Phys.org news

Phys.org / Persistent shock wave around dead star puzzles astronomers

Gas and dust flowing from stars can, under the right conditions, clash with a star's surroundings and create a shock wave. Now, astronomers using the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope (ESO's VLT) have imaged ...

Jan 12, 2026 in Astronomy & Space
Phys.org / Atom-thin, content-addressable memory enables edge AI applications

Recent advances in the field of artificial intelligence (AI) have opened new exciting possibilities for the rapid analysis of data, the sourcing of information and the generation of use-specific content. To run AI models, ...

Jan 12, 2026 in Nanotechnology
Phys.org / Asteroseismology study probes properties of newly discovered pulsating white dwarf

Chinese astronomers have conducted an asteroseismology study of a newly discovered pulsating white dwarf designated WFST J053009.62+595557.0, or WFST J0530 for short. The new findings, presented January 2 on the arXiv pre-print ...

Jan 12, 2026 in Astronomy & Space
Phys.org / Atmospheric physicists find error in widely cited Arctic snow cover observations

For decades, the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has offered a snapshot of the planet's changing climate—but University of Toronto researchers have found that some of the underlying data ...

Jan 12, 2026 in Earth
Phys.org / Mars was once a 'blue planet': Ancient river deltas point to vast ocean

Using images from cameras on Mars orbiters, an international research team has discovered structures on Mars that are very similar to classic river deltas on Earth. These are traces of rivers that have deposited their sediments ...

Jan 12, 2026 in Astronomy & Space
Phys.org / 'Death by a thousand cuts': Pablo's galaxy ran out of fuel as black hole choked off supplies

Astronomers have spotted one of the oldest "dead" galaxies yet identified, and found that a growing supermassive black hole can slowly starve a galaxy rather than tear it apart.

Jan 12, 2026 in Astronomy & Space
Phys.org / Overlooked decline in grazing livestock brings risks and opportunities

For decades, researchers have focused on the problem of overgrazing, in which expanding herds of cattle and other livestock degrade grasslands, steppes and desert plains. But a new global study reveals that in large regions ...

Jan 12, 2026 in Biology
Phys.org / Tiny Mars's big impact on Earth's climate: How the red planet's pull shapes ice ages

At half the size of Earth and one-tenth its mass, Mars is a featherweight as far as planets go. Yet new research reveals the extent to which Mars is quietly tugging on Earth's orbit and shaping the cycles that drive long-term ...

Jan 12, 2026 in Astronomy & Space
Phys.org / A new valve for quantum matter: Steering chiral fermions by geometry alone

A collaboration between Stuart Parkin's group at the Max Planck Institute of Microstructure Physics in Halle (Saale) and Claudia Felser's group at the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Physics of Solids in Dresden has realized ...

Jan 12, 2026 in Physics
Phys.org / Tissue repair slows in old age. These proteins speed it back up

As we age, we don't recover from injury or illness like we did when we were young. But new research from UCSF has found gene regulators—proteins that turn genes on and off—that could restore the aging body's ability to ...

Jan 12, 2026 in Biology
Phys.org / El Niño and La Niña synchronize global droughts and floods, study finds

Water extremes such as droughts and floods have a huge impact on communities, ecosystems, and economies. Researchers with The University of Texas at Austin have turned their attention to tracking these extremes across Earth ...

Jan 12, 2026 in Earth
Phys.org / The cosmic seesaw: Black holes eject material as winds or jets, but not both at once

Astronomers at the University of Warwick have discovered that black holes don't just consume matter—they manage it, choosing whether to blast it into space as high-speed jets or sweep it away in vast winds.

Jan 12, 2026 in Astronomy & Space