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. It is difficult to identify funerary practices in Iron Age (c. 800 BC–AD 43) Britain, as human remains rarely survive. However, evidence is particularly prominent in north-west Scotland, because environmental conditions support the preservation of bone. To take advantage of this, a team of researchers from the U.K. and U.S. examined two individuals (one adult female and one juvenile male) buried in a low stone cairn at Loch Borralie in Sutherland, close to the north-west extremity of the Scottish mainland. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-brain-iron-age-scotland-burial.html Archaeology Tue, 09 Jun 2026 19:00:05 EDT news699715472 From underdog stories to comeback victories, everyone loves a tale of perseverance. But a new study suggests that highlighting workplace resilience can sometimes leave observers feeling anxious instead of inspired. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-edged-nature-workplace-resilience.html Economics & Business Tue, 09 Jun 2026 14:20:02 EDT news700228442 Could wound healing dressings adhere better, and could drug delivery patches become more sophisticated? A KAIST research team has developed a technology that leverages natural ingredients derived from plants to increase the strength of a seaweed-based hydrogel (a gel material that contains a large amount of water while maintaining its shape) by more than fivefold, while also controlling its adhesiveness and degradation rate. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-tea-compound-boosts-seaweed-hydrogel.html Polymers Tue, 09 Jun 2026 14:00:03 EDT news700229281 Homelessness in the UK is reaching critical levels, with more than 380,000 people estimated to be without a home in England alone as of late 2025. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-gaps-welfare-neurodivergent-people-homelessness.html Economics & Business Tue, 09 Jun 2026 12:40:08 EDT news700223881 The Centro Nacional de Investigación sobre la Evolución Humana (CENIEH) has participated in a study published in the Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports on Sala Keimada, one of the rock art sanctuaries in Cueva Palomera, the main cave of the Ojo Guareña Karst Complex (Merindad de Sotoscueva, Burgos, Spain). https://phys.org/news/2026-06-dating-spain-sala-keimada-art.html Archaeology Tue, 09 Jun 2026 11:40:01 EDT news700222021 Too often, policy recommendations in climate-related research are either an afterthought or stray too far into advocacy, a new analysis has found. Researchers led by the University of Cambridge conducted a systematic review of more than 3,000 scientific papers focused on climate change mitigation and found that recommendations on how to turn science into policy were either nonexistent, failed to account for uncertainty or were "wish lists" disconnected from the study's findings. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-policy-climate-afterthought-analysis.html Environment Tue, 09 Jun 2026 05:00:13 EDT news700151521 When baseball fans watch a batter strike out with runners in scoring position, the reaction is often immediate: Shorten the swing. Put the ball in play. Stop swinging for the fences, they lament. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-mlb-tracking-baseball-debated-approach.html General Physics Mon, 08 Jun 2026 22:40:01 EDT news700151881 From the air, you see it only through the constant jolt, tilt, and shudder of the low-flying Cessna aircraft. The landscape of the Llanos de Moxos, northern Bolivia, appears as a disconnected patchwork of open grassland savannahs, forest islands, and lakes. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-great-mysteries-archaeology-ancient-amazonian.html Social Sciences Mon, 08 Jun 2026 19:00:04 EDT news700144861 Researchers from the University of Cambridge and GlitterinTech, a startup founded by the same research group, have unveiled a fundamentally new type of optical spectrometer that delivers laboratory-grade precision in a device small enough to be embedded in portable and wearable technologies. By rethinking how spectra are measured and processed, the team has demonstrated a spectrometer costing only around $10, operating at a centimeter scale, and capable of applications ranging from industrial quality control to real-time health care monitoring. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-spectrometer-chip-real-chemical-wearables.html Optics & Photonics Mon, 08 Jun 2026 17:40:04 EDT news700146465 Building useful quantum technologies—from sensors to computers—requires generating highly complex entangled states, in which the properties of particles are deeply intertwined. Producing such states has traditionally required complex tools and carefully engineered setups with many parts. