Phys.org news
Phys.org / Some house cats carry a gut parasite that can infect humans, study finds
Giardia duodenalis is a microscopic, flagellated parasite that often calls the human and animal gut its home. In most cases, it coexists harmlessly with its host, and most infected pets and people show no signs of illness. ...
Phys.org / Hybrid quantum computers could finally get to grips with light and matter
Many of nature's most important processes depend on how particles of matter interact with light and other force-carrying particles. So far, however, it has proven difficult for conventional computers to determine how individual ...
Phys.org / Fijian bee genomics suggest 99% effective population decline since European colonization
The decline of pollinator species due to habitat loss and pesticide use over recent decades has been a global concern. Pollinators like bees and butterflies support both wild plants and agricultural food production, but many ...
Phys.org / Tiny fossils reveal a missing chapter of ocean life after Snowball Earth
A rare assemblage of micro- and macro-fossils found in a roadside outcrop in South China, featuring thin ribbons, branching shapes and a tiny balloon on a stalk, offers a glimpse of marine life after one of Earth's most extreme ...
Phys.org / Franklin created famed 'Photo 51' after calculating key features of DNA's helix from an earlier image, study reveals
"Photo 51" was a cleaner version of an earlier X-ray image, "Photo 49," that Rosalind Franklin had already used to calculate key features of DNA, challenging long-held assumptions about her role in the discovery of the double ...
Phys.org / Letters reveal forgotten role of Baghdad antiquities dealers in early 20th-century Kish excavations
Between 1880 and 1912, no official excavations took place at Kish. Yet museums from London and Paris to New York were somehow acquiring brand-new tablets from the legendary old city. As it turns out, local Iraqis had been ...
Phys.org / New research traces the origins and human impact of Britain's largest medieval lead industry through ancient teeth
The first definitive evidence of when post-Roman lead production began in one of Europe's largest medieval lead-producing regions, the Derbyshire Peak District in central England, has been uncovered by archaeologists after ...
Phys.org / ALMA catches a dying star mid-transformation, with a ring from its last outburst
Astronomers have used radio observations from the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) to catch a dying star in the middle of a dramatic transformation, and the data show a ring that records its final outburst. ...
Phys.org / Ball or strike? Why the count may change what a baseball umpire sees
In baseball, a borderline pitch is more likely to be called a strike when the batter has three balls and no strikes than when the count is no balls and two strikes. The official strike zone hasn't changed. The umpire's judgment ...
Phys.org / Elephants continue to shape the savanna even after death
Elephants shape the African savanna. They consume huge amounts of forage, dig for water, topple trees and affect all the animals around them. So, what happens to their outsized presence after these iconic animals pass away?
Phys.org / High-speed video reveals how honey bee stingers keep pumping venom after detachment
Australian scientists have used high-speed video to uncover the unique mechanism that allows a honey bee's stinger to continue to pump venom into its target even after it has separated from the bee's body.
Phys.org / Water-based process turns wood industry byproduct into carbon nanofibers for sodium-ion batteries
A new study led by researchers at the University of Limerick (UL) has identified a new battery material from a renewable wood industry byproduct that could help reduce reliance on scarce and expensive materials.
