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Phys.org / Ethiopia's Afar Rift provides glimpse into life and death 100,000 years ago
The study of ancient cultures around Ethiopia during the Middle Stone Age (MSA) time period is important for understanding how some of the first Homo sapiens lived and eventually left Africa. Unfortunately, there are not ...
Phys.org / Earth's microbes may hide a near-universal plastic-eating arsenal, with 600,000 proteins poised to attack waste
Researchers have identified more than 600,000 microbial proteins capable of breaking down natural and synthetic plastics, revealing a far broader biodegradation potential across microbes than previously known.
Phys.org / Any color you like: Scientists create 'any wavelength' lasers in tiny circuits for light
Computer chips that cram billions of electronic devices into a few square inches have powered the digital economy and transformed the world. Scientists may be on the cusp of launching a similar technological revolution—this ...
Phys.org / Autonomy key to happiness, study finds
If you can't get no satisfaction, then maybe it's because happiness does not only stem from pleasure or a meaningful existence. Instead, a new Simon Fraser University study suggests that freedom is the key to happiness.
Phys.org / Astronomers find the strongest evidence yet for the universe's first stars
For decades, astronomers were only able to study the universe's very first stars using theoretical models. Now, observations from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) have revealed what may be the most compelling evidence ...
Phys.org / Ancient charcoal sheds new light on how early humans fueled their lives
Nearly 800,000 years ago, early humans gathered along the shores of a lush lake in what is now northern Israel. Here, they returned again and again, hunting large animals, cooking fish over controlled fires, and organizing ...
Phys.org / Copper blasted into a million-degree plasma strips away 22 electrons in a flash before atoms recover
When laser flashes hit matter, electrons are knocked off their orbits around the atomic nuclei. This can generate extremely hot plasmas composed of charged particles—ions and electrons. Researchers at HZDR have now observed ...
Phys.org / Alien life may hide in plain sight: Statistical patterns across exoplanets move beyond traditional biosignatures
A research team has developed a new approach to detecting life beyond Earth that does not rely on identifying specific biological markers. Instead, the study suggests that life may be detectable through patterns emerging ...
Phys.org / Bonobos' peaceful reputation cracks after a rival group attack leaves an infant dead
Bonobos are often described as gentle apes, generally calm primates that are seen as peacemakers in the animal kingdom. But this reputation may be coming under attack as a new study published in Scientific Reports reveals ...
Phys.org / CRISPR variant selectively targets tumor DNA
Cancer cells excel at evading detection, but subtle chemical differences set them apart from healthy cells. Now, a team of scientists from Wageningen University & Research and Van Andel Institute has identified a way to exploit ...
Phys.org / A tabletop ring of atoms brings the universe's doomsday vacuum collapse into the lab
Physicists in China have simulated the effect of "false vacuum decay": a phenomenon believed to play out constantly in the seemingly empty expanses of space, and which one theory even suggests could bring an abrupt end to ...
Phys.org / Electrons crack open organic solar cells, exposing their hidden 3D molecular architecture in a single microscope
How do organic solar cells work on the inside? The answer lies in structures far too small to see—and difficult to access even with advanced techniques. So far, researchers have relied mainly on X-ray methods to understand ...
