Research roundup: 6 cool science stories we almost missed

DOI: Physics of Fluids, 2026. 10.1103/tnxb-ckr5 (about DOI).

Tracking the restoration of a Roman shipwreck

In 2016, archaeologists discovered a shipwreck from the Roman Republic, Ilovik-Parzin 1. The wreck of the actual ship has been the subject of much study, leading scientists to determine that it was constructed in Brindisi on what is now Italy’s southeast coast. Recently, according to a paper published in the journal Frontiers in Materials, analysis of pollen trapped in the ship’s waterproofing layers has provided information about successive repairs carried out at other locations in the Adriatic Sea.

According to the authors, previous research had largely ignored the study of non-wood materials such as seawater-repellent coatings, so they used mass spectrometry and similar methods to investigate the molecular structure of ten coating samples. The results showed that the resin or tar (pitch) of the pine tree was the main component. But one sample was a combination of wax and tar, a mixture unique to Greek shipbuilders. zopissa. This combination makes the coating easier to apply when hot and makes the pitch adhesive more flexible.

Because the adhesive nature of the pitch easily traps and preserves pollen, the researchers were also able to identify which plants were present when the coating was applied, so they could in turn identify the areas where the pitch was produced. They found pollen from a wide range of environments, such as holly oak, pine and mattoral forests, all typical of the Mediterranean and Adriatic coastal areas. Other specimens include alder and ash, which are more common in the rivers, as well as cedar and beech more typical in the mountainous regions of Istria and Dalmatia. This provides solid evidence of a mid-voyage repair to the ship.

DOI: Frontiers in Materials, 2026. 10.3389/fmats.2026.1758862 (About DOI).

Crushing Soda Cans for Science

Who doesn’t love watching YouTube videos of people using hydraulics to crush a variety of objects? This also includes physicists from the University of Manchester, who were curious about the difference between crushing an empty soda can versus crushing a can filled with liquid. An empty box immediately collapsed; An entire box slowly collapses into a series of circular rings. The Manchester physicist wanted to know why a filled can behaved the way it did. They investigated through a combination of mathematical modeling and laboratory crushing experiments, describing their findings in a paper published in the journal Communications Physics.