Phys.org news
Phys.org / Japanese scientists discover how falling cats almost always make perfect landings
When cats fall, they usually land on their feet. This uncanny ability to right themselves before hitting the ground has long puzzled scientists. Now, a team from Yamaguchi University in Japan has the answer, and it's all ...
Phys.org / Ultrafast computing: Light-driven logic tops 10 terahertz in WS₂
The future for our computers will literally be at the speed of light. Extremely short light pulses can perform ultrafast logical operations: these are the findings of a study recently published in the journal Nature Photonics. ...
Phys.org / New African species confirms evolutionary origin of magic mushrooms
A long-standing debate about the evolutionary origin of the world's most widely cultivated "magic mushroom"—Psilocybe cubensis—may now have been settled by scientists from southern Africa and the United States.
Phys.org / Could ultrasound help save hedgehogs?
Researchers at the University of Oxford have suggested that ultrasound-repellers could help reduce hedgehog deaths caused by cars. The proposal is based on new findings, published in Biology Letters, which demonstrate for ...
Phys.org / New exoplanet survey method finds high rates of closely orbiting planets
Up until now, exoplanet surveys have mostly focused on nearby, bright stars that are sun-like or are red dwarfs, which are known to frequently host planets. While astronomers have discovered thousands of planets this way, ...
Phys.org / Hybrid synthetic strategy unlocks previously unattainable molecular architectures
The molecular-scale design of materials is one of the major frontiers in modern science. Flat, highly conjugated organic molecules are already used in advanced technologies such as chemical sensors, optoelectronic devices, ...
Phys.org / Antarctica undergoes 'Greenlandification' as ice melt accelerates
An article published recently in Nature Geoscience warns that Antarctica's ice masses have begun to experience a process scientists call "Greenlandification." The term refers to the unprecedented retreat of Greenland's outlet ...
Phys.org / Unexpected magnetic response in gold and silver atomic contacts contradicts previous theoretical predictions
Researchers from the Department of Physics and the University Institute of Materials at the University of Alicante (UA) and the Low Temperature and High Magnetic Field Laboratory at the Autonomous University of Madrid (UAM) ...
Phys.org / Scientists document Europe's first Jurassic lizard trackways in Asturias
The article presenting the research results was published online at the end of February in the journal Ichnos. The study focuses on two trackways (T1 and T2) preserved as convex hyporeliefs on the underside of a Late Jurassic ...
Phys.org / Chemical shifts help track molecules breaking apart in real time
When molecules fall apart, their electric charge doesn't stay put—it rearranges as bonds stretch and break. An international team of scientists has now tracked these ultrafast changes in the small molecule fluoromethane ...
Phys.org / Glacial lakes in Alaska are expanding rapidly and could quadruple in size
Alaska's glacial lakes are growing faster than in previous decades. They expanded by more than 150 square kilometers between 2018 and 2024, and could eventually grow to more than four times their current size as glaciers ...
Phys.org / Mining the dark transcriptome: Synthesizing the first potential drug molecules from long noncoding RNA
A team from University of Toronto Engineering is the first to synthesize long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) outside the cell—a new approach to drug discovery that has already yielded some promising anti-inflammatory molecules. ...