to elude human control. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-anthropic-resigns-dangers-ai.html Other Thu, 10 Sep 2026 03:47:33 EDT news708230819 Japan has been experiencing increasingly severe damage from torrential rainfall triggered by typhoons and stationary linear rain bands. In response, an ambitious and unconventional idea is taking shape: artificially inducing heavy rainfall over the ocean to reduce extreme downpours on land. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-ai-torrential-frontier-weather.html Environment Wed, 09 Sep 2026 23:20:01 EDT news708155509 Artificial intelligence and big-data capacity might help logistics companies withstand supply-chain disruptions by making them more agile and resilient, according to research in the International Journal of Business Performance and Supply Chain Modelling. The results are based on an analysis of responses from almost 300 logistics professionals in Indonesia. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-ai-big-logistics-companies-chain.html Economics & Business Wed, 09 Sep 2026 22:40:02 EDT news708177591 From the Vredefort Dome in South Africa (the world's oldest and largest known meteorite impact structure) to the volcanic lakes of the Great Rift Valley in Kenya, Africa's landscapes hold some of Earth's oldest stories. Morocco's M'Goun UNESCO Global Geopark records more than 200 million years of geological history, while Tanzania's Ngorongoro-Lengai landscape brings together a vast caldera, an active volcano and the fossil record of Olduvai Gorge. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-africa-ancient-stories-ways-document.html Earth Sciences Wed, 09 Sep 2026 18:00:01 EDT news708177711 Love it or hate it, artificial intelligence is likely here to stay. Its ravenous need for computational power has overwhelmed chip manufacturers and power companies alike. While our current AI obsession is likely a bubble ready to burst, we won't simply stop using computers. Since their first invention, computers have continued to grow more powerful, and our civilization has grown ever more dependent on them. Computation defines our civilization. Perhaps computational power is what defines any advanced civilization. If that's the case, then the most advanced civilizations in the universe would push computing to its most powerful and efficient state. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-alien-civilizations-hyper-efficient-distinct.html Astronomy Wed, 09 Sep 2026 17:20:04 EDT news708177631