Phys.org news
Phys.org / Geometry shapes life: Embryo curvature acts as instruction manual for coordinated cell division
Life begins with a single fertilized cell that gradually transforms into a multicellular organism. This process requires precise coordination; otherwise, the embryo could develop serious complications. Scientists at ISTA ...
Phys.org / Earliest, hottest galaxy cluster gas on record challenges cosmological models
An international team of astronomers led by Canadian researchers has found something the universe wasn't supposed to have: a galaxy cluster blazing with hot gas just 1.4 billion years after the Big Bang, far earlier and hotter ...
Phys.org / XRISM gives sharpest-ever glimpse at growth of a rapidly-spinning black hole
Astronomers have obtained the sharpest-ever X-ray spectrum of an iconic active galaxy, providing the most accurate, precise view ever obtained of the extreme relativistic effects imprinted onto the spacetime around a supermassive ...
Phys.org / Second spider-parasitic mite species described in Brazil
When researchers studying spiders and scorpions at the Zoological Collections Laboratory of the Butantan Institute in São Paulo, Brazil, came across a few-millimeter-long spider wearing something resembling a pearl necklace, ...
Phys.org / Thin ice may have protected lake water on frozen Mars
Small lakes on ancient Mars may have remained liquid for decades, even with average air temperatures well below freezing.
Phys.org / Ancient Antarctica reveals a 'one–two punch' behind ice sheet collapse
When we think of global warming, what first comes to mind is the air: crushing heat waves that are felt rather than seen, except through the haziness of humid air. But when it comes to melting ice sheets, rising ocean temperatures ...
Phys.org / AI approach takes optical system design from months to milliseconds
A team of researchers at Penn State have devised a new, streamlined approach to designing metasurfaces, a class of engineered materials that can manipulate light and other forms of electromagnetic radiation with just their ...
Phys.org / Worms as particle sweepers: How simple movement, not intelligence, drives environmental order
When observing small worms under a microscope, one might observe something very surprising: the worms appear to make a sweeping motion to clean their own environment. Physicists at the University of Amsterdam, Georgia Tech ...
Phys.org / Astronomers reveal hidden lives of the early universe's ultramassive galaxies
An international team of astronomers has uncovered multiple evolutionary paths for the universe's most massive galaxies. Observations of ultramassive galaxies, each containing more than 100 billion stars, show that less than ...
Phys.org / Researchers develop non-destructive spectrometry technique for analyzing fragile archaeological ivory
A research team led by Prof. Wang Zhenyou at the Aerospace Information Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (AIRCAS) has developed a microscopic time-gated Raman spectrometer capable of non-destructive, micrometer-scale ...
Phys.org / Smart polymers harden on demand with light or gentle heat activation
Chemists at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev have developed a "smart" polymer that could make industrial curing, 3D printing and repairs simpler, safer and more energy-efficient with materials whose properties may be tuned ...
Dialog / Infrastructure design is the hidden architecture of disaster risk
When we talk about disasters, we often default to the language of nature. We describe storms as "unprecedented," floods as "once-in-a-century," and heat waves as "record-breaking." While these descriptors may be technically ...
