Phys.org news

Phys.org / First injured Langobard woman in skeletal record reshapes view of male-only violence

The Langobards are frequently depicted as fierce warrior-like people, with all known archaeological evidence of violence restricted to men. However, nearly 1,400 years ago, a Langobard woman took two severe injuries to the ...

8 hours ago
Phys.org / Mathematician solves origami donut efficiency challenge with fewest folds

Most people wouldn't think that it would take rigorous mathematical proof to show how many folds it takes to make a donut shape out of paper. Yet, no one could quite figure it out until recently.

14 hours ago
Phys.org / One of our planets may be missing, and it could explain why the solar system looks the way it does

Our solar system has two ice giants, Uranus and Neptune, but there may have been a third. According to a new study published in the journal Icarus, this extra world might have triggered a violent planetary shuffling billions ...

17 hours ago
Phys.org / Tiny-armed alvarezsauroid dinosaurs might have been insect eaters, fossil scans suggest

Dinosaurs are estimated to have roamed Earth for over 165 million years, gradually evolving over time to survive in changing environments. Among the many fascinating groups of dinosaurs known to have lived on our planet are ...

14 hours ago
Phys.org / Textile wastewater treatment generates alarmingly high levels of toxic compounds, study reveals

Textile wastewater treatment practices inadvertently produce toxic byproducts—including chloroform and bromoform—at alarming levels that pose a clear occupational health hazard and lead to unknown environmental effects downstream, ...

8 hours ago
Phys.org / Two decades of data show that climate change is transforming Biscayne Bay to be warmer, saltier and more acidic

Climate change and sea level rise are altering the chemistry of Biscayne Bay in ways that could threaten South Florida's coastal ecosystems, water resources, fisheries, and recreation, according to a study led by scientists ...

8 hours ago
Phys.org / Atlantic 'cold blob' may be reshaping Indian monsoon, steering rain northwest

The Indian monsoon has shifted over the past quarter century. Northwest India now receives substantially more rain than it once did, while a lack of rain sends the Indo-Gangetic Plain toward drought.

13 hours ago
Phys.org / A giant star may have destroyed itself in one of the universe's rarest explosions

Astronomers may have discovered one of the clearest examples yet of a rare "pair-instability" supernova. It is a catastrophic explosion thought to completely destroy some of the most massive stars in the universe, leaving ...

21 hours ago
Phys.org / Nanoengineered materials can store and release hydrogen at room temperature

Energy engineers worldwide are working on various new technologies that could help to limit greenhouse gas emissions on Earth and address climate change. One proposed alternative to polluting fossil fuels, such as petrol, ...

19 hours ago
Phys.org / RNA 'cut-and-patch' tool repairs faulty messages without altering DNA

A research team from the School of Biomedical Sciences at the LKS Faculty of Medicine, the University of Hong Kong (HKUMed), has achieved a significant advance in biotechnology that could revolutionize treatment strategies ...

9 hours ago
Phys.org / Low-cost method uncovers conical intersections that steer light-driven molecular reactions

Conical intersections are crucial molecular switching points in light-driven reactions, but accurately predicting them usually requires computations. A researcher from Shibaura Institute of Technology has developed a new ...

9 hours ago
Phys.org / Thirty years at El Mirón cave uncover 40,000 years of Iberian prehistory

For the past three decades, a team of archaeologists have been uncovering some of the field's most recent monumental discoveries, relying on gut instinct, persistent hard work, and cutting-edge methods and technologies.

13 hours ago