Phys.org news
Phys.org / Close brush with two hot stars millions of years ago left a mark just beyond our solar system
Nearly 4.5 million years ago, two large, hot stars brushed tantalizingly close to Earth's sun. They left behind a trace in the clouds of gas and dust that swirl just beyond our solar system—almost like the scent of perfume ...
Phys.org / Monkeys have rhythm and can tap along to the beat (with a little help from the Backstreet Boys)
They may not yet be kings of the swingers, but macaque monkeys can keep time to music and move to the beat. Well, at least two adult macaques can, who were trained by researchers to tap along to different kinds of music. ...
Phys.org / New digital state of matter could help build stable quantum computers
Scientists have taken another major step toward creating stable quantum computers. Using a specialized quantum computer chip (an essential component of a quantum computer) as a kind of tiny laboratory, a team led by Pan Jianwei ...
Phys.org / Detecting strong-to-weak symmetry breaking might be impossible, study shows
When a system undergoes a transformation, yet an underlying physical property remains unchanged, this property is referred to as "symmetry." Spontaneous symmetry breaking (SSB) occurs when a system breaks out of this symmetry ...
Phys.org / New discoveries reveal Tell Abraq's role in ancient Persian Gulf trade
If there were a place that could be called the archaeological almanac of Saudi Arabian culture, it would be Tell Abraq, located on the west coast of the United Arab Emirates. This area contains traces of every cultural phase ...
Phys.org / Bipolar planetary nebula reveals rare open cluster association
By analyzing the data from the SuperCOSMOS Hα Survey (SHS) and from the Gaia satellite, astronomers have inspected a bipolar planetary nebula designated PHR J1724-3859. Results of the study, published Nov. 19 on the arXiv ...
Phys.org / Scientists can finally answer an old question about cellular aging
After a finite number of divisions, cells simply give up. As each round of replication trims their telomeres—the protective caps at the chromosome ends—those caps eventually become too short to prevent chromosome ends ...
Phys.org / Evidence of rain-driven climate on Mars found in bleached rocks scattered in Jezero crater
Rocks that stood out as light-colored dots on the reddish-orange surface of Mars now are the latest evidence that areas of the small planet may have once supported wet oases with humid climates and heavy rainfall comparable ...
Phys.org / Mad cow disease: A new culprit beyond prions
Recent research led by the University of Alberta challenges the belief that mad cow disease is caused only by misfolded proteins—a discovery that sheds new light on the devastating outbreak in the United Kingdom 40 years ...
Phys.org / Fossils reveal anacondas have been giants for over 12 million years
A University of Cambridge-led team has analyzed giant anaconda fossils from South America to deduce that these tropical snakes reached their maximum size 12.4 million years ago and have remained giants ever since.
Phys.org / City raccoons showing signs of domestication
That resourceful "trash panda" digging through your garbage may be more than just a nuisance—it could be a living example of evolution in progress.
Phys.org / Why your faucet drips: Water jet breakup traced to angstrom-scale thermal capillary waves
Some phenomena in our daily lives are so commonplace that we don't realize there could be some very interesting physics behind them. Take a dripping faucet: why does the continuous stream of water from a faucet eventually ...
