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. Millions of light-years away, millions of years ago, a star exploded. In this violent process, it ejected incredible amounts of mass, including carbon, nitrogen and oxygen—the building blocks of life. In fact, the star may have produced elements on the periodic table all the way up to iron. As it exploded, it spewed these elements into deep space. Only a burnt-out core remained. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-alpha-magnetic-spectrometer-reveals-cosmic.html Astronomy Thu, 18 Jun 2026 16:00:05 EDT news701011442 The potent pollution from so-called megaconstellation satellite systems launched en masse into space since 2019 will account for nearly half (42%) of the total climate impact of space sector pollution by the end of the decade, finds a new study led by UCL researchers. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-satellite-pollution-rapidly-accumulating-upper.html Environment Thu, 14 May 2026 09:00:03 EDT news697908902 A joint research team from Nitto Boseki Co., Ltd. (Nittobo) and Tohoku University has revealed that polyionic liquids (PILs) can achieve high carbon dioxide (CO₂) adsorption when their counter anions are exchanged. This discovery provides a critical new design guideline for the development of high-performance CO2 recovery devices and gas separation membranes. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-anion-swap-sevenfold-capture-polyionic.html Analytical Chemistry Fri, 08 May 2026 16:20:02 EDT news697458518 The halomethane compound bromoform (CHBr3) has devastating effects on the ozone layer. In the upper layers of the atmosphere, bromoform reacts with UV radiation, releasing bromine molecules which destroy ozone molecules. This reaction, however, has long puzzled scientists; the molecules involved seem to wander relative to each other in a way that energetically does not make sense. Scientists at European XFEL have now revealed structural evidence for this roaming mechanism for the first time, establishing it as a universal characteristic of photochemical reactions. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-bromoform-ozone-ultrafast-roaming-captured.html Analytical Chemistry Fri, 10 Apr 2026 17:40:01 EDT news695047146 A trio of researchers from the University of São Paulo (USP) and São Paulo State University (UNESP) in Brazil has developed a method to obtain an enzyme from a fungus cultivated in agricultural waste that promotes cellulose pulp bleaching, an important paper production process. Their study is published in the journal BioResources. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-enzyme-fungus-chemicals-paper-industry.html Biochemistry Wed, 08 Apr 2026 17:30:05 EDT news694887781 Plastic is one of the most durable materials humans have ever made. That durability has made it indispensable in medicine, food packaging and transport. But it's also created one of the defining environmental problems we have faced. https://phys.org/news/2026-03-plastic-vinegar-sunlightpowered-breakthrough.html Polymers Sat, 14 Mar 2026 16:00:01 EDT news692529457 A research team led by a Keele scientist has shed new light on how a mysterious rock formation in Oman was created, which could reveal new details about Earth's ability to store carbon dioxide (CO2). The study, led by Dr. Elliot Carter in Keele's School of Life Sciences, in collaboration with the Universities of Ottawa and Manchester, looked at geological evidence from Oman to better understand processes that occur in subduction zones, which is where one of Earth's tectonic plates sinks beneath another due to the plates colliding together. This process is active around much of the Pacific "Ring of Fire" today, for example. https://phys.org/news/2026-03-oman-ophiolite-subduction-zones.html Earth Sciences Mon, 02 Mar 2026 18:20:06 EST news691689622 Space junk returning to Earth is introducing metal pollution to the pristine upper atmosphere as it burns up on re-entry, a new study has found. https://phys.org/news/2026-02-spacex-rocket-left-plume-chemical.html Space Exploration Fri, 20 Feb 2026 15:50:02 EST news690809080 Sometimes we humans get ahead of ourselves. We embark on grand engineering experiments without really understanding what the long-term implications of such projects are. Climate change itself is