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Physics
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Physics

Physician shortage in rural areas of the US worsened since 2017

The national shortage of primary care physicians has been a concern for years, and a new study in the Annals of Family Medicine underscores how urgent the problem is and where the biggest pain point lies: in rural parts of the country that are seeing the largest population spikes in nearly a century. By studying the location of practicing family physicians across the U.S. from 2017 to 2023, authors found a year-over-year decrease in family physicians practicing in rural areas, with a net loss of 11% nationwide over the 7 years studied. The greatest losses were in the Northeast and fewest in the West. There were 11,847 ...

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Physics

Study finds nationwide decline in rural family physicians

Research Brief Background: In this study, researchers used the American Medical Association Physician Masterfile to identify family physicians aged 65 years or younger in the U.S. actively practicing outpatient care from 2017 to 2023. Physicians’ office addresses were mapped to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural-Urban Continuum Codes to identify and describe family physicians in rural communities. What This Study Found: There has been an 11% nationwide decline in rural family physicians from 2017 to 2023. The Northeast saw the greatest percentage loss (15.3%), while the West saw the least (3.2%). The proportion ...

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Physics

Mystery of how turtles read their magnetic map solved: they feel the magnetism

Loggerhead turtles are able to sense the Earth’s magnetic field in two ways, but it wasn’t clear which sense the animals use to detect the magnetic field when navigating using the magnetic map they are born with. Now researchers from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill reveal in Journal of Experimental Biology that hatchling loggerhead turtles feel the Earth’s magnetic map to tell them where they are on their epic migration routes. Setting off from the beach of their birth, hatchling loggerhead turtles embark on some of the world’s most impressive migrations, covering thousands ...

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Physics

How superstorm Gannon squeezed Earth’s plasmasphere to one-fifth its size

A geomagnetic superstorm is an extreme space weather event that occurs when the Sun releases massive amounts of energy and charged particles toward Earth. These storms are rare, occurring about once every 20-25 years. On May 10-11, 2024, the strongest superstorm in over 20 years, known as the Gannon storm or Mother’s Day storm, struck Earth. A study led by Dr. Atsuki Shinbori from Nagoya University's Institute for Space-Earth Environmental Research has captured direct measurements of this extreme event and provided the ...

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Physics

Trapping particles to explain lightning

Using lasers as tweezers to understand cloud electrification might sound like science fiction but at the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) it is a reality. By trapping and charging micron-sized particles with lasers, researchers can now observe their charging and discharging dynamics over time. This method, published in Physical Review Letters, could provide key insights into what sparks lightning. Aerosols are liquid or solid particles that float in the air. They are all around us. Some are large and visible, such ...

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Physics

Surface-only superconductor is the strangest of its kind

Something strange goes on inside the material platinum-bismuth-two (PtBi₂). A new study by researchers at IFW Dresden and the Cluster of Excellence ct.qmat demonstrates that while PtBi₂ may look like a typical shiny grey crystal, electrons moving through it do some things never seen before. In 2024, the research team demonstrated that the top and bottom surfaces of the material superconduct, meaning electrons pair up and move without resistance. Now, they reveal that this pairing works differently from any superconductor ...

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Physics

New magnetic component discovered in the faraday effect after nearly two centuries

Researchers at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem discovered that the magnetic component of light plays a direct role in the Faraday Effect, overturning a 180-year-old assumption that only its electric field mattered. Their findings show that light can magnetically influence matter, not just illuminate it. The discovery opens new possibilities in optics, spintronics, and quantum technologies. Researchers from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem have discovered that the magnetic component of light, not ...

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Physics

Atomic insights could boost chemical manufacturing efficiency

Countless everyday products from plastic squeeze bottles to outdoor furniture are derived by first turning propane into propylene. A 2021 study in Science demonstrated chemists could use tandem nanoscale catalysts to integrate multiple steps of the process into a single reaction—a way for companies to increase yield and save money. But it was unclear what was happening at the atomic level, making it difficult to apply the technique to other key industrial processes. Researchers at the University of Rochester developed ...

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Physics

First high-precision measurement of potential dynamics inside reactor-grade fusion plasma

Nuclear fusion, which operates on the same principle that powers the Sun, is expected to become a sustainable energy source for the future. To achieve fusion power generation, it is essential to confine plasma at temperatures exceeding one hundred million degrees using a magnetic field and to maintain this high-energy state stably. A key factor in accomplishing this is the electric potential inside the plasma. This potential governs the transport of particles and energy within the plasma and plays a crucial role in establishing a state in which energy is effectively confined and prevented ...

