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. For decades, one of the major complaints about nuclear power in the United States has been the argument that, after all this time, we still have not come up with a dependable strategy for sequestering high-level radioactive waste, including spent fuel from plant operation. This issue is of such importance that Haruko Wainwright has put it at the center of her research agenda as an Atlantic Richfield Career Development Professor in Energy Studies at MIT and an associate professor in the departments of Nuclear Science and Engineering and Civil and Environmental Engineering. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-nuclear-perspective.html Environment Wed, 16 Sep 2026 09:40:04 EDT news708761702 Does gravity act equally on all particles in the universe, or are there differences between ordinary and exotic matter? Physics professor Anna Soter and her team at ETH Zurich and the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI) in Villigen are investigating this question. "We have taken an important step toward carrying out an exciting experiment on this topic," says Soter. "We want to measure the gravitational interaction of the muon." https://phys.org/news/2026-09-particle-einstein-theory-gravity.html General Physics Tue, 15 Sep 2026 09:40:06 EDT news708683461 In 1931, physicist Hans Bethe predicted that, in certain one-dimensional quantum systems, particles can bind together to form multi-particle states known as Bethe strings. Unlike ordinary molecules, which are held together by chemical bonds, Bethe strings arise purely from interactions between particles and exist only in one dimension. For decades, Bethe strings remained primarily a theoretical concept. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-ultracold-cesium-atoms-reveal-bethe.html Quantum Physics Mon, 14 Sep 2026 08:40:08 EDT news708593282 "Color coatings are expected to provide vivid color, brightness, gloss and long-term durability, yet no existing technology satisfies all of these requirements simultaneously," says Kobe University materials engineer Hiroshi Sugimoto. Conventional coatings usually rely on relatively thick pigment layers that fade and add significant weight. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-silicon-nanosphere-coatings-glossy-nonfading.html Nanomaterials Sat, 12 Sep 2026 15:00:01 EDT news708084509 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 For more than a century, pharmaceutical companies have relied on flat structures called aromatic rings, which can help drugs bind to target sites in the body. They include benzene rings and other flat, nitrogen-containing rings. But there are limits to their usefulness. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-blue-chemistry-3d-drug-blocks.html Biochemistry Fri, 11 Sep 2026 06:40:01 EDT news708267421 Life in the deep sea is under immense pressure—literally. Such extreme conditions can disrupt the delicate structures of proteins essential to life. Yet somehow, the proteins in deep-sea creatures remain functional. This raises an intriguing question: how? https://phys.org/news/2026-09-pressure-deep-sea-protein-extreme.html Biochemistry Thu, 10 Sep 2026 18:40:01 EDT news708264001 A QUT investigation of the composition of microplastic types in three Brisbane creeks found that Bulimba Creek had a high load of hazardous microplastics. The work is published in the journal Marine Pollution Bulletin. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-bulimba-creek-tops-brisbane-waterways.html Environment Thu, 10 Sep 2026 08:20:01 EDT news708238981 For thousands of years, human urine has had real value. After our bodies absorb nutrients from our food, they excrete the rest—mainly via urine. An adult produces about 500 liters (132 gallons) a year. This liquid gold is very rich in nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, three nutrients vital for plant growth. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-liquid-gold-urine-fertilizer.html Agriculture Wed, 09 Sep 2026 13:40:01 EDT news708164942 The average person takes thousands of steps each day, instinctively walking heel-to-toe. Although they hardly register them, those consistent heel-first strides are more distinctive to humans than previously thought and allowed early hominins to walk farther and more efficiently, but at the cost of higher impact forces on bones and joints, according to a new study led by a researcher at Penn State. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-heel-early-humans-high-impact.html Evolution Mon, 07 Sep 2026 15:00:04 EDT news708011198 Scientists have revealed a bizarre microscopic creature that reproduces in a way reminiscent of the horror film" Alien." The microbe grows one or more new cells inside its own body before the outer "mother" cell ruptures to release them, a reproductive strategy never before seen in its group of organisms. