Phys.org news

Phys.org / Tiny new dinosaur Foskeia pelendonum fills in an evolutionary gap

An international team has described Foskeia pelendonum, a tiny Early Cretaceous ornithopod from Vegagete (Burgos, Spain), measuring barely half a meter long. Led by Paul-Emile Dieudonné (National University of Río Negro, ...

1 hour ago in Biology
Phys.org / Signaling output genes shed light on evolutionary crossroads of vertebrates

New research from the University of St Andrews has discovered a crucial piece in the puzzle of how all animals with a spine—including all mammals, fish, reptiles and amphibians—evolved. In a paper published in BMC Biology, ...

6 hours ago in Biology
Phys.org / Imaging the Wigner crystal state in a new type of quantum material

In some solid materials under specific conditions, mutual Coulomb interactions shape electrons into many-body correlated states, such as Wigner crystals, which are essentially solids made of electrons. So far, the Wigner ...

15 hours ago in Physics
Phys.org / Two rare 5th millennium BC fetal burials in Iran reveal variable prehistoric practices

In a study conducted by Dr. Mahdi Alirezazadeh and Dr. Hanan Bahranipoor, published in Archaeological Research in Asia, two exceptionally well-preserved fetal burials from Chaparabad, Iran, dating to the mid-5th millennium ...

14 hours ago in Other Sciences
Phys.org / Tropical weather cycles linked to faster Arctic ice loss in autumn

When it comes to global warming and climate change, we often hear news stories about tipping points where Earth's systems shift into a new and dangerous state. One such may have been reached in the year 2000 that caused tropical ...

14 hours ago in Earth
Phys.org / How topological surfaces boost clean energy catalysts

The oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) is a key process in fuel cells and metal-air batteries, technologies expected to play a central role in a low-carbon energy future. However, ORR proceeds slowly on most materials, limiting ...

11 hours ago in Chemistry
Phys.org / Plastic pollution promotes hazardous water conditions, new study finds

Dangerous concentrations of algae such as "red tides" have been consistently emerging in locations around the world. A region in Southern Australia is experiencing a nine-month toxic algae bloom that spans thousands of miles ...

14 hours ago in Earth
Phys.org / Hard-to-synthesize materials revived using AI: An LLM-based materials redesign technology

A research team led by Prof. Yousung Jung of the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering at Seoul National University (SNU) has developed an innovative AI-based technology that uses large language models (LLMs) ...

12 hours ago in Chemistry
Phys.org / Strategic tree planting could help Canada become carbon neutral by mid-century

A new study finds that Canada could remove at least five times its annual carbon emissions with strategic planting of more than six million trees along the northern edge of the boreal forest. The paper, "Substantial carbon ...

15 hours ago in Earth
Phys.org / How AI and new sensing tools are reshaping collective animal behavior research

A perspective in the Journal of the Royal Society Interface argues that advances in AI, sensing technologies and modeling are transforming the study of collective animal behavior, with implications reaching far beyond biology, ...

13 hours ago in Biology
Phys.org / Multi-agent AI and robots automate materials discovery in closed-loop lab system

Traditional processes used to discover new materials are complex, time-consuming, and costly, often requiring years of sustained effort. Recent advances in large language models (LLMs) have demonstrated powerful capabilities ...

17 hours ago in Chemistry
Phys.org / NASA begins a practice countdown for its first moonshot with astronauts in more than 50 years

NASA began a two-day practice countdown Saturday leading up to the fueling of its new moon rocket, a crucial test that will determine when four astronauts blast off on a lunar flyby.

16 hours ago in Astronomy & Space