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Physics

Breakthrough in water-based light generation: 1,000-fold enhancement of white-light output using non-harmonic two-color femtosecond lasers

Scientists at Japan's Institute for Molecular Science have achieved a 1,000-fold enhancement in white-light generation inside water by using non-harmonic two-color femtosecond laser excitation. This previously unexplored approach in liquids unlocks new nonlinear optical pathways, enabling a dramatic boost in supercontinuum generation. The breakthrough lays a foundation for next-generation bioimaging, aqueous-phase spectroscopy, and attosecond science in water. Researchers at the Institute for Molecular ...

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Physics

Ceramic-based electromagnetic interference shielding materials: mechanisms, optimization strategies, and pathways to next-generation applications

With the rapid advancement of wireless communication technologies and electronic devices, electromagnetic interference (EMI) has emerged as a critical factor affecting the reliability and performance of electronic systems, particularly in high-demand sectors such as aerospace, defense, and next-generation communication networks. Traditional EMI shielding materials, including metal and carbon-based composites, are inherently limited, such as high weight, susceptibility to corrosion and insufficient ...

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Physics

MIT physicists observe key evidence of unconventional superconductivity in magic-angle graphene

Superconductors are like the express trains in a metro system. Any electricity that “boards” a superconducting material can zip through it without stopping and losing energy along the way. As such, superconductors are extremely energy efficient, and are used today to power a variety of applications, from MRI machines to particle accelerators. But these “conventional” superconductors are somewhat limited in terms of uses because they must be brought down to ultra-low temperatures using elaborate cooling systems to keep them in their superconducting state. If ...

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Physics

World’s first demonstration of entanglement swapping using sum-frequency generation between single photons

Highlights - Demonstrated the world’s first entanglement swapping using sum-frequency generation between single photons, one of the fundamental quantum communication protocols. - Successfully observed sum-frequency generation between single photons with a high signal-to-noise ratio, made possible by NICT’s state-of-the-art technologies. - Expected to contribute to the miniaturization and efficiency improvement of photonic quantum information processing circuit, as well as the extension of transmission distance in device ...

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Physics

Kono awarded American Physical Society’s Isakson Prize

HOUSTON – (Nov. 5, 2025) – Rice University applied physicist Junichiro Kono has been awarded the American Physical Society’s 2026 Frank Isakson Prize for Optical Effects in Solids. The biennial prize recognizes outstanding optical research that leads to breakthroughs in the condensed matter sciences. Kono is being honored “for pioneering contributions to optical physics, light-condensed matter interactions and photonic applications of nanosystems, including artificial quantum structures and carbon-based nanomaterials.” Kono’s ...

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Physics

Attosecond plasma lens

A team of researchers from the Max Born Institute (MBI) in Berlin and DESY in Hamburg has demonstrated a plasma lens capable of focusing attosecond pulses. This breakthrough substantially increases the attosecond power available for experiments, opening up new opportunities for studying ultrafast electron dynamics. The results have now been published in Nature Photonics. Attosecond pulses—bursts of light lasting only billionths of a billionth of a second—are essential tools for observing and controlling electronic motion ...

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Physics

Asymmetric stress engineering of dense dislocations in brittle superconductors for strong vortex pinning

A collaborated research team led by Prof. MA Yanwei from the Institute of Electrical Engineering (IEE) of Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), has shattered records in the current-carrying performance of iron-based superconducting wires. Their breakthrough, enabled by a novel strategy to engineer high-density flux pinning centers via an asymmetric stress field, is published in Advanced Materials. The Steady High Magnetic Field Facility (CHMFL), the Hefei Institutes of Physical Science ...

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Physics

Lightweight multi-wavelength network model for efficient and high-fidelity full-color 3D holographic display

Computer-generated holography (CGH), as one of the most attractive next-generation three-dimensional (3D) display technology, possesses the capacity to provide authentic depth cues of 3D scenes via faithfully recording the optical field with computational simulations and loading the calculated holograms to reconstruct the target scenes. However, the process of hologram generation is predominately an ill-posed inverse problem, since only the intensity or amplitude information of the target scene is known while the original wavefront phase remains inaccessible ...

