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Science News

Latest science news, discoveries and scientific developments.

Measuring deep-ocean oxygen with microscopic magnetic fossils
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Measuring deep-ocean oxygen with microscopic magnetic fossils

Humanity's ongoing disruption of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO₂) concentrations, temperatures, and global nutrient cycles is starving the oceans of oxygen. Although we can measure ongoing changes to ocean circulation and marine life, we still don't know how far the oxygen loss and the damage to ocean ecosystems could go. One way to foresee the oceans' future is to look back at how our seas and their inhabitants responded to higher CO₂ levels and warmer climates in the past.

📅 2026-10-15 21:40:06    •    Phys.org
Retail research shifted in five ways, study finds
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Retail research shifted in five ways, study finds

Retail research has changed during the last couple of decades, according to an analysis of almost 5,200 papers covering business practices, consumer behavior and technology. The study, published in the International Journal of Electronic Marketing and Retailing, considered papers from the four leading specialist journals in this area.

📅 2026-10-15 21:40:01    •    Phys.org
Silicon qubits surpass 99.99% gate fidelity while operating three at once
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Silicon qubits surpass 99.99% gate fidelity while operating three at once

Silicon spin qubits are a promising platform for building scalable quantum computers as they are compatible with the semiconductor manufacturing technologies used to produce today's computer chips. However, they have an important weakness: silicon spin qubits typically lose accuracy when several qubits are under parallel control. To be useful, quantum computers will need to operate many qubits simultaneously without compromising the accuracy of their operations.

📅 2026-10-15 21:20:05    •    Phys.org
Building trust in governments through digital platforms
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Building trust in governments through digital platforms

Around the world, many people report distrusting their government. In some places, such as Latin America, North America and Africa, trust in government has declined in recent decades. How can governments rebuild this trust?

📅 2026-10-15 21:00:11    •    Phys.org
Molecular snapshots reveal how viral enzymes switch between inserting and removing DNA
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Molecular snapshots reveal how viral enzymes switch between inserting and removing DNA

Bacteriophages, or viruses that infect bacteria, have a fiendishly simple purpose in life: attach to a bacterial cell, inject their DNA and then use the host's genetic machinery to reproduce. In doing so, they may have evolved some of the most efficient gene-editing tools ever seen in nature.

📅 2026-10-15 21:00:01    •    Phys.org
Single 2D crystal transforms into transistor with built-in insulation and electrical contacts
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Single 2D crystal transforms into transistor with built-in insulation and electrical contacts

A transistor normally requires several fundamentally different materials—a semiconductor to carry current, an insulating dielectric to control it and metallic contacts through which current enters and leaves. Integrating all of these components becomes increasingly difficult as semiconductor devices approach the atomic scale.

📅 2026-10-15 20:40:06    •    Phys.org
AI turns scrap impurities into useful ingredients for stronger recycled iron
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AI turns scrap impurities into useful ingredients for stronger recycled iron

About 2 billion metric tons of metal are produced worldwide every year to meet the demands of industry, infrastructure and the energy sector. Much of this production still relies on primary raw materials, contributing to an estimated 40% of industrial greenhouse gas emissions and 10% of global energy consumption. Increasing the use of recycled metals could significantly reduce the environmental impact of metal production while also lowering dependence on imports of scarce and strategically critical raw materials.

📅 2026-10-15 20:20:18    •    Phys.org
2 giant Ramesses II statues, one wearing a double crown, discovered by man in Egypt
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2 giant Ramesses II statues, one wearing a double crown, discovered by man in Egypt

While working on his land in a village in northern Egypt, a man made an astonishing discovery: the remains of two massive statues of Ramesses II.The man, Khaled el-Shahat, immediately notified the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, which sent a team to the village of Behbeit El Hagar to excavate and study the statues, the ministry said in a translated statement.Ramesses II had one of the longest reigns in Egypt's history, ruling from around 1279 to 1213 B.C. During his 66 years in power, Egypt controlled an empire that stretched as far northeast as modern-day Syria. He initiated many building projects throughout the empire, and numerous Ramesses II statues have been found througho...

📅 2026-10-15 20:01:18    •    Live Science
North Sea heat wave fueled underwater plankton bloom largely missed by satellites
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North Sea heat wave fueled underwater plankton bloom largely missed by satellites

When a marine heat wave strikes, scientists often turn to satellites to see how the ocean is responding. From space, changes in ocean color can reveal shifts in phytoplankton, microscopic organisms that form the foundation of marine food webs and play a crucial role in the global carbon cycle. But satellites have a fundamental limitation: they can only see the ocean's surface.

📅 2026-10-15 20:00:07    •    Phys.org
Six lessons to improve leadership opportunities for women with disability
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Six lessons to improve leadership opportunities for women with disability

Employers must do more to remove the barriers preventing women with disability from progressing into leadership, according to a new report from People with Disability Australia (PWDA), the national disability rights and advocacy organization. Researchers identify six lessons to help drive change.

📅 2026-10-15 20:00:01    •    Phys.org
Two brain circuits coordinate fruit flies' wing and leg movements to threaten rivals
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Two brain circuits coordinate fruit flies' wing and leg movements to threaten rivals

Limbs evolved as a means of locomotion. From the primitive rotating flagella of bacteria to the wings of flies and even our own legs, animals use these appendages to travel to find food or mates or escape predators. But in countless species across the animal kingdom, limbs are repurposed to create elaborate social displays: Birds of paradise fan out their wings and hop around in courtship dances, while crabs wave their claws to communicate to potential mating partners. As humans, we use our limbs to dance, gesture while talking, wield tools and conduct a remarkable diversity of behaviors. How does the brain control and coordinate its body parts for such distinct purposes?

📅 2026-10-15 19:40:18    •    Phys.org
Researchers find that some weeds get supercharged by an indirect hit of herbicide
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Researchers find that some weeds get supercharged by an indirect hit of herbicide

A brush with low doses of the herbicide dicamba spurs oxalis, a weed commonly known as wood sorrel, to produce more flowers, University of Michigan researchers have discovered. The finding suggests that farmers and homeowners are inadvertently making weeds growing around the perimeter of their fields or lawns stronger, the researchers say. The study results are published in the journal New Phytologist.

📅 2026-10-15 19:20:11    •    Phys.org
Better together? Coral fusion could throw bleached reefs a lifeline
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Better together? Coral fusion could throw bleached reefs a lifeline

When corals are stressed by pollution, high water temperatures or other environmental changes, they can lose the microscopic algae living inside them and on which they depend for food. As a result, they turn white, a phenomenon known as coral bleaching. They will not die straight away, but it will be game over if the stress continues long enough for them to starve.

📅 2026-10-15 19:20:02    •    Phys.org
Lion tracks from the ice age: How two ways of seeing brought ancient animals to life
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Lion tracks from the ice age: How two ways of seeing brought ancient animals to life

The coastline near the southern tip of Africa looked vastly different between about 400,000 years ago and 70,000 years ago, compared with today. At times it lay as much as 100km (62 miles) south of its present location, exposing the vast Palaeo-Agulhas Plain, which contained an extensive habitat for large mammals. At other times the sea level was briefly as much as 13 meters (43 feet) higher than today's mean level.

📅 2026-10-15 19:00:33    •    Phys.org
Why a high school in Virginia is getting a quantum computer
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Why a high school in Virginia is getting a quantum computer

Starting in January, students attending Skyview High School in Virginia will learn about the building blocks and principles underlying quantum computers by working with one directly

📅 2026-10-15 19:00:00    •    New Scientist