{"@attributes":{"version":"2.0"},"channel":{"title":"Phys.org: Feature story","link":"https:\/\/phys.org\/","language":"en-us","description":"Phys.org internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine.","item":[{"title":"Predictive surrogates could cut quantum computing measurement overhead by more than 99.97%","description":"Quantum computers, systems that process information leveraging quantum mechanical effects, have the potential of outperforming classical computers on some tasks. Despite their potential, the use of these systems remains very limited, due to their high cost and other challenges that have so far prevented their large-scale fabrication.","link":"https:\/\/phys.org\/news\/2026-06-surrogates-quantum-overhead.html","category":"Quantum Physics","pubDate":"Sat, 06 Jun 2026 13:20:01 EDT","guid":"news699875533"},{"title":"MUSE maps spiral galaxy W2246f, uncovering old core and ongoing star formation across disk","description":"Astronomers have employed the Multi-Unit Spectroscopic Explorer (MUSE) on the Very Large Telescope (VLT) to perform deep spectroscopic observations of a peculiar spiral galaxy known as W2246f. Results of the observational campaign, published May 27 on the pre-print server arXiv, offer new insights into how this galaxy evolved and shed more light on its nature.","link":"https:\/\/phys.org\/news\/2026-06-muse-spiral-galaxy-w2246f-uncovering.html","category":"Astronomy","pubDate":"Sat, 06 Jun 2026 12:00:01 EDT","guid":"news699872311"},{"title":"Volcanic eruptions linked to rising famine risk across China's history","description":"Large volcanic eruptions may have played a bigger role in triggering historical famines across China than previously understood, according to a new study that traced links between eruptions, climate disruption, and food shortages over more than four centuries.","link":"https:\/\/phys.org\/news\/2026-06-volcanic-eruptions-linked-famine-china.html","category":"Earth Sciences","pubDate":"Sat, 06 Jun 2026 10:20:01 EDT","guid":"news699624109"},{"title":"Saturday Citations: Greenland sharks; quantum weirdness; people are mostly pretty chill","description":"This week, researchers reported that GLP-1 medications may influence the biology of aging. Hidden meltwater in deep Antarctic coastal waters has a strong climate impact. And a novel prostate cancer treatment reduced risk of disease progression by half in a clinical trial.","link":"https:\/\/phys.org\/news\/2026-06-saturday-citations-greenland-sharks-quantum.html","category":"Other","pubDate":"Sat, 06 Jun 2026 09:00:01 EDT","guid":"news699879140"},{"title":"Did this star eat its planets? A new study offers clues on 'chemical paradox' of a binary system","description":"Astronomers have investigated a puzzling binary star system in which two stars that may have formed together now show dramatically different chemical compositions. The new study, uploaded to the arXiv preprint server on May 29, hints at the possibility that one of the stars may have swallowed its own planets.","link":"https:\/\/phys.org\/news\/2026-06-star-planets-clues-chemical-paradox.html","category":"Astronomy","pubDate":"Fri, 05 Jun 2026 16:40:01 EDT","guid":"news699871330"},{"title":"Hagfish fossils reveal stepwise eye simplification before near-total vision loss","description":"Many animals, including humans, rely on their eyes to detect changes in their surroundings. The eyes of vertebrates, animals with a backbone or a similar supporting structure, contain a transparent structure (i.e., the lens) that focuses incoming light onto a layer of light-sensitive cells, known as the retina. Cells in the retina then convert light into signals that are sent to the brain.","link":"https:\/\/phys.org\/news\/2026-06-hagfish-fossils-reveal-stepwise-eye.html","category":"Evolution","pubDate":"Fri, 05 Jun 2026 15:20:01 EDT","guid":"news699796418"},{"title":"Remote work is taking its toll on the mental health of American workers, researchers find","description":"Working from home comes with some major pluses. It's more flexible, there's no more pesky commute, work-life balance improves, and you can even stay in your pajamas all day if you want. But according to a major study of more than 580,000 American workers published in Science, remote work is taking its toll on people's mental health.","link":"https:\/\/phys.org\/news\/2026-06-remote-toll-mental-health-american.html","category":"Social Sciences","pubDate":"Fri, 05 Jun 2026 12:20:03 EDT","guid":"news699871293"},{"title":"Hidden meltwater found deep in Antarctic coastal