Phys.org news

Phys.org / Saturday Citations: Cetacean conversations and cataclysmic decimations

We had a particularly great week for new research findings, in my opinion. I mean, stories like a 2% improvement in a chemical catalyst are important, sure. There are people out there in lab coats who will click on them. ...

Feb 8, 2025 in Other Sciences
Phys.org / An Arctic meltdown is accelerating global warming: How will we adapt?

In 2016, nearly 200 world leaders pledged to do everything possible to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. Since then, policymakers across the globe have designed countless laws around the assumption that warming ...

Feb 7, 2025 in Earth
Phys.org / Astronomers find dark matter dominating in early universe galaxies

An international team of researchers has found dark matter dominating the halos of two supermassive black holes in galaxies roughly 13 billion light years away. Their study, published in The Astrophysical Journal, gives new ...

Feb 7, 2025 in Astronomy & Space
Phys.org / Scientists produce first complete genome of a banana slug

Scientists at UC Santa Cruz have completed the first end-to-end genome of the iconic Pacific banana slug, a species synonymous with California's coastal redwood forests and the university's beloved mascot.

Feb 7, 2025 in Biology
Phys.org / Enhanced weathering could transform US agriculture for atmospheric CO₂ removal

A new study reveals that implementing enhanced weathering (EW), the practice of adding crushed basalt to soils, with U.S. agriculture could remove between 160 and 300 million metric tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere ...

Feb 7, 2025 in Earth
Phys.org / Simulating particle creation in an expanding universe using quantum computers

A new study published in Scientific Reports simulates particle creation in an expanding universe using IBM quantum computers, demonstrating the digital quantum simulation of quantum field theory for curved spacetime (QFTCS).

Feb 7, 2025 in Physics
Phys.org / Minecraft players can now explore whole cells and their contents

Scientists have translated nanoscale experimental and computational data into precise 3D representations of bacteria, yeast and human epithelial, breast and breast cancer cells in Minecraft, a video game that allows players ...

Feb 7, 2025 in Biology
Phys.org / AI-driven dialogue analysis confirms popular movies have grown more violent over the past 70 years

Movies often reflect the predominant societal and cultural values at the time they were shot. These values can be expressed in various elements of a film, including the interactions between characters, their communication ...

Feb 7, 2025 in Other Sciences
Phys.org / Heavy metal toxicity found in Chinese port poses risk to seafood safety

Heavy metals naturally occur in the Earth's crust, but human activities can increase their concentration in the environment, including domestic sewage and waste disposal, fumes from vehicle exhausts, fertilizer runoff, mining ...

Feb 7, 2025 in Earth
Phys.org / Genetic study sheds light on changes that shaped human brain evolution

A new Yale study provides a fuller picture of the genetic changes that shaped the evolution of the human brain, and how the process differed from the evolution of chimpanzees.

Feb 7, 2025 in Biology
Phys.org / New DNA research examines predecessors of Red Lady of El Mirón

About 19,000 years ago, a woman from a group of hunter-gatherers died and was buried in a cave in northern Spain. In 1996, archaeologists started exploring the cave, finding abundant evidence of prehistoric people and their ...

Feb 7, 2025 in Other Sciences
Phys.org / Genetic study shows London's underground mosquitoes evolved from Egyptian species

A large international team of researchers has discovered that the mosquitoes that live in London's underground subway evolved from a Middle Eastern species over thousands of years. In their paper posted on the bioRxiv preprint ...

Feb 7, 2025 in Biology