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Phys.org / Cosmic curveball: Distant system challenges planet-formation theory
An international team of astronomers has discovered a distant planetary system that challenges long-standing theories of how planets form. Across our galaxy, astronomers routinely observe a characteristic pattern in planetary ...
Tech Xplore / AI and kindness: Are we morally obligated to be kind to Grok?
Would you ever kick your Roomba? Or leave a scathing review of the robot at a Thai restaurant who delivered your green curry? What about sending a mean message to ChatGPT?
Phys.org / A hidden reason inner ear cells die—and what it means for preventing hearing loss
Proteins long known to be essential for hearing have been hiding a talent: they also act as gatekeepers that shuffle fatty molecules across cell membranes. When this newly discovered function goes haywire—due to genetic ...
Phys.org / Living tissues are shaped by self-propelled topological defects, biophysicists find
With a new mathematical model, a team of biophysicists has revealed fresh insights into how biological tissues are shaped by the active motion of structural imperfections known as "topological defects." Published in Physical ...
Phys.org / Can a chatbot be a co-author? AI helps crack a long-stalled gluon amplitude proof
Like many scientists, theoretical physicist Andrew Strominger was unimpressed with early attempts at probing ChatGPT, receiving clever-sounding answers that didn't stand up to scrutiny. So he was skeptical when a talented ...
Phys.org / Symbiotic bacteria in planthoppers break record for smallest non-organelle genome ever found
Many insects rely on heritable bacterial endosymbionts for essential nutrients that they cannot get through their diet. A new study, published in Nature Communications, indicates that the genomes of these symbiotic bacteria ...
Phys.org / Australian sea lion pups learn diving and foraging skills from their mothers
Research from Adelaide University and the South Australian Research and Development Institute (SARDI) has shown for the first time that Australian sea lion pups can learn foraging behavior from their mothers. Social information ...
Phys.org / The persistence of gravitational wave memory
Neutron stars are ultra-dense remnants of massive stars that collapsed after supernova explosions and are made up mostly of subatomic particles with no electric charge (i.e., neutrons). When two neutron stars collide, they ...
Phys.org / The bouba-kiki effect: Baby chicks match sounds to shapes just like humans
When we hear certain sounds, our brains often pair them with specific shapes. For example, most people will associate a sharp-sounding word with a jagged, pointed shape, while a soft, rolling word is linked to something smooth ...
Phys.org / Near-infrared study finds no clear counterpart to mysterious gamma-ray source
Spanish astronomers have conducted a near-infrared study of an ultra-high energy gamma-ray source designated LHAASO J2108+5157. The new study, published February 11 on the arXiv preprint server, tries to unravel the mysterious ...
Phys.org / Are one in 200 men really related to Genghis Khan? Maybe not, according to a new study
In present day Kazakhstan, both local folklore and genetic evidence found buried in royal tombs have shone a light on the region's ties to Genghis Khan and the Mongol Empire. New DNA analysis of ruling elites from the Golden ...
Phys.org / Quantum entanglement could link distant telescopes for sharper images
To capture higher-definition and sharper images of cosmological objects, astronomers sometimes combine the data collected by several telescopes. This approach, known as long-baseline interferometry, entails comparing the ...