a perfect example of that—no one in the early industrial revolution realized that, more than 100 years later, the emissions from their combustion engines would increase the overall global temperature and risk millions of people's lives and livelihoods, let alone the impact it would have on the species we share the world with. According to a new release from the Salata Institute at Harvard, we seem to be going down the same blind path with a different engineering challenge in this century—satellite megaconstellations. https://phys.org/news/2026-02-dirty-afterlife-dead-satellite.html Space Exploration Fri, 06 Feb 2026 17:30:02 EST news689596152 Bacteria that thrive on Earth may not make it in the alien lands of Mars. A potential deterrent is perchlorate, a toxic chlorine-containing chemical discovered in Martian soil during various space missions. https://phys.org/news/2026-01-brick-bacteria-react-toxic-chemical.html Astrobiology Fri, 30 Jan 2026 08:39:28 EST news688984741 The sky is getting crowded. In the last few years, the number of satellite launches has increased by an order of magnitude as mega-constellations of internet-powering hardware crowd into low Earth orbit. The pace of both launching and retiring these units is creating new kinds of pollution, potentially upsetting the climate system and the protective ozone layer. https://phys.org/news/2026-01-satellites-stratosphere-emerging-climate.html Space Exploration Thu, 29 Jan 2026 11:27:48 EST news688908421 I have a health goal for the new year that doesn't require me to get out of bed earlier or eat fewer cookies. I am an atmospheric chemist and will be committing to clean air at home. https://phys.org/news/2026-01-healthier-cleaner-air-home.html Environment Mon, 12 Jan 2026 09:41:35 EST news687433262 Mars, often depicted as a barren red planet, is far from lifeless. With its thin atmosphere and dusty surface, it is an energetic and electrically charged environment where dust storms and dust devils continually reshape the landscape, creating dynamic processes that have intrigued scientists. https://phys.org/news/2026-01-electrifying-science-martian.html Planetary Sciences Thu, 08 Jan 2026 16:26:33 EST news687111961 Summer means sunshine, beach days, and afternoons by the pool … which means wearing swimwear and looking after it. But while we enjoy those carefree summer days, pool chemicals, UV rays from sunlight, sweat and salt water are quietly damaging the delicate fibers of our swimwear. https://phys.org/news/2026-01-swimsuit-pool-textile-scientist.html Materials Science Tue, 06 Jan 2026 09:50:17 EST news686915401 At the end of their lives, most satellites fall to their death. Many of the smaller ones, including most of those going up as part of the "mega-constellations" currently under construction, are intended to burn up in the atmosphere. This Design for Demise (D4D) principle has unintended consequences, according to a paper published in Acta Astronautica by Antoinette Ott and Christophe Bonnal, both of whom work for MaiaSpace, a company designing reusable launch vehicles for the small satellite market. https://phys.org/news/2025-12-rethinking-satellite-mission.html Space Exploration Mon, 29 Dec 2025 10:20:59 EST news686225966 A team of researchers including Rice University's James Tour and Shichen Xu has developed an ultrafast, one-step method to recover rare earth elements (REEs) from discarded magnets using an innovative approach that offers significant environmental and economic benefits over traditional recycling methods. https://phys.org/news/2025-09-rapid-joule-technique-efficient-rare.html Analytical Chemistry Tue, 30 Sep 2025 11:20:08 EDT news678449685 The rapid rise in global rocket launches could slow the recovery of the vital ozone layer, says Sandro Vattioni. The problem is being underestimated—yet it could be mitigated by forward-looking, coordinated action. https://phys.org/news/2025-07-rocket-linked-ozone-layer-thinning.html Space Exploration Sat, 19 Jul 2025 10:40:01 EDT news671967525 In a study that closes a long-standing knowledge gap in fundamental science, researchers Boerge Hemmerling and Stephen Kane at the University of California, Riverside, have successfully measured the electric dipole moment of aluminum monochloride (AlCl), a simple yet scientifically crucial diatomic