Phys.org news
Phys.org / Why only a small number of planets are suitable for life
For life to develop on a planet, certain chemical elements are needed in sufficient quantities. Phosphorus and nitrogen are essential. Phosphorus is vital for the formation of DNA and RNA, which store and transmit genetic ...
Phys.org / A smashing success: Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider wraps up final collisions
Just after 9 a.m. on Friday, Feb. 6, 2026, final beams of oxygen ions—oxygen atoms stripped of their electrons—circulated through the twin 2.4-mile-circumference rings of the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) and ...
Phys.org / Climate change could halve areas suitable for cattle, sheep and goat farming by 2100
A new study conducted at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) shows that grassland-based grazing systems—currently covering a third of Earth's surface and representing the world's largest production system—will ...
Phys.org / How big can a planet be? With very large gas giants, it can be hard to tell
Gas giants are large planets mostly composed of helium and/or hydrogen. Although these planets have dense cores, they don't have hard surfaces. Jupiter and Saturn are the gas giants in our solar system, but there are many ...
Phys.org / Tiny Enceladus exercises giant electromagnetic influence at Saturn
A major study by an international team of researchers using data from the NASA/ESA/ASI Cassini spacecraft has revealed a lattice-like structure of crisscrossing reflected waves that flow downstream behind the moon in Saturn's ...
Phys.org / From fins to fingers: How nature 'redeployed' ancient genes to shape limbs
How did the complexity of many organisms living today evolve from the simpler body plans of their ancestors? This is a central question in biology. Take our hands, for example: Every time we type a message on our mobile phone, ...
Phys.org / Stellar remnants may solve mystery of missing mass in galaxy clusters
Under the leadership of the University of Bonn, a research team led by Prof. Dr. Pavel Kroupa from the Helmholtz Institute for Radiation and Nuclear Physics has discovered that galaxy clusters are about twice as heavy as ...
Phys.org / The future of eco-friendly cooling: Enhancing efficiency and sustainability of magnetic refrigerants
Conventional air conditioners and refrigerators rely on vapor-compression cycles and chemical refrigerants that contribute significantly to global warming. Magnetic refrigeration offers a cleaner alternative using the magnetocaloric ...
Phys.org / Turtle fossil narrows timeline of Cretaceous species migration
Before leaving on a fossil-hunting trip for a summer 2021 field paleontology class, a Montana State University junior made an apparently fate-tempting plea. "I kept joking through that whole class, 'Oh, please, just anything ...
Dialog / Scientists advance multi-purpose photocatalyst for clean hydrogen production and agricultural pollutant degradation
Can we use nothing more than sunlight and inexpensive materials to produce clean hydrogen fuel while also removing toxic pollutants from water? That question shaped our recent work with γ-In2S3, a semiconductor that has ...
Phys.org / Microfluidic method boosts control and separation of tiny particles—a promising tool for medical research
In nanoscale particle research, precise control and separation have long been a bottleneck in biotechnology. Researchers at the University of Oulu have now developed a new method that improves particle separation and purification. ...
Phys.org / First evidence of a subsurface lava tube on Venus
Volcanic activity is not unique to Earth: traces of volcanic activity, such as lava tubes, have been found on Mars and the moon. Now, the University of Trento has demonstrated the existence of an empty lava tube even in the ...