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-craft-simple-recipe-highly-entangled.html Quantum Physics Mon, 08 Jun 2026 12:40:01 EDT news700134992 The horses at the Children's Zoo in Gothenburg don't mind being petted by children and adults. However, they do get stressed by the noise from an excavator. Researchers at the University of Gothenburg discovered this after fitting heart rate monitors to eight Gotland Russ horses. The research is published in the journal Zoo Biology. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-horses-unaffected-petting-children-zoo.html Plants & Animals Mon, 08 Jun 2026 09:56:04 EDT news700131340 Computational point-of-care sensors can significantly improve access to diagnostics by enabling rapid patient testing outside centralized medical facilities. These tests rely on machine learning models to make diagnostic predictions, but such inference models are susceptible to hallucinations and may produce erroneous outcomes. As a result, their limited reliability has partially hindered the broader adoption of computational sensors in health care settings. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-autonomous-ai-screening-flags-unreliable.html Bio & Medicine Sun, 07 Jun 2026 07:00:01 EDT news700031733 A landmark climate case is being heard by the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights. The request was brought by the Pan African Lawyers Union and other African civil society organizations. They've asked the court to issue advice on what responsibilities African governments have to protect their countries against the climate crisis and move away from an economy that harms the environment. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-africa-climate-crisis-legal-states.html Environment Sat, 06 Jun 2026 14:00:01 EDT news699540222 A seven-year collaborative study has revealed alarming fluctuations in the health of Hawaii's endangered insular false killer whales, with some individuals losing nearly a quarter of their body weight in just a few months. Published in Endangered Species Research, the findings provide the first quantitative evidence that nutritional stress and environmental shifts may be driving the decline of this iconic population, which now numbers fewer than 140 individuals. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-hawaii-false-killer-whales-threatened.html Plants & Animals Fri, 05 Jun 2026 11:20:01 EDT news699875865 Almost 1 in 3 Australians experiences loneliness. For people with disability and care workers, that number can be even greater. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-app-social-people-disability-caregivers.html Social Sciences Fri, 05 Jun 2026 09:20:04 EDT news699864961 When an asteroid struck Earth about 66 million years ago, it ended the age of dinosaurs and transformed life across the planet. The effects of that catastrophe are visible in the fossil record on land, but scientists know far less about what happened to fishes in the seas during the first few million years after the extinction. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-fossil-fishes-reveal-chapter-marine.html Paleontology & Fossils Thu, 04 Jun 2026 16:20:03 EDT news699796021 Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory are helping show what it means to design a material almost atom-by-atom. In two publications, scientists show they can carefully choose the types of atoms in a material, where those atoms sit and what is attached to the surfaces of its atom-thin layers. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-tuning-atomic-surface-chemistry-mxenes.html Nanomaterials Thu, 04 Jun 2026 11:40:01 EDT news699787804 New research by Curtin University has revealed how one of Stonehenge's most mysterious stones was likely transported hundreds of kilometers across Britain through challenging terrain, highlighting the remarkable capabilities of ancient communities. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-stonehenge-altar-stone-epic-ancient.html Archaeology Thu, 04 Jun 2026 04:00:01 EDT news699725761 A defendant stands in the dock. An expert describes them as a "psychopath." In an instant, one word threatens to eclipse their history, circumstances and the crime itself. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-psychopath-dangerous-criminal-justice.html Social Sciences Wed, 03 Jun 2026 18:00:05 EDT news699722521 A new study in Nature Communications finds a critical climate tipping point in Tibetan permafrost ecosystems. Warming of 2–4 degrees Celsius triggers a self-reinforcing cycle of carbon release that could significantly accelerate climate change, according to the work. