Phys.org news
Phys.org / Buried in Sudan's desert, 280 vast stone circles reveal a vanished cattle-herding culture
Recent satellite remote sensing surveys have identified 280 stone structures spread across the Atbai desert in Sudan. Twenty of these structures were previously identified by fieldwork or informal surveys, but were not systematically ...
Phys.org / New alien-life test could help Mars and Europa missions read organic molecules
For decades, the search for life beyond Earth has revolved around a key question: What molecules should scientists be looking for on other planets or moons? A new study, published in Nature Astronomy, suggests that the more ...
Phys.org / Resilient quantum sensor monitors Earth's magnetic field from space for 10 months
From navigation to solar weather forecasting, many different areas of research require space-based sensors to measure Earth's magnetic field as accurately as possible at any given moment. So far, however, existing sensors ...
Phys.org / When uncertainty spikes, chasing rewards backfires and a more informed strategy pulls ahead
Humans and other animals are constantly required to make decisions under uncertain conditions or while in rapidly changing environments. Past psychology and biology studies showed that some decision-making strategies can ...
Phys.org / How a single star can reshape an entire galaxy
Astronomers who simulate galaxies do not always get the same result, even when they start from identical conditions. New research from Leiden University shows that this is not a flaw, but a consequence of how galaxies behave—and ...
Phys.org / Deep beneath Swiss Alps, researchers trigger 8,000 tiny quakes in controlled test
Researchers have made the ground shake in southern Switzerland, triggering thousands of tiny earthquakes in a monitored setting, as they seek to discover seismicity insights that could reduce risks.
Phys.org / Heat index maps uncover when city greening cools most—and when it can backfire
Tree shade is one of the fastest ways to make heat more bearable. It cuts direct sunlight, protects people walking or working outdoors, and remains essential for heat action plans. A new study by researchers from the Indian ...
Phys.org / Shark face study uncovers 400-million-year-old blueprint shared across jawed vertebrates
Most of what scientists know about face development comes from studies in bony vertebrates such as mice, chickens, and zebrafish. However, their evolutionary counterparts, cartilaginous fishes, have remained largely unexplored. ...
Phys.org / Metagenomics and AI could unlock uncultivated bacteria and archaea
Advances in DNA sequencing have expanded our view of the microbial world, but the inability to cultivate most microbes has been a major constraint. Now, a systematic, predictive framework that combines existing genomic and ...
Phys.org / Hubble survey sets up Roman's future look near Milky Way's center
The Milky Way's galactic bulge, the bulbous region that surrounds the galactic center, contains a dense collection of stars, planets, and other free-floating objects. This region has been studied for decades with numerous ...
Phys.org / Brazilian microfossils interpreted as animal traces are actually algae and bacteria, research reveals
A reexamination of microfossils found in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso do Sul shows that the marks previously interpreted as traces of worms or other small oceanic animals are actually communities of fossilized microscopic ...
Phys.org / Advanced construction techniques and domestic layouts discovered in Roman-Byzantine villages of Syria
Having weathered nearly 1,500 years of time and exposure, the remains of Roman-Byzantine villages in Syria have been the subject of recent architectural investigations, which reveal remarkable design features, local construction ...