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Phys.org / Water is bed bugs' kryptonite: The parasites avoid wet surfaces at all costs
Humans tend to fear bed bugs, and rightly so. The bloodsuckers are tough to get rid of once they've entered a home. But new research has, for the first time, identified one thing the bugs seem to fear—water and wet surfaces.
Phys.org / Diamond surfaces are covered in thin, ice-like water layers
Using atomic-scale defects in diamond, researchers in China have gained unprecedented insights into the complex chemical processes that unfold at the interfaces between solid surfaces and their surroundings. Published in ...
Phys.org / Mysterious Greek inscription reignites debate on whether a Syrian mosque stands atop Roman Emperor Elagabalus' Temple
A recently discovered Greek inscription at the base of a column inside the Great Mosque of Homs in Syria has rekindled a longstanding scholarly debate about the exact location of the Temple of the sun, whose high priest ascended ...
Phys.org / One of the biggest stars in the universe might be getting ready to explode
One of the largest known stars in the universe underwent a dramatic transformation in 2014, new research shows, and may be preparing to explode. A study led by Gonzalo Muñoz-Sanchez at the National Observatory of Athens, ...
Tech Xplore / HEART benchmark assesses ability of LLMs and humans to offer emotional support
Large language models (LLMs), artificial intelligence (AI) systems that can process human language and generate texts in response to specific user queries, are now used daily by a growing number of people worldwide. While ...
Phys.org / Fast-paced lives demand faster vision: Ecology shapes how 'quickly' animals see time
Animals don't just see the world differently from one another, they experience time itself at dramatically different speeds. That is according to a new study that considered 237 species across the animal kingdom, and which ...
Phys.org / Language barriers slow down the international diffusion of knowledge, study finds
Rapid technological and scientific advances have fueled a huge wave of innovation over the past decades. The speed of global innovation is known to be dependent on the exchange of knowledge and skills between different nations ...
Phys.org / 40,000-year-old Stone Age symbols may have paved the way for writing, long before Mesopotamia
Over 40,000 years ago, our early ancestors were already carving signs into tools and sculptures. According to a new analysis by linguist Christian Bentz at Saarland University and archaeologist Ewa Dutkiewicz at the Museum ...
Phys.org / Chemists thought phosphorus had shown all its cards—until it surprised them with a new move
A discovery by UCLA organic chemists may one day put catalytic converter thieves out of business. In new research, they've used abundant, inexpensive phosphorus as a catalyst in chemical reactions that usually require precious ...
Phys.org / Stone Age deceased dressed in spectacular feather and fur headgear, new research technique reveals
A recently published research article examines the microscopic remains of clothing and burial items dating back roughly 7,000 years. The study focused on the Skateholm I and II cemeteries in Scania, southern Sweden, with ...
Phys.org / New generation of climate models sheds first light on long-standing Pacific puzzle
Researchers have long been puzzled by the observed cooling of the eastern tropical Pacific and the Southern Ocean accompanying global warming. Existing climate models have failed to capture this pattern. At the Max Planck ...
Phys.org / Supercomputer simulations reveal rotation drives chemical mixing in red giant stars
Advances in supercomputing have made solving a long‐standing astronomical conundrum possible: How can we explain the changes in the chemical composition at the surface of red giant stars as they evolve?