Phys.org news
Phys.org / Universal patterns emerge across 22 languages, mapping how vocabularies evolve
Human languages are known to have grown and changed considerably over the course of history, often reflecting technological, cultural, and societal shifts. Studying the evolution of languages can thus offer valuable insight ...
Phys.org / Two blazing quasars caught waltzing into a merger
Astronomers, using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), have confirmed the existence of a close quasar pair housed in a pair of merging galaxies seen when the universe was less than a billion years old, ...
Phys.org / AI-enhanced microscopy produces crisp, real-time video inside live cells
Using artificial intelligence, engineers at the University of California San Diego have developed a new way to watch the inner workings of living cells in real time. The process both captures images that are twice as sharp ...
Phys.org / Deep under Antarctic ice, a long-predicted cosmic whisper finally breaks through in 13 strange bursts
A detector buried deep in Antarctic ice has captured the first experimental evidence of a predicted but never-before-seen phenomenon: radio pulses generated when high-energy cosmic rays slam into the ice sheet and trigger ...
Phys.org / Why did Clovis toolmakers choose difficult quartz crystal? New study offers clues
Quartz crystals are difficult to knap due to size, hardness, and crystalline structure, making them a "low-quality" raw material. However, the Clovis people of North America sometimes made points and other tools from this ...
Phys.org / Can warning videos blunt misinformation? What a 12-country test found
The internet and social media platforms have given rise to a rising wave of misinformation, with many users now posting fake news, AI-generated photos or videos and other types of misleading content online. Over the past ...
Phys.org / This new tool makes AI's role in student writing visible
Generative artificial intelligence (AI) has transformed college writing. As paper drafts are increasingly co-written with AI, professors are left wondering not whether students are using AI, but how. A 2025 AI in Education ...
Phys.org / Extreme stability in ultrafast nanomagnetism aids the development of faster data storage
For the first time, researchers have mapped how the boundaries of magnetic nanostructures behave on extremely short timescales. The work of physicist Johan Mentink of Radboud University shows that these boundaries are much ...
Phys.org / The threat of light pollution puts the world's darkest skies in the Atacama Desert at risk
It takes a moment for the eyes to adjust. A faint spark appears in the darkness; then another, brighter one. Soon, stars, planets and entire constellations emerge. Before long, a whole galaxy stretches across the sky, visible ...
Phys.org / Studying the emergence of leaders in moving crowds of pedestrians
When humans are moving as a crowd, their movements tend to be highly coordinated, similarly to the collective motions of bird flocks or other groups of animals. These group behaviors can limit collisions in dynamic environments, ...
Phys.org / More activity means less response in active materials
For some time, researchers have assumed that solid materials could gain more useful properties by making their microscopic components more active. Now, a team led by Jack Binysh at the University of Amsterdam has found that ...
Phys.org / Before dinosaurs vanished, a hamster-sized mammal was already shaping what survived next on the Pacific Coast
Mammals and dinosaurs coexisted on Earth until a catastrophic event 66 million years ago killed 75% of life on the planet. Despite the devastation, some animals survived, including rodent-like mammals in the Cimolodon genus. ...
