Phys.org news

Phys.org / Museum drawer fossil reveals 200-million-year-old crocodile relative with a powerful bite

The fossil record has given us another new prehistoric species, named Eosphorosuchus lacrimosa (from the Greek personification of the morning star—the planet Venus), a member of the group called Crocodylomorpha, which includes ...

Apr 15, 2026
Phys.org / JWST spots methane on a giant exoplanet, but its star may be distorting the signal

Using the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), astronomers from Johns Hopkins University (JHU) and elsewhere have observed a giant exoplanet known as HATS-75 b. Results of the new observations, published April 8 on the arXiv ...

Apr 15, 2026
Phys.org / Sperm whale clicks follow similar rules to human speech

Sperm whales produce powerful clicks to communicate. To our ears, they sound nothing more than a series of repetitive, mechanical taps. But we could be a step closer to understanding some of their complex communication, as ...

Apr 15, 2026
Phys.org / First physical evidence of Peruvian Hairless Dogs at Wari site uncovered in Peru

A study published in the Journal of Anthropological Archaeology combined zooarchaeology with multi-isotopic analysis to reveal the diverse life histories of ancient dogs in the Wari Empire (ca. 600–1050 CE). Not only has ...

Apr 15, 2026
Phys.org / Wasps move in on ant-plant partnership, disrupting a 10‑million‑year mutualism

An international team of scientists from Queen Mary University of London, the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, the Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences and other institutions has uncovered surprising new behavior in ...

Apr 15, 2026
Phys.org / Scientists solve 100-year-old mystery behind rubber that powers modern life

Every time you drive, board a plane or water your lawn, you're relying on a material that has quietly powered modern life for nearly a century—reinforced rubber. It's in car and aircraft tires, industrial seals, medical devices ...

Apr 15, 2026
Phys.org / Quantum-inspired algorithm solves 268 million-site quasicrystal simulation in a heartbeat

Quantum technologies like quantum computers are built from quantum materials. These types of materials exhibit quantum properties when exposed to the right conditions. Curiously, engineers can also trigger quantum behavior ...

Apr 15, 2026
Phys.org / How farming changed us: Ancient DNA reveals natural selection sped up in recent human evolution

A massive study of ancient DNA from nearly 16,000 people across more than 10,000 years in West Eurasia reveals that natural selection has shaped modern human genomes far more than previously thought.

Apr 15, 2026
Phys.org / Next-generation CT scanner reveal new details inside 2,300-year-old Egyptian mummy remains

Egyptian mummy remains were examined at Semmelweis University's Medical Imaging Center (OKK). The archaeological finds arriving from the Semmelweis Museum of Medical History, Hungarian National Museum Public Collection Center ...

Apr 15, 2026
Phys.org / 4,000-year-old clay tablets inscribed with magical spells… and beer tabs

For over 100 years, the National Museum has housed a large collection of inscribed tablets from the earliest civilizations of the Middle East—many over 4,000 years old and written in languages that are now extinct. The tablets ...

Apr 15, 2026
Phys.org / Earth's microbes may hide a near-universal plastic-eating arsenal, with 600,000 proteins poised to attack waste

Researchers have identified more than 600,000 microbial proteins capable of breaking down natural and synthetic plastics, revealing a far broader biodegradation potential across microbes than previously known.

Apr 15, 2026
Phys.org / Bottled lightning makes a cleaner fuel

Northwestern University chemists have discovered a new way to turn natural gas into liquid fuel—and it's lightning in a bottle. By harnessing tiny bursts of plasma—or mini "lightning bolts"—in glass tubes submerged in water, ...

Apr 15, 2026