Phys.org news

Phys.org / First carbon-enhanced metal-poor stars discovered in Milky Way's companion

Using the Baryons Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (BOSS) spectrograph, astronomers have discovered five new carbon-enhanced metal-poor stars in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC). This is the first time such stars have been ...

30 minutes ago in Astronomy & Space
Phys.org / Shipping regulations to reduce pollution may have exacerbated Great Barrier Reef bleaching

Rising ocean temperatures have been implicated in mass coral bleaching events affecting the Great Barrier Reef (GBR). These events have been increasingly frequent, with major events occurring in 2016, 2017, 2020, 2022, 2024, ...

40 minutes ago in Earth
Phys.org / Shrubs curb carbon emissions in China's largest desert, decades-long experiment shows

An experiment in western China over the past four decades shows that it is possible to tame the expansion of desert lands with greenery, and, in the process, pull excess carbon dioxide out of the sky.

1 hour ago in Earth
Phys.org / Hibernating hamsters maintain muscle cells by suppressing muscle regeneration, study shows

Skeletal muscle stem cells in hibernating Syrian hamsters preserve their ability to function by suppressing their activation during the hibernation period, a research team led by Hiroshima University has shown. This insight ...

1 hour ago in Biology
Phys.org / Saltier seas in spring double the chance of extreme El Niño events, study finds

Stronger El Niño events are more likely when springtime surface waters in the western Pacific Ocean become unusually salty, a new study in Geophysical Research Letters suggests. Traditionally, scientists have focused on ...

2 hours ago in Earth
Phys.org / To reach net-zero, reverse current policy and protect the largest trees in the Amazon, say scientists

At the United Nations Climate Change Conference in 2015, countries around the world committed to striving towards net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by the middle of the 21st century. But achieving this goal is difficult, ...

10 hours ago in Earth
Phys.org / Breakthrough laser technique holds quantum matter in stable packets

For the first time, physicists have generated and observed stable bright matter-wave solitons with attractive interactions within a grid of laser light.

21 hours ago in Physics
Phys.org / South African San rock art reveals trance dances and initiation ceremonies

In a study published in Telestes, Dr. Joshua Kumbani and Dr. Margarita Díaz-Andreu categorized the various dance scenes depicted in South African rock art, drawing on ethnographic sources, published studies, and the comprehensive ...

21 hours ago in Other Sciences
Phys.org / Superconducting nanowire memory array achieves significantly lower error rate

Quantum computers, systems that process information leveraging quantum mechanical effects, will require faster and energy-efficient memory components, which will allow them to perform well on complex tasks. Superconducting ...

22 hours ago in Physics
Phys.org / Innovative catalyst enables CO₂-free production of hydrogen and formate from waste byproduct glycerol

Researchers at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) have developed a method that gives access to the valuable raw materials formate and hydrogen from the waste product glycerol. Formates are the salts of formic acid ...

18 hours ago in Chemistry
Phys.org / Bacteria use wrapping flagella to tunnel through microscopic passages, research reveals

Researchers have discovered how bacteria break through spaces barely larger than themselves, by wrapping their flagella around their bodies and moving forward. Using a microfluidic device that mimics insect gut channels, ...

21 hours ago in Biology
Phys.org / A new look at trends in human deaths due to climate extremes

A new study of climate extremes since 1988 finds that many regions have seen increases in deaths due to floods, storms and extreme temperatures. In human terms, the harm comes not just from deaths, but also from lost labor ...

Jan 25, 2026 in Earth