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Chris Packham

Chris Packham

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Chris has written and edited for newspapers and alt newsweeklies since 2003, including the Kansas City Star, The Pitch and the Village Voice. He has been copyediting and occasionally writing for Science X since 2013.

Articles by Chris Packham

Phys.org / Saturday Citations: Black hole flare unprecedented; the strength of memories; bugs on the menu

This week, researchers reported finding a spider megacity in a sulfur cave on the Albania-Greece border, and experts say that you, personally, have to go live there. Economists are growing nervous about the collapse of the ...

Nov 8, 2025
Phys.org / Saturday Citations: Test flight of the X-59; a confounding quantum calculation; the universe is not simulated

This week, researchers published LIGO findings that hint at the existence of second-generation black holes. Astronomers captured a spectacular new image of the Milky Way across a wide range of radio wavelengths. And medical ...

Nov 1, 2025
Phys.org / Saturday Citations: Primate skull diversity; exploring matter-antimatter asymmetry; asthma clarified

Howdy, pards! This autumnal week brought a new challenge to last decade's claim of a strong Yellowstone trophic cascade after the reintroduction of wolves. Evolutionary biologists propose that carrion-eating was a dependable ...

Oct 25, 2025
Phys.org / Saturday Citations: Yet another solution for universal expansion; computing with brain organoids

This week, researchers reported the discovery of four Late Bronze Age stone megastructures likely used for trapping herds of wild animals. Physicists have proven that a central law of thermodynamics does not apply to atomic-scale ...

Oct 18, 2025
Phys.org / Saturday Citations: AI chatbots are insincere; childhood memory recall; a tiny chunk of dark matter

This week, researchers discovered so-called "switchbacks" in Earth's magnetic field similar to observations of switchbacks in the sun's magnetic field. Scientists provided more evidence that ancient Rapa Nui engineers "walked" ...

Oct 11, 2025
Phys.org / Saturday Citations: Bird news: Vultures as curators and a newly discovered interspecies warning call

This week, researchers reported that mild dietary stress supports healthy aging. Engineers created artificial neurons that can communicate directly with living cells. And dark energy observations suggest that the universe ...

Oct 4, 2025
Phys.org / Saturday Citations: Epiphanies and brain states; a baffling skull find; achieving well-being in old age

This week, researchers identified a key driver of pancreatic cancer spread. Oral bacteria were linked to Parkinson's disease via the gut-brain axis. And scientists are advising California legislators to prepare for destructive ...

Sep 27, 2025
Phys.org / Saturday Citations: Exercise weight loss explained; chimpanzees like alcohol; auditing quantum computers

This week, researchers reported evidence of a cosmic impact at classic Clovis archaeological sites. Biologists in Texas discovered a rare hybrid bird, the offspring of a blue jay and a green jay. And a study suggests that ...

Sep 20, 2025
Phys.org / Saturday Citations: A mechanism for liver failure; LIGO black hole kick observed; primordial black hole explosions

This week, researchers reported on a new biopsy tool that can detect HPV-associated head and neck cancer up to 10 years before symptoms appear. Researchers developed a process to transform two-dimensional paintings into full-color, ...

Sep 13, 2025
Phys.org / Saturday Citations: Ant species clones workers; a primordial black hole candidate; an anti-tumor carotenoid

This week: Researchers reported that evolutionary mutations are genome-driven, not random. Quantum physicists observed the magnetic nucleus of an atom switching back and forth in real time. And a new catalyst could simplify ...

Sep 6, 2025
Phys.org / Saturday Citations: Human impacts on reef systems; testing AI systems; a woman with perfect memory

The week in science: UK fishermen are reporting a massive octopus bloom in the waters off southwest England. Researchers found a massive fossilized pearl in the Australian outback, the largest ever found in the country. And ...

Aug 30, 2025
Phys.org / Saturday Citations: Beyond general relativity; gas giants and dark energy; the pleasures of difficult hobbies

This week, researchers pinned down the age of a complete Homo-genus skull found in Greece in 1960 to at least 286,000 years old. Medical researchers reported that the majority of chronic pain patients discontinue cannabis ...

Aug 23, 2025
Phys.org / Saturday Citations: A new category of supernovas; neurons beat machine learning; depression and vitiligo

Based on simulations, researchers report that the next big earthquake along the San Andreas fault is unlikely to resemble previous quakes. Researchers at the intersection of algebra, geometry, particle physics and cosmology ...

Aug 16, 2025
Phys.org / Saturday Citations: Video games and brain activity; a triple black hole system; neutralizing Skynet

It's August, which means Hot Science Summer is two-thirds over. This week, NASA released an exceptionally pretty photo of Mars, a sharp panorama color altered to make the sky blue (???). California health authorities are ...

Aug 9, 2025
Phys.org / Saturday Citations: Chatbots chat about suicide; ancient concrete recipes; depression and brain morphology

This week, researchers at the University of Albany reported an extreme size difference between early human males and females, suggesting intense competition among males. Krill are so overfished in Antarctica this year that ...

Aug 2, 2025