Phys.org news

Phys.org / Study suggests western boundary currents have bigger impact on local climate variability than previously thought

A trio of atmospheric scientists at Colorado State University has found evidence suggesting that western boundary currents have a bigger impact on local climate variability than has been previously thought.

Nov 1, 2024 in Earth
Phys.org / Textbooks come alive with new interactive AI tool

With just an iPad, students in any classroom across the world could soon reimagine the ordinary diagrams in any physics textbook—transforming these static images into 3D simulations that run, leap or spin across the page.

Nov 1, 2024 in Other Sciences
Phys.org / A comparison of bat and bird wings reveals their evolutionary paths are vastly different

Bats are incredibly diverse animals: They can climb onto other animals to drink their blood, pluck insects from leaves or hover to drink nectar from tropical flowers, all of which require distinctive wing designs.

Nov 1, 2024 in Biology
Phys.org / Hubble and Webb probe surprisingly smooth disk around Vega

In the 1997 movie "Contact," adapted from Carl Sagan's 1985 novel, the lead character scientist Ellie Arroway (played by actor Jodi Foster) takes a space-alien-built wormhole ride to the star Vega. She emerges inside a snowstorm ...

Nov 1, 2024 in Astronomy & Space
Phys.org / Black hole study challenges Kerr solution assumptions

Black holes continue to captivate scientists: they are purely gravitational objects, remarkably simple, yet capable of hiding mysteries that challenge our understanding of natural laws. Most observations thus far have focused ...

Nov 1, 2024 in Astronomy & Space
Phys.org / Isotope study reveals medieval people prioritized cereal farming, used fertilization, and organized land efficiently

A study led by the Department of Archaeology, Faculty of Arts, Charles University, has used stable isotope analysis to uncover medieval land-use practices beneath temperate forests in Europe. The research, published in Scientific ...

Nov 1, 2024 in Other Sciences
Phys.org / News consumers are more influenced by political alignment than by truth, study shows

For many years, the conventional wisdom was that only highly biased, less educated media consumers would put partisanship over truth—in other words, they would believe news that confirmed their worldview, regardless of ...

Nov 1, 2024 in Other Sciences
Phys.org / Using mathematics to better understand cause and effect

Cause and effect. We understand this concept from an early age. Tug on a pull toy's string, and the toy follows. Naturally, things get much more complicated as a system grows, as the number of variables increases, and as ...

Nov 1, 2024 in Other Sciences
Phys.org / Honeybee gene specifies collective behavior, research shows

Researchers at Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf (HHU) are collaborating with colleagues from Frankfurt/Main, Oxford and Würzburg to investigate how the complex, cooperative behavior of honeybees (Apis mellifera) is ...

Nov 1, 2024 in Biology
Phys.org / Discovery of a protein's key role in RNA processes could improve disease treatment in humans and plants

Texas A&M AgriLife researchers uncovered a promising target for controlling gene expression and other cellular processes, which could lead to advancements in crop resilience and our understanding of certain human diseases.

Nov 1, 2024 in Biology
Phys.org / California's Salton Sea receding at greater rate according to balloon mapping study

The Salton Sea, California's largest lake by surface area, is experiencing an increasing rate of shoreline retreat following a policy change that shifted more water from the Colorado River to San Diego, according to a newly ...

Nov 1, 2024 in Earth
Phys.org / Scientists prepare for the most ambitious sky survey yet, anticipating new insight on dark matter and dark energy

On a mountain in northern Chile, scientists are carefully assembling the intricate components of the NSF–DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory, one of the most advanced astronomical facilities in history. Equipped with an innovative ...

Nov 1, 2024 in Astronomy & Space