molecule. https://phys.org/news/2025-06-decades-mystery-alcl-dipole-moment.html General Physics Thu, 12 Jun 2025 04:32:55 EDT news668921559 The international space industry is on a growth trajectory, but new research shows a rapid increase in rocket launches would damage the ozone layer. https://phys.org/news/2025-06-ten-rocket-ozone-layer.html Space Exploration Tue, 10 Jun 2025 11:44:04 EDT news668774641 Once in a while, scientific research resembles detective work. Researchers head into the field with a hypothesis and high hopes of finding specific results, but sometimes, there's a twist in the story that requires a deeper dive into the data. https://phys.org/news/2025-06-airborne-toxin-western-hemisphere.html Environment Fri, 06 Jun 2025 11:18:04 EDT news668427482 On the surface (you're welcome for the joke), Venus is not even close to being hospitable to life. But that's not the end of the story. https://phys.org/news/2025-06-clouds-venus-host-life.html Astrobiology Wed, 04 Jun 2025 11:46:05 EDT news668256362 Mars is by far the most Earth-like planet in the solar system… but that's not saying much. https://phys.org/news/2025-06-life-mars.html Astrobiology Tue, 03 Jun 2025 10:39:03 EDT news668165941 Are the risks of hazardous chemicals being determined appropriately? In certain cases, apparently not, according to a study published in the journal Angewandte Chemie by a team of Chinese researchers. https://phys.org/news/2025-05-chlorinated-substances-dioxins-atmosphere.html Analytical Chemistry Mon, 12 May 2025 10:22:03 EDT news666264122 A media storm blew up in mid-March 2025 when a researcher at South Africa's isolated Sanae IV base in Antarctica accused one of its nine team members of becoming violent. https://phys.org/news/2025-03-scientists-antarctica-theyre-theyve.html Earth Sciences Thu, 20 Mar 2025 16:20:01 EDT news661698750 Scientists have identified a promising new way to detect life on faraway planets, hinging on worlds that look nothing like Earth and gases rarely considered in the search for extraterrestrials. https://phys.org/news/2025-03-alien-life-gases.html Astrobiology Thu, 13 Mar 2025 07:26:04 EDT news661069561 New Delhi's air pollution is more severe than previously estimated, with particles absorbing atmospheric water vapor, leading to particulate matter levels across the city being underestimated by up to 20%, a new study reveals. https://phys.org/news/2025-03-delhi-air-pollution-worse-vapor.html Environment Wed, 12 Mar 2025 11:47:54 EDT news660998870 This week, based on a genetic study, researchers issued a recommendation that bison in Yellowstone National Park should be treated as one large, interbreeding herd. Physicists proposed a new framework that derives gravity from quantum relative entropy, with implications for the past and future evolution of the universe. And a new fossil indicates that an early human relative walked upright, similarly to modern humans. https://phys.org/news/2025-03-saturday-citations-supermassive-black-hole.html Other Sat, 08 Mar 2025 09:00:01 EST news660575121 Scientists have discovered a potentially greener way to produce a crucial industrial chemical used to make many everyday products, from plastics and textiles to antifreeze and disinfectants, according to a study published in Science and co-authored by Tulane University chemical engineer Matthew Montemore. https://phys.org/news/2025-02-chemists-greener-path-ethylene-oxide.html Analytical Chemistry Thu, 20 Feb 2025 14:00:02 EST news659271421 On January 9, approximately a full day after the Eaton fire devastated the foothill area of Altadena, north of the Caltech campus in Pasadena, California, several specialized scientific instruments in a shipping container in Pico Rivera, about 11 miles to the south, detected a spike in atmospheric concentrations, particularly of chlorine and lead—both known to be toxic at low levels. When at their maximum that day, chlorine levels reached about 40 times the normal amount, and lead peaked at more than 100 times the usual level. https://phys.org/news/2025-01-aerosol-site-aftermath-urban-firestorm.html Environment Tue, 28 Jan 2025 15:44:05 EST news657301441 Most of us are fortunate that, when we turn on the tap, clean, safe and high-quality water comes out. https://phys.org/news/2025-01-catchment-safe.html Environment Sun, 26 Jan 2025 13:00:01 EST news656938838