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-ancient-carbon-tibetan-permafrost-triggering.html Earth Sciences Wed, 03 Jun 2026 15:20:04 EDT news699718093 States with restrictive abortion policies saw slower growth in the proportion of female medical school applicants following the 2022 reversal of Roe v. Wade, according to a new study published in the open-access journal PLOS Global Public Health by Amrit Kirpalani of Western University, Canada, and colleagues. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-abortion-restrictions-female-medical-school.html Social Sciences Wed, 03 Jun 2026 14:00:08 EDT news699694141 Algal blooms can seem to appear overnight. A stretch of ocean that looked clear days earlier can suddenly appear discolored and sometimes pose risks to ecosystems and human health. But scientists say blooms are rarely sudden—understanding what happens before they appear is key to managing them. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-algal-blooms-scientists-sooner.html Environment Wed, 03 Jun 2026 09:20:01 EDT news699696721 Hookworms, intestinal parasites that infect hundreds of millions of people in under-resourced tropical regions around the globe, have evolved to survive inside the human gut for years, secreting molecules that enable coexistence with their hosts. Now, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have harnessed that biological mechanism for potential human benefit, engineering a hookworm to produce and deliver a drug within a living host. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-genetically-hookworms-therapeutics.html Biotechnology Wed, 03 Jun 2026 05:00:03 EDT news699611130 Europe's agrifood system is under severe pressure. Climate change is causing droughts and floods, and agriculture is putting pressure on nature, the climate and the environment. Diet-related lifestyle diseases are placing a growing burden on health care systems. At the same time, agriculture is expected to deliver affordable food, climate action, biodiversity and food security all at once while maintaining competitiveness in a global market. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-food-europe-green-shift-article.html Agriculture Tue, 02 Jun 2026 22:40:03 EDT news699621237 As U.S. cities prepare to host the FIFA World Cup, familiar warnings about human trafficking "spikes" at major sporting events have reemerged. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-world-cup-human-trafficking-reveals.html Social Sciences Tue, 02 Jun 2026 16:00:07 EDT news699624061 A research collaboration has developed a novel fluorescent nanosensor capable of rapidly detecting indole-3-propionic acid (IPA), an emerging biomarker linked to gut health and disease. The breakthrough is described in the team's paper, "Fluorescent Nanosensor for Indole-3-Propionic Acid Detection in Gut Health Monitoring," published in the journal Advanced Healthcare Materials. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-fluorescent-nanosensor-key-gut-biomarker.html Bio & Medicine Tue, 02 Jun 2026 15:00:04 EDT news699618901 Sometime between 5.5 and 5.6 million years ago, two shell crushers squared off in the languid currents of an ancient Florida river. The fossils they left behind, discovered by paleontologists at the Florida Museum of Natural History, reveal the identity of the combatants and the outcome of their encounter. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-ancient-altercations-musk-turtles-alligator.html Ecology Tue, 02 Jun 2026 13:40:03 EDT news699617204 Glasses are non-crystalline but solid states of matter in which molecules and atoms are not arranged into a regular crystal lattice, but rather in a disordered pattern. Glassy materials are widely used in various settings, for instance, in the synthesis of pharmaceuticals and the development of electronics or optical devices. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-molecular-glasses-arrhenius-paradox.html General Physics Tue, 02 Jun 2026 07:10:01 EDT news699280613 The Langobards are frequently depicted as fierce warrior-like people, with all known archaeological evidence of violence restricted to men. However, nearly 1,400 years ago, a Langobard woman took two severe injuries to the head, one a clean slice made by a blade, the other a crushing blow, making her the first direct evidence of interpersonal violence in Langobard females. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-langobard-woman-skeletal-reshapes-view.html Archaeology Mon, 01 Jun 2026 19:00:03 EDT news699542886 For the past three decades, a team of archaeologists have been uncovering some of the field's most recent monumental discoveries, relying on gut instinct, persistent hard work, and cutting-edge methods and technologies. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-years-el-mirn-cave-uncover.html Archaeology Mon, 01 Jun 2026 14:20:07 EDT news699535561