Phys.org news
Phys.org / No great equalizer: Young laborers were hit hardest by early modern plague
A multidisciplinary archaeological team has examined plague burials from a 17th-century monastery turned hospital in Basel, Switzerland, shedding light on how social status impacted plague mortality in Early Modern Europe. ...
Phys.org / Whales go quiet during noisy underwater surveys
A new study has shown that whale calls are reduced by as much as 50% in response to seismic surveys, which are commonly used to find oil and gas reserves. Researchers are worried that such surveys could impact vulnerable ...
Phys.org / A 'blob' in a tank is helping scientists tease out the secrets of turbulence
In a tank on the bottom floor of a University of Chicago research laboratory, scientists summon "The Blob" into existence by firing water jets to create an artfully choreographed series of rings.
Phys.org / Bats on a break: Tracking the secret life of pond bats
What do bats do at night when they're not hunting? Using tiny GPS trackers, Leiden researchers discovered that pond bats spend a substantial portion of the night resting—often outdoors. This surprising insight could change ...
Phys.org / Self-interacting dark matter may solve three cosmic puzzles
A study led by UC Riverside physicist Hai-Bo Yu suggests that a new type of dark matter could explain three astrophysical puzzles across vastly different environments. Published in Physical Review Letters, the study proposes ...
Phys.org / Beneath this cemetery, 5.5 million wild bees form a giant underground city vital to spring pollination
To save money, Rachel Fordyce parked her car for free at Ithaca's East Hill Plaza and walked through East Lawn Cemetery to her job as a technician in an entomology lab on Cornell's campus. One spring day in 2022, she walked ...
Phys.org / Space worms! A microscopic crew goes into orbit to support future moon missions
British scientists have launched a crew of microscopic worms to the International Space Station in a pioneering experiment that could help unlock the secrets of long-duration space travel—and support ambitions to reach the ...
Phys.org / In Arizona's desert, tiny ants turn into living hygienists, climbing inside bigger ants' mandibles and cleaning them
Ants are known for many things. They fight, bite and sometimes compete for every crumb. We can now possibly add cleaning services to that list, according to a study published in the journal Ecology and Evolution.
Phys.org / Cracking a 16-year proton mystery as ultra-precise hydrogen measurements confirm a smaller-than-expected core
The simplicity of a hydrogen atom makes it an ideal model for studying atomic structure and interactions. Yet, despite the fact that its simplest form consists of only one proton and one electron, physicists have had a hard ...
Phys.org / 'Ghost tunnels' guide sound waves in one direction while staying invisible to others
Acoustic metamaterials are a fast-evolving family of materials which manipulate sound waves in ever more advanced ways. Now, a team led by Changqing Xu at Nanjing Normal University in China has engineered an acoustic metamaterial, ...
Phys.org / Revived Nubian royal robes shed light on prestige and authority in a lost Christian kingdom
A recent archaeological project has physically reconstructed the ceremonial dress of medieval Nubian royalty and clergy, offering a rare glimpse into how clothing shaped and communicated authority in Christian Nubia. The ...
Phys.org / Powerful imaging pulls lost ocean life from 445-million-year-old stone and exposes a hidden extinction record
New technology has helped a team of scientists uncover more than 20 microscopic fossils, including a species previously unknown to science. The discovery may provide us with fresh insights into the Late Ordovician, one of ...