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Physics

IEEE study reviews novel photonics breakthroughs of 2024

Nonlinear optical dynamics—intensity-dependent response of light upon interaction with materials under high-intensity light sources—are of huge significance in modern photonics, findings applications in fields ranging from lasers, amplifiers, modulators, and sensors to the study of topics including quantum optics, nonlinear system dynamics, as well as light-matter interactions. In recent years, nonlinear optical effects such as Kerr and electro-optic effects have found use in microresonator-based optical frequency combs, or “microcombs.” ...

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Physics

An electronic fiber for stretchable sensing

The phrase ‘liquid metal’ may bring to mind something hazardous, like mercury or molten steel. But in the Laboratory of Photonic Materials and Fiber Devices (FIMAP) in EPFL’s School of Engineering, it simply means a mixture of indium and gallium that is nontoxic, remains liquid at room temperature, and shows great promise for developing electronic fibers for wearables and robotic sensors. Unfortunately, as FIMAP head Fabien Sorin explains, liquid metals are extremely difficult to process, and it’s especially hard to produce electronic fibers that combine high and stable conductivity with stretchability. Now, the lab has overcome this ...

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Physics

Cobalt single atom-phosphate functionalized reduced graphene oxide/perylenetetracarboxylic acid nanosheet heterojunctions for efficiently photocatalytic H2O2 production

Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) is ranked among the top 100 most important chemicals globally. Currently, the anthraquinone oxidation method is the primary method for industrial H2O2 production, yet it faces several major issues, including complex synthesis, high energy consumption. As a more sustainable and environmentally friendly alternative, the artificial photosynthesis of H2O2 from H2O and O2 using semiconductor photocatalysts driven by renewable solar energy has attracted significant attention. A key process in this approach is the two–electron oxygen reduction reaction (2e- ORR). However, most photocatalysts face limitations, ...

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Physics

Spectral shaper provides unprecedented control over 10,000 laser frequency comb lines

WASHINGTON — Researchers have developed a new technology that can shape the spectrum of light emitted from a laser frequency comb across the visible and near-infrared wavelengths with more precision than previously possible. This advance could provide an important new tool in the hunt for Earth-like planets outside our solar system. When searching for exoplanets, astronomers use high-precision spectroscopy to detect tiny shifts in starlight that reveal a star’s subtle “wobble” due to an orbiting planet. But for Earth-sized planets, these wavelength changes are smaller than the spectrograph’s ...

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Physics

Superconducting germanium made with industry-compatible methods

Scientists have paved the way for next-generation quantum circuits by successfully making a semiconducting element commonly used in electrical devices superconducting. A research team from The University of Queensland’s School of Mathematics and Physics and Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology and New York University have shown germanium can conduct electricity without resistance. The discovery, which had eluded physicists for more than 60 years, unifies the building blocks of classical electronics and quantum ...

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Physics

Under embargo: We learn physical skills by feeling rewarded, even in the absence of a reward, finds new study

Press release under embargo until 30/10/25 10:00 UK time We learn physical skills by feeling rewarded, even in the absence of a reward, finds new study People master new physical skills, such as sports, crafts or controlling a vehicle while driving, by blending lessons learnt from both feedback on the amount of error they had in failures and the rewards of successes, even when reward cues are removed, according to a new study led by Dr Shlomi Haar from the University of Surrey. Using a high-tech virtual reality pool setup, researchers from Surrey and Imperial College London had 32 participants play pool on a physical table while wearing a virtual ...

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Physics

Gender equality universally linked to physical capacity

Fitness amongst young adults varies widely from one country to another, and is strongly associated with both socioeconomic development and gender equality, a new study from Karolinska Institutet published in the Journal of Sport and Health Science reports. The results indicate that levels of development and gender equality in a society can affect differences in physical capacity and therefore public health in general. Cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) is an important factor of health and life-expectancy. For this present study, researchers systematically reviewed data from 95 studies ...

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Physics

Nano-biochar helps rice roots turn silver ions into less toxic nanoparticles

Researchers have uncovered a surprising new role for nano-biochar, showing that it can drive the natural formation and accumulation of silver nanoparticles in rice roots. The study, published in Biochar, reveals how this tiny carbon material interacts with plant roots to transform silver ions into metallic nanoparticles, potentially affecting both plant health and the movement of metals in the environment. Silver is widely used in electronics, medicine, and antimicrobial products, which leads to the release of silver ions into soils and waterways. These ions are highly reactive and can pose risks to living organisms. In contrast, silver nanoparticles are more stable and less toxic. ...

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