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Phys.org / Prehistoric tool made from elephant bone is the oldest discovered in Europe

A remarkable prehistoric hammer made from elephant bone, dating back nearly half a million years ago, has been uncovered in southern England and analyzed by archaeologists from UCL and the Natural History Museum, London.

Jan 21, 2026 in Other Sciences
Phys.org / Japan Trench geology confirmed as key driver of 2011 megaquake

Geologists from Heriot-Watt are part of an international research team that has confirmed why the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake off northeast Japan behaved in such an extreme and destructive way.

Jan 19, 2026 in Earth
Phys.org / Massive cloud with metallic winds discovered orbiting mystery object

Sweeping winds of vaporized metals have been found in a massive cloud that dimmed the light of a star for nearly nine months. This discovery, made with the Gemini South telescope in Chile, one half of the International Gemini ...

Jan 21, 2026 in Astronomy & Space
Phys.org / Social networks spanned thousands of square kilometers during the Upper Paleolithic period, study finds

Researchers from several European institutions, led by scientists from the University of Barcelona and the University of Alcalá, have demonstrated that the hunter-gatherers who inhabited the interior of the Iberian Peninsula ...

Jan 22, 2026 in Other Sciences
Phys.org / Seychelles leads the way in the protection of sharks and rays, finds study

A new study published in Ecology and Evolution has evaluated the extent to which recently identified Important Shark and Ray Areas (ISRAs) in the Western Indian Ocean overlap with existing marine protected areas.

Jan 19, 2026 in Biology
Phys.org / Beneath Antarctica's largest ice shelf, a hidden ocean is revealing its secrets

Beneath Antarctica's Ross Ice Shelf lies one of the least measured oceans on Earth—a vast, dark cavity roughly twice the volume of the North Sea.

Jan 22, 2026 in Earth
Phys.org / Polar weather on Jupiter and Saturn hints at the planets' interior details

Over the years, passing spacecraft have observed mystifying weather patterns at the poles of Jupiter and Saturn. The two planets host very different types of polar vortices, which are huge atmospheric whirlpools that rotate ...

Jan 19, 2026 in Astronomy & Space
Phys.org / Golden Gate method enables fully-synthetic engineering of therapeutically relevant bacteriophages

Bacteriophages have been used therapeutically to treat infectious bacterial diseases for over a century. As antibiotic-resistant infections increasingly threaten public health, interest in bacteriophages as therapeutics has ...

Jan 19, 2026 in Biology
Phys.org / Meadows reveal unexpected monotony in insect biodiversity study

According to a new study by the University of Würzburg, Bavarian meadows are the most monotonous insect habitats. Surprisingly, fields and settlements often offer more diversity than grassland.

Jan 22, 2026 in Biology
Phys.org / Grains of sand prove people—not glaciers—transported Stonehenge rocks

Ask people how Stonehenge was built and you'll hear stories of sledges, ropes, boats and sheer human determination to haul stones from across Britain to Salisbury Plain, in south-west England. Others might mention giants, ...

Jan 21, 2026 in Earth
Phys.org / Experiment clarifies cosmic origin of rare proton-rich isotope selenium-74

Researchers have reported new experimental results addressing the origin of rare proton-rich isotopes heavier than iron, called p-nuclei. Led by Artemis Tsantiri, then-graduate student at the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams ...

Jan 22, 2026 in Physics
Phys.org / Mining genomes for cyst nematode resistance could enable better soybean harvests

Soybean farmers around the world face a persistent and costly enemy hidden beneath the soil: soybean cyst nematode (SCN), a microscopic roundworm that attacks plant roots and drains yields. SCN is one of the most damaging ...

Jan 24, 2026 in Biology