Phys.org news

For years, researchers have puzzled over how the ancient people of Rapa Nui did the seemingly impossible and moved their iconic moai statues. Using a combination of physics, 3D modeling and on-the-ground experiments, a team ...

For millions of years, a fragment of ice and dust drifted between the stars—like a sealed bottle cast into the cosmic ocean. This summer, that bottle finally washed ashore in our solar system and was designated 3I/ATLAS, ...

A new species of spider was recently discovered near a forested area in Nong Rong, Phanom Thuan, Kanchanaburi, in western Thailand. The spiders were presented to researchers at the Chulalongkorn University Museum of Natural ...

A new discovery about how cutting onions ejects pungent aerosols up to two-thirds of a meter into the air has led to practical advice for reducing the spray: Cut onions slowly with a sharpened blade or coat an onion in oil ...

Abdominal pain is a hallmark of many digestive disorders, including inflammatory bowel disease and irritable bowel syndrome. In an effort to develop targeted treatments for gut pain, scientists have discovered a new enzyme ...

Cellular membrane proteins play many important roles throughout the body, including transporting substances in and out of the cell, transmitting signals, speeding up reactions and helping neighboring cells stick together. ...

In the hunt for extraterrestrial life, we usually look for planets orbiting sun-like stars and icy moons. But there is another possible candidate—planets circling white dwarfs, the hot, dense remnants of dead stars.

A new study has challenged a popular explanation for the unexpected 30-second shortening of Dimorphos's orbital period. The researchers found that the proposed mechanism would actually produce the opposite effect, given the ...

Public water systems in the U.S. were far less likely to report suspiciously rounded lead levels after the Flint, Michigan water crisis drew national outrage and federal scrutiny, according to new research led by the University ...

The Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) is Earth's largest oceanic current, circling around Antarctica from west to east in alignment with Earth's rotation. This cold ocean current is driven primarily by the westerly wind ...

Rice University researchers, in collaboration with international partners, have developed the first eco-friendly technology to rapidly capture and destroy toxic "forever chemicals" (PFAS) in water. The findings, recently ...

We have all been in that situation: The moving boxes are large and heavy, but we are determined to carry them all in one trip, even if that means we can't see where we're going. In the tropics, some leafcutter ants face a ...