Phys.org news

Phys.org / Cracking the code of why and when some choose to 'self-handicap'

Partying the night before a big exam. Preparing last-minute for a work presentation. Running a 5K in a 10-pound Halloween costume. All are examples of what psychologists call "self-handicapping"—creating obstacles to success ...

Dec 4, 2025 in Other Sciences
Phys.org / A new look at TRAPPIST-1e, an Earth-sized, habitable-zone exoplanet

Of the seven Earth-sized worlds orbiting the red dwarf star TRAPPIST-1, one planet in particular has attracted the attention of scientists. This planet orbits the star within the "Goldilocks zone"—a distance where water ...

Dec 4, 2025 in Astronomy & Space
Phys.org / New massive duck-billed dinosaur species identified

There's a new dinosaur species on the block. An international team, including a biologist from Penn State Lehigh Valley, discovered that a 75-million-year-old fossil classified as a different dinosaur is its own massive, ...

Dec 4, 2025 in Biology
Phys.org / LHC data confirm validity of new model of hadron production—and test foundations of quantum mechanics

A boiling sea of quarks and gluons, including virtual ones—this is how we can imagine the main phase of high-energy proton collisions. It would seem that particles here have significantly more opportunities to evolve than ...

Dec 4, 2025 in Physics
Phys.org / Astrophysicists test a new piece of the sky to probe dark matter and dark energy

In the leading model of cosmology, most of the universe is invisible: a combined 95% is made of dark matter and dark energy. Exactly what these dark components are remains a mystery, but they have a tremendous impact on our ...

Dec 4, 2025 in Astronomy & Space
Phys.org / New study challenges the idea of humans as innately nature-loving

Nature is a source of well-being and recovery for many people. However, research shows that there is also a growing number of individuals who experience negative emotions, such as fear, discomfort, or even disgust, toward ...

Dec 4, 2025 in Earth
Phys.org / Scientists capture first detailed look inside droplet-like structures of compacted DNA

Inside human cells, biology has pulled off the ultimate packing job, figuring out how to fit six feet of DNA into a nucleus about one-tenth as wide as a human hair while making sure the all-important molecules can still function.

Dec 4, 2025 in Biology
Phys.org / Camera traps snap nearly three times more images of endangered Sumatran tigers than before

Destroyed habitats, poaching, and prey depletion have dramatically reduced tiger habitats around the world. Today, tigers occupy just 5–10% of their historical habitats. But on the Indonesian island of Sumatra, an important ...

Dec 4, 2025 in Biology
Phys.org / Lightning channels reveal hidden bursts: Lateral negative re-discharges observed for first time

A new study led by researchers from the Institute of Atmospheric Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) has uncovered the first observational evidence of lateral negative re-discharges occurring on negative leader ...

Dec 4, 2025 in Earth
Phys.org / Nanotyrannus was not a juvenile T. rex, new study confirms

For decades, paleontologists argued over the lone skull used to establish the distinct species Nanotyrannus. Was it truly a separate species or simply a juvenile Tyrannosaurus rex? A new paper published in Science has definitively ...

Dec 4, 2025 in Biology
Phys.org / Magnetism switching in antiferromagnets: Two distinct mechanisms successfully visualized

A research team led by Ryo Shimano of the University of Tokyo has successfully visualized two distinct mechanisms through which up and down spins, inherent properties of electrons, switch in an antiferromagnet, a material ...

Dec 4, 2025 in Physics
Phys.org / How volcanic eruptions set off a chain of events that brought the Black Death to Europe

Clues contained in tree rings have identified mid-14th-century volcanic activity as the first domino to fall in a sequence that led to the devastation of the Black Death in Europe.

Dec 4, 2025 in Earth