Phys.org news

Dialog / Voodoo economics: How wildlife trade for ritual use is wiping out Africa's vultures

For some people, the mention of voodoo evokes something like a scene from the James Bond novel "Live and Let Die," featuring occult ceremonies with snakes and animal sacrifice. Animal sacrifice was widespread among human ...

Nov 25, 2025 in Biology
Phys.org / Unique aquatic plant has three concurrent CO₂-concentrating mechanisms

A new study led by the Wuhan Botanical Garden of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (WBG, CAS) has identified a unique trait in the aquatic plant Ottelia alismoides—it can simultaneously employ three distinct CO₂-concentrating ...

Nov 25, 2025 in Biology
Phys.org / Urban fringe areas show great potential for forest restoration

A study conducted at the University of São Paulo (USP) by researchers from the Nucleus of Analysis and Synthesis of Nature-Based Solutions (BIOTA Synthesis), a FAPESP Science Center for Development (SCD), identified approximately ...

Nov 25, 2025 in Biology
Phys.org / Examining why some species developed consciousness while others remained non-conscious

What is the evolutionary advantage of our consciousness? And what can we learn about this from observing birds? Researchers at Ruhr University Bochum published two articles on this topic.

Nov 24, 2025 in Biology
Phys.org / Endings and beginnings: Atacama Cosmology Telescope releases its final data, shaping the future of cosmology

There's always a touch of melancholy when a chapter that has absorbed years of work comes to an end. In the case of the Atacama Cosmology Telescope (ACT), those years amount to nearly 20—and now the telescope has completed ...

Nov 24, 2025 in Astronomy & Space
Phys.org / Polar ice melt offers unexpected solution to a global climate disaster

The Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC), a system of Atlantic Ocean currents that redistributes heat and nutrients between the tropics and the North Atlantic, is one of the planet's tipping points. That means ...

Nov 24, 2025 in Earth
Phys.org / Quantum photonic chip integrates light-emitting molecules with single-mode waveguides

Photonic quantum processors, devices that can process information leveraging quantum mechanical effects and particles of light (photons), have shown promise for numerous applications, ranging from computations and communications ...

Nov 24, 2025 in Physics
Phys.org / Second exoplanet discovered in the TOI-1422 system

European astronomers report the discovery of a second alien world in the TOI-1422 planetary system located some 500 light years away. The newfound exoplanet, which received designation TOI-1422 c, is nearly three times larger ...

Nov 24, 2025 in Astronomy & Space
Phys.org / Higher resolution climate models show 41% increase in daily extreme land precipitation by 2100

Despite continuous efforts to evaluate and predict changes in Earth's climate, most models still struggle to accurately simulate extreme precipitation events. Models like the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phases 5 ...

Nov 24, 2025 in Earth
Phys.org / Endangered lemurs face new threat from the luxury meat trade

Lemurs, the small primates with bushy tails and large, expressive eyes, are among the world's most endangered species. According to the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) Red List, of the 112 species of ...

Nov 24, 2025 in Biology
Phys.org / Cooperative mammals show lower cancer rates than solitary, competitive species

Cancer is a common disease among mammals, but some species, such as the naked mole rat and elephants, have evolved resistance. According to new research published in the journal Science Advances, this may be because these ...

Nov 24, 2025 in Biology
Phys.org / Ancient wolves on remote Baltic Sea island reveal link to prehistoric humans

Scientists have found wolf remains, thousands of years old, on a small, isolated island in the Baltic Sea—a place where the animals could only have been brought by humans.

Nov 24, 2025 in Biology