waters reveals stronger climate impacts","description":"Freshwater from melting Antarctic glaciers may be influencing the Southern Ocean in ways scientists have largely overlooked. New research, published in Frontiers in Marine Science, has found that glacial meltwater is not confined to the ocean's surface, as previously assumed, but can also be detected much deeper in coastal waters along the Western Antarctic Peninsula.","link":"https:\/\/phys.org\/news\/2026-06-hidden-meltwater-deep-antarctic-coastal.html","category":"Earth Sciences","pubDate":"Fri, 05 Jun 2026 08:00:06 EDT","guid":"news699710011"},{"title":"Costa Rica paid landowners to restore forests and biodiversity\u2014bioacoustics indicate that it worked","description":"Forest restoration can help fight climate change and restore lost biodiversity, but the satellite-based techniques used to measure successful forest restoration have been less-than-helpful for measuring changes in biodiversity. Instead, a team of researchers listened to the sounds of life in the restored forests. Their new study, published in Global Change Biology, reveals that forest restoration efforts in Costa Rica seem to be working to both regrow forests and restore lost biodiversity.","link":"https:\/\/phys.org\/news\/2026-06-costa-rica-paid-landowners-forests.html","category":"Plants & Animals","pubDate":"Thu, 04 Jun 2026 13:00:03 EDT","guid":"news699795468"},{"title":"Understanding Earth's hidden east-west symmetry could improve climate models","description":"Earth is divided into two halves: the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. Both reflect equal amounts of sunlight (albedo) even though they have different landmasses and weather patterns, especially cloud distribution. Why this is so is an ongoing mystery waiting to be solved.","link":"https:\/\/phys.org\/news\/2026-06-earth-hidden-east-west-symmetry.html","category":"Earth Sciences","pubDate":"Thu, 04 Jun 2026 12:00:06 EDT","guid":"news699787932"},{"title":"Charred Bronze Age teeth unlock age at death despite cremation","description":"Over 3,000 years ago, the people of Bronze Age Poland burned their dead and placed their ashes in urns, often destroying the intimate records of their lives preserved in their bones. Now, researchers have shown that some of these records can still be read, hidden in the charred roots of their teeth.","link":"https:\/\/phys.org\/news\/2026-06-charred-bronze-age-teeth-death.html","category":"Archaeology","pubDate":"Thu, 04 Jun 2026 09:20:04 EDT","guid":"news699783146"},{"title":"Short videos may hinder learning by fragmenting attention and memory, study finds","description":"Recent technological advances and the introduction of new digital media platforms have dramatically changed how people learn and source information about topics that interest them. Some recent studies have found that while browsing online or scrolling down social media platforms, users tend to spend under one minute on average on individual videos.","link":"https:\/\/phys.org\/news\/2026-06-short-videos-hinder-fragmenting-attention.html","category":"Education","pubDate":"Thu, 04 Jun 2026 08:40:04 EDT","guid":"news699715452"},{"title":"Photoexcitation flips 2D moir\u00e9 devices from metals to insulators in ultrafast test","description":"Quantum materials, materials with properties that are governed by the laws of quantum mechanics describing many-body interactions, have proved promising for the development of various advanced technologies. Many of these materials undergo so-called phase transitions, switching between different physical states that alter how electrons flow through them.","link":"https:\/\/phys.org\/news\/2026-06-photoexcitation-flips-2d-moir-devices.html","category":"Optics & Photonics","pubDate":"Thu, 04 Jun 2026 07:00:04 EDT","guid":"news699701022"},{"title":"Warming unlocks ancient carbon in Tibetan permafrost, triggering climate tipping point","description":"A new study in Nature Communications  finds a critical climate tipping point in Tibetan permafrost ecosystems. Warming of 2\u20134 degrees Celsius triggers a self-reinforcing cycle of carbon release that could significantly accelerate climate change, according to the work.","link":"https:\/\/phys.org\/news\/2026-06-ancient-carbon-tibetan-permafrost-triggering.html","category":"Earth Sciences","pubDate":"Wed, 03 Jun 2026 15:20:04 EDT","guid":"news699718093"},{"title":"Greenland shark genome reveals clues to 400-year lifespan","description":"The first comprehensive map of nearly the entire Greenland shark genome is