Phys.org news

Phys.org / Rydberg atoms detect clear signals from a handheld radio

For the first time, a team of US researchers has used sensors containing highly excited Rydberg atoms to detect signals from an ordinary handheld radio. Through a careful approach to demodulating the incoming signals, Noah ...

12 minutes ago in Physics
Phys.org / Endangered giant clam feeding strategies could determine species' future survival

Giant clams (Tridacna gigas), members of the family Tridacnidae and among the most striking inhabitants of tropical coral reefs, are being driven toward extinction. Over-harvesting for jewelry, the aquarium trade, and food, ...

52 minutes ago in Biology
Phys.org / PFOS 'forever chemical' can accumulate in bees—and their honey

A study published in the journal Environmental Science & Technology has revealed the toxic "forever chemical," PFOS, can accumulate in exposed honeybee colonies and transfer to their honey, threatening pollinator viability, ...

32 minutes ago in Earth
Phys.org / Energy loss triggers quantum thermal Hall-like effect at macroscopic scale

In many quantum materials—materials with unusual electrical and magnetic properties driven by quantum mechanical effects—electrons can organize themselves into Landau levels. Landau levels are essentially quantized energy ...

1 hour ago in Physics
Phys.org / Human activity is influencing the behavior of Germany's wildcats

A research team led by Dr. Chris Baumann and Dr. Dorothée Drucker from the Senckenberg Center for Human Evolution and Paleoenvironment at the University of Tübingen has found that the European wildcat is increasingly using ...

1 hour ago in Biology
Phys.org / Russian astronomers observe the eruptive behavior of a young star

Russian astronomers from Moscow State University have performed photometric, polarimetric, and spectroscopic observations of a young star designated IRAS 21204+4913. Results of the new observations, which were published February ...

2 hours ago in Astronomy & Space
Phys.org / Ancient mosquitoes developed a taste for early hominins, research reveals

The preference of some mosquitoes in the Anopheles leucosphyrus (Leucosphyrus) group—including those that transmit malaria—for feeding on humans may have evolved in response to the arrival of early hominins in Southeast ...

1 hour ago in Biology
Phys.org / How oxygen enriched Earth's atmosphere 2.5 billion years ago

Cyanobacteria, as they still exist today, were the first organisms to carry out photosynthesis and release oxygen. Produced in primeval oceans about 2.5 billion years ago, this oxygen accumulated in Earth's atmosphere on ...

2 hours ago in Earth
Phys.org / Tackling industry's burdensome bubble problem

In industrial plants around the world, tiny bubbles cause big problems. Bubbles clog filters, disrupt chemical reactions, reduce throughput during biomanufacturing, and can even cause overheating in electronics and nuclear ...

2 hours ago in Physics
Phys.org / Will melting glaciers slow climate change? A prevailing theory is on shaky ground

For scientists who study the Southern Ocean, a long-standing silver lining in the gloomy forecast of climate change has been the theory of iron fertilization. As temperatures rise and glaciers in Antarctica melt, ice-trapped ...

7 hours ago in Earth
Phys.org / Peanut waste can be turned into high-quality futuristic graphene

Researchers at UNSW have discovered a new way to make graphene, a remarkable "wonder material," using just discarded peanut shells. The development opens the door to cheaper, more sustainable electronics and energy storage ...

3 hours ago in Nanotechnology
Phys.org / Scientists identify ARK1 protein that stops malaria parasite growth

An international team of scientists has shed light on the development of the malaria parasite and has identified a unique protein essential for its survival and transmission, which offers a promising new target for antimalaria ...

7 hours ago in Biology