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-scottish-pregnant-grandmother-microbe-offspring.html Cell & Microbiology Thu, 03 Sep 2026 14:40:01 EDT news707654402 Microbes from space have fueled the plots of science fiction mainstays like "Project Hail Mary" and "The Andromeda Strain." But with more space missions launching each year, finding extraterrestrial life in a microbial form is becoming more plausible. What will the response be back here on Earth if—or when—scientists discover extraterrestrial microbes? Will the international policy and security communities be prepared for the fallout? https://phys.org/news/2026-09-space-missions-life-earth-fallout.html Planetary Sciences Tue, 01 Sep 2026 20:40:01 EDT news707483513 When cold and flu season comes around, we take steps like getting our flu shots and taking immune supplements to strengthen our bodies' defenses against pathogens. Plants face pathogenic threats, too. Plant pathogens can have devastating effects on crop yields, with up to 40% of global food crops lost annually, and such losses have severe implications for food security. But what if we could boost plant immune systems as we do our own and make them better able to withstand or fend off biological threats? https://phys.org/news/2026-08-primed-ready-nematode-pheromone-arms.html Biotechnology Thu, 27 Aug 2026 18:50:01 EDT news707071202 New research by Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) shows that globally, up to 560 million children ages 0–9 (43% of all children in this age group) experience at least one additional month (30 or more days) of heat stress per year because of human-induced climate change. This exposure outpaces that of any other age group and is nearly triple the 190 million people (30%) ages 60–69 experiencing this additional health threat. Children are therefore already facing disproportionately high levels of dangerous humid heat caused by human-induced climate change, with exposure expected to grow under further warming. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-climate-exposes-million-children-globally.html Environment Wed, 26 Aug 2026 14:00:21 EDT news706897322 Galaxies are like cosmic gems, each with characteristics including size and shape that make them distinct. A new gallery released today from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and other telescopes displays a collection of galactic images that showcase this variety. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-gallery-galaxies-nasa-chandra-ray.html Astronomy Tue, 25 Aug 2026 12:56:07 EDT news706881316 In the journal npj Biofilms and Microbiomes, researchers from the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (EMBRAPA) and the University of São Paulo (USP) describe the role of three bacteria in suppressing a soil-borne wheat pathogen that causes root rot. The study paves the way for the development of inoculants that can be used in agriculture. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-bacteria-ancestral-wheat-microbiomes-root.html Cell & Microbiology Mon, 24 Aug 2026 17:20:04 EDT news706801322 Scientists had previously observed that some species of shrews undergo a form of biological plasticity in which their bodies, skulls, brains and some organs shrink in the winter, then regrow in the spring. Now, a new study in Japan, published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, has taken a closer look at this phenomenon and found that shrews' snouts exhibit an inverse effect, growing and then shrinking again. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-shrews-reversible-size-skulls-noses.html Plants & Animals Wed, 19 Aug 2026 11:40:05 EDT news706354020 Between 29,000 and 19,000 years ago, the planet experienced some of its coldest temperatures and drastic landscape changes at the peak of the Ice Age, during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), the period of most extensive global ice cover. Humans, despite being unaccustomed to such icy temperatures and surroundings, survived through the age. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-ancient-jomon-dna-reveals-hidden.html Evolution Tue, 18 Aug 2026 11:40:10 EDT news706266198 A study has been published in Nature Communications that identifies an unusual regime of quantum oscillations in a three-dimensional topological insulator. The results show that, when subjected to temperatures near absolute zero and extreme magnetic fields, electrons in the material zirconium pentatelluride (ZrTe₅) exhibit behavior that deviates from the pattern predicted by conventional theory. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-anomalous-quantum-oscillations-reveal-physics.html Condensed Matter Mon, 17 Aug 2026 10:40:05 EDT news706178521 Detecting water where none remains today: Neutron and X-ray tomography make it possible. In an international study conducted with the participation of the Paul Scherrer Institute PSI, researchers have brought to light macroscopic hydrogen-rich regions inside a Martian meteorite. The findings provide evidence for early water-rock interactions on Mars. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-dry-meteorite-mars.html Astrobiology Thu, 13 Aug 2026 15:00:01 EDT news705841861 An international research team including Alexander Korsunsky from the Skoltech Engineering Center has, for the first time, directly measured mechanical stresses at the contact between a diamond indenter and a complex nanostructured coating at a resolution of less than 80 nanometers. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-multilayer-nanocoatings-dissipate-energy-nanoscale.html Nanophysics Thu, 13 Aug 2026 14:20:03 EDT news705848755 Being an elite athlete—at least for a mouse—does not shorten lifespan or limit how many children one can have. This is the finding of a study 30 years in the making, and it runs counter to accepted evolutionary theory. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-mouse-assumed-offs-athleticism-fertility.html Ecology Thu, 13 Aug 2026 08:40:02 EDT news705825983 A University of Kansas physicist played a leading role in a CERN study showing that two rival explanations for how gluons behave inside atomic nuclei can now be experimentally distinguished. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-cern-conventional-gluons-atomic-nuclei.html General Physics Tue, 11 Aug 2026 17:40:04 EDT news705672722 If you ask Vijay Parashar, associate professor of medical and molecular sciences (MMSC) at the University of Delaware College of Health Sciences, human bodies are bags of bacteria. "It sounds gross, but not all bacteria are bad; most of them are good. The trouble starts when the bad bacteria learn how to outsmart antibiotics." https://phys.org/news/2026-08-bacterial-enzyme-weaken-antibiotic-defenses.html Cell & Microbiology Thu, 06 Aug 2026 19:20:01 EDT news705254041 The Sloan Digital Sky Survey V (SDSS-V) has announced its 20th public data release (DR20), delivering a dramatic expansion of the Milky Way Mapper (MWM) scientific survey—the most detailed spectroscopic map yet assembled of stars in and around our home galaxy. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-galaxy-milky-mapper-survey-latest.html Astronomy Thu, 06 Aug 2026 18:30:01 EDT news705257521 "Spider-Man: Brand New Day" turns organic web production into a superpower. In the 2026 film, Tom Holland's character, Peter Parker, begins producing webbing inside his body and shooting it from his wrists, rather than firing synthetic web fluid from the wrist-mounted mechanical web-shooters he used in earlier films. The switch transforms a familiar superhero technology into a biological ability and highlights the spectacular properties of real spider silk. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-spider-silk-biological-feat.html Plants & Animals Tue, 04 Aug 2026 18:00:05 EDT news705060796 Freeman Hrabowski Scholar Bianca Jones Marlin studies how caregiving takes shape in the brain and how some biological adaptations are passed to the next generation. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-mom-babies-brain.html Ecology Sun, 02 Aug 2026 17:40:01 EDT news704729272 Using spectral data from the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI), astronomers have gained some of the clearest evidence yet that white dwarf stars are accreting debris from disintegrating exoplanets. Captured while DESI was unable to study its primary targets: distant galaxies, the results provide unprecedented insights into the chemical makeup of rocky exoplanets, revealing compositions remarkably similar to the planets and asteroids of our own inner solar system. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-desi-side-reveals-spectra-disintegrated.html Astronomy Sun, 02 Aug 2026 08:20:01 EDT news704452570 Grounding intermittent art festivals such as the Setouchi Triennale within the resource capacities and social thresholds of the island communities that host them is a path to the sustainable, long-term revitalization of these communities. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-art-festivals-revive-island-communities.html Social Sciences Fri, 31 Jul 2026 17:20:01 EDT news704722622 I am a runner who loves being active alongside my dogs. Actually, I am more of a plodder—and one with very bad knees. Those knees benefit from regular physiotherapy and sports massage. You might not be surprised, then, to hear that I have regular physiotherapy appointments. The slight curveball is that the last three appointments I have attended have been with my dogs' veterinary physiotherapist. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-poochmaxxing-wellness-industry-pets.html Veterinary medicine Fri, 31 Jul 2026 10:00:02 EDT news704703061