beginning to reveal some of the genetic clues behind its incredibly long life. The work could one day help scientists develop new cures and treatments for cancer and other age-related diseases.","link":"https:\/\/phys.org\/news\/2026-06-greenland-shark-genome-reveals-clues.html","category":"Plants & Animals","pubDate":"Wed, 03 Jun 2026 14:40:06 EDT","guid":"news699710028"},{"title":"Deep-Earth seismic anomalies may be explained by newly discovered manganese compound","description":"Scientists know that manganese, in its various oxide forms, plays a significant role in Earth's geochemical cycles. However, the exact forms of manganese, their abundance and the mechanisms behind these cycles that occur in Earth's deep, high-pressure interior are not well understood. But, a recent study, published in Physical Review B, reports on a newly discovered manganese rich compound that might help shed light on manganese's behavior in Earth's interior and explain why seismic waves slow down in certain regions.","link":"https:\/\/phys.org\/news\/2026-06-deep-earth-seismic-anomalies-newly.html","category":"Earth Sciences","pubDate":"Wed, 03 Jun 2026 12:10:02 EDT","guid":"news699706812"},{"title":"Solar sails edge closer to reality, but interstellar travel is another story","description":"From planetary rovers and asteroid sample return missions to the recent Artemis II flight above the far side of the moon, we are seemingly good at doing space. But our achievements still do not match many of our space dreams, science fiction or otherwise.","link":"https:\/\/phys.org\/news\/2026-06-solar-edge-closer-reality-interstellar.html","category":"Space Exploration","pubDate":"Wed, 03 Jun 2026 10:20:02 EDT","guid":"news699698513"},{"title":"Distant blazar OP 313 emits very high-energy gamma rays above 100 GeV","description":"An international team of astronomers have employed one of the Large-Sized Telescopes (LSTs) at the Cherenkov Telescope Array Observatory (CTAO) to observe a distant blazar known as OP 313. Results of the observational campaign, published May 26 on the arXiv preprint server, shed more light on the behavior and nature of this object.","link":"https:\/\/phys.org\/news\/2026-06-distant-blazar-op-emits-high.html","category":"Astronomy","pubDate":"Wed, 03 Jun 2026 09:20:04 EDT","guid":"news699634088"},{"title":"Violating the 3rd law of black hole mechanics in vacuum gravity","description":"Black holes, regions in space where gravity is so strong that nothing can escape, have been widely studied over the past decades, due to their unique and intriguing properties. Einstein's theory of general relativity predicts that black holes obey a set of rules, known as the laws of black hole mechanics. These rules somewhat resemble the laws of thermodynamics, which delineate how energy, heat, and entropy behave in our universe.","link":"https:\/\/phys.org\/news\/2026-06-violating-3rd-law-black-hole.html","category":"General Physics","pubDate":"Wed, 03 Jun 2026 07:00:04 EDT","guid":"news699524996"},{"title":"Kamo'oalewa asteroid's lunar origin challenged ahead of Tianwen-2 arrival","description":"China's Tianwen-2 sample-return mission is well on its way to its target, an asteroid called Kamo'oalewa. The spacecraft left Earth in May 2025 and should return in late 2027 with samples of a space rock that scientists had assumed originated from the moon. However, a new study published in Nature Communications suggests that we may be mistaken about the asteroid's origin.","link":"https:\/\/phys.org\/news\/2026-06-kamooalewa-asteroid-lunar-tianwen.html","category":"Planetary Sciences","pubDate":"Tue, 02 Jun 2026 15:20:03 EDT","guid":"news699537801"},{"title":"Plate tectonics shaped the Cradle of Civilization by merging two ancient rivers, study suggests","description":"The Euphrates River is the longest river in Western Asia and runs through the eastern side of the Fertile Crescent. Flowing over 1,700 miles from Turkey through Syria and Iraq, the river played a crucial role in sustaining the region known as the \"Cradle of Civilization.