Phys.org news
Phys.org / Ancient Maya game board with unique mosaic design discovered in Guatemala
Centuries before Monopoly, there was Patolli, a high-stakes Mesoamerican game of strategy and luck where players wagered crops and wealth as they raced their opponents around a cross-shaped board.
Phys.org / Quantum ground states: Scalable counterdiabatic driving technique enables reliable and rapid preparation
Quantum ground states are the states at which quantum systems have the minimum possible energy. Quantum computers are increasingly being used to analyze the ground states of interesting systems, which could in turn inform ...
Dialog / Hydrogenases spill the beans: Key catalytic moves revealed
Hydrogenases catalyze the reversible splitting and production of hydrogen gas (H2), using complex catalytic cofactors comprising Earth-abundant nickel and/or iron ions. These enzymes, especially the [NiFe]-hydrogenases (fig. ...
Phys.org / Neanderthal women and children were the victims of selective cannibalism at Goyet, study reveals
The study of an assemblage of Neanderthal human bones discovered in the Troisième caverne of Goyet (Belgium) has brought to light selective cannibalistic behavior primarily targeting female adults and children between 41,000 ...
Phys.org / Tea leaf experiments suggest tropical forests may better withstand climate change
Researchers at Northern Arizona University and the Smithsonian found an unconventional method to understand how rainforests will survive with climate change—making tea with living leaves at the top of the rainforest canopy.
Phys.org / Scientists track recent solar flare disruptions in Earth's ionosphere
As this month's string of powerful X-class solar flares sparked brilliant auroras that lit up skies across an unusually wide swath of the globe—from northern Europe to Florida—researchers at NJIT's Center for Solar-Terrestrial ...
Phys.org / When trade routes shift, so do clouds: Researchers uncover ripple effects of new global shipping regulations
When militia attacks disrupted shipping lanes in the Red Sea, few imagined the ripple effects would reach the clouds over the South Atlantic. But for Florida State University atmospheric scientist Michael Diamond, the rerouting ...
Phys.org / Metasurfaces etched into 2D crystals boost nonlinear optical effects at nanoscale
In January, a team led by Jim Schuck, professor of mechanical engineering at Columbia Engineering, developed a method for creating entangled photon pairs, a critical component of emerging quantum technologies, using a crystalline ...
Phys.org / When gifts sting: Self-improvement presents may spark backlash and bad reviews
New research from FIU Business shows that well-intended presents like weight-loss teas or gym memberships can unintentionally send the wrong message—and ultimately trigger negative online reviews that hurt brands.
Phys.org / Lab-grown diamond coatings shown to prevent mineral scale in industrial pipes
In industrial pipes, mineral deposits build up the way limescale collects inside a kettle ⎯ only on a far larger and more expensive scale. Mineral scaling is a major issue in water and energy systems, where it slows flow, ...
Phys.org / Info to decipher secret message in Kryptos sculpture at CIA headquarters sells for close to $1M
The information needed to decipher the last remaining unsolved secret message embedded within a sculpture at CIA headquarters in Virginia sold at auction for nearly $1 million, the auction house announced Friday.
Phys.org / Potentially distinct structure in Kuiper belt discovered with help of clustering algorithm
A vast region of our solar system, called the Kuiper belt, stretches from the orbit of Neptune out to 50 or so astronomical units (AU), where an AU is the distance between Earth and the sun. This region consists mostly of ...