\" Yet, researchers aren't sure about the river's origins or how tectonic activity might have shaped its evolution. A new study, published in Nature Geoscience, suggests that two ancient rivers, diverted by shifting plate tectonics, merged to form this vital river.","link":"https:\/\/phys.org\/news\/2026-06-plate-tectonics-cradle-civilization-merging.html","category":"Earth Sciences","pubDate":"Tue, 02 Jun 2026 14:20:11 EDT","guid":"news699624742"},{"title":"How a Richard Feynman formula could explain your dining habits in a new city","description":"One of the dilemmas facing anyone in a new and unfamiliar city is where to dine out. You might consult guides, speak to locals, check reviews, and ultimately, try your luck. But if you're there for a while, at some point you're going to be asking yourself whether to visit new eateries or stick to the ones you've already tried and liked.","link":"https:\/\/phys.org\/news\/2026-06-richard-feynman-formula-dining-habits.html","category":"Mathematics","pubDate":"Tue, 02 Jun 2026 12:20:01 EDT","guid":"news699620074"},{"title":"Britain's oldest cave art may have been rediscovered in Bacon Hole cave","description":"The oldest cave art in Britain may have been discovered, or more likely rediscovered, in a cave on the Gower Peninsula in South Wales, possibly dating back around 17,000 years.","link":"https:\/\/phys.org\/news\/2026-06-britain-oldest-cave-art-rediscovered.html","category":"Archaeology","pubDate":"Tue, 02 Jun 2026 11:40:01 EDT","guid":"news699613540"},{"title":"Cutting a photon in two creates an infinite swarm of particles","description":"By definition, elementary particles can't be broken into smaller pieces. But in a new theoretical study published in Physical Review Letters, Johannes Skaar and colleagues have revealed what would happen if you tried anyway for a single photon. The answer is deeply strange: attempting to cut a photon in two wouldn't produce two smaller photons, but instead conjure an infinite number of them out of thin air.","link":"https:\/\/phys.org\/news\/2026-06-photon-infinite-swarm-particles.html","category":"Optics & Photonics","pubDate":"Tue, 02 Jun 2026 10:20:08 EDT","guid":"news699613528"},{"title":"Dormant black hole revives in under three years, brightening 10-fold in nearby galaxy","description":"Astronomers monitoring a nearby active galaxy for six years have watched its supermassive black hole dramatically wake up, brightening by a factor of 10 across ultraviolet and X-ray wavelengths. The paper outlining the study was posted to the preprint server arXiv on May 18.","link":"https:\/\/phys.org\/news\/2026-06-dormant-black-hole-revives-years.html","category":"Astronomy","pubDate":"Tue, 02 Jun 2026 09:00:01 EDT","guid":"news699524122"},{"title":"Molecular glasses solve long-standing Arrhenius paradox","description":"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.","link":"https:\/\/phys.org\/news\/2026-05-molecular-glasses-arrhenius-paradox.html","category":"General Physics","pubDate":"Tue, 02 Jun 2026 07:10:01 EDT","guid":"news699280613"},{"title":"First deliberately injured Langobard woman in skeletal record reshapes view of male-only violence","description":"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.","link":"https:\/\/phys.org\/news\/2026-06-langobard-woman-skeletal-reshapes-view.html","category":"Archaeology","pubDate":"Mon, 01 Jun 2026 19:00:03 EDT","guid":"news699542886"},{"title":"Tiny-armed alvarezsauroid dinosaurs might have been insect eaters, fossil scans suggest","description":"Dinosaurs are estimated to have roamed Earth for over 165 million years, gradually evolving over time to survive in changing environments. Among the many fascinating groups of dinosaurs known to have lived on our planet are alvarezsauroids.","link":"https:\/\/phys.org\/news\/2026-06-tiny-armed-alvarezsauroid-dinosaurs-insect.html","category":"Evolution","pubDate":"Mon, 01 Jun 2026 13:40:06 EDT","guid":"news699529068"},{"title":"Mathematician solves origami donut efficiency challenge with fewest folds","description":"Most people wouldn't think that it would take rigorous mathematical proof to show how many folds it takes to make a donut shape out of paper. Yet, no one could quite figure it out until recently.","link":"https:\/\/phys.org\/news\/2026-06-mathematician-origami-donut-efficiency-fewest.html","category":"Mathematics","pubDate":"Mon, 01 Jun 2026 13:03:13 EDT","guid":"news699537760"},{"title":"One of our planets may be missing, and it could explain why the solar system looks the way it does","description":"Our solar system has two ice giants, Uranus and Neptune, but there may have been a third. According to a new study published in the journal Icarus, this extra world might have triggered a violent planetary shuffling billions of years ago that could have disrupted some of Jupiter's and Uranus's moons and possibly led to the formation of others.","link":"https:\/\/phys.org\/news\/2026-06-planets-solar.html","category":"Astronomy","pubDate":"Mon, 01 Jun 2026 10:00:05 EDT","guid":"news699524109"}]}}