Phys.org news

Phys.org / White hydrogen discovered in billion-year-old Canadian Shield rock points to potential new energy source

Within the Canadian Shield, hydrogen gas is steadily building up naturally among some of the oldest rocks on Earth. Now, for the first time, geochemists at the University of Toronto and the University of Ottawa have measured ...

10 hours ago
Phys.org / MatterChat model helps AI to 'see' the language of atom-scale physics to sharpen materials predictions

From writing emails to generating computer code, much of the artificial intelligence prevalent in our daily lives has succeeded by mastering one domain: text. However, this leaves a major blind spot in the physical sciences, ...

6 hours ago
Phys.org / Mars reveals first Zwan-Wolf effect deep in its atmosphere during a solar storm

In December 2023, scientists looking at Mars data stumbled across something completely unexpected—observations of an atmospheric effect never before seen in the Red Planet's atmosphere. Using instruments aboard NASA's MAVEN ...

7 hours ago
Phys.org / AI-generated fake citations are flooding scientific literature across publications, scientists warn

The citations at the end of a research paper should represent a solid foundation of existing knowledge about a particular field, a pool of peer-reviewed sources built over years of research and study. However, with the increasing ...

12 hours ago
Phys.org / Sea level rise is swallowing US Mid-Atlantic farmland faster than expected, study finds

Ghost forests, the cemetery-like groupings of dead trees killed by saltwater intrusion, have become haunting symbols of sea level rise overtaking land along the Mid-Atlantic coast. But a new study published in Nature Sustainability, ...

7 hours ago
Phys.org / Debunking a core chemistry concept taught in classrooms everywhere

A new study has revealed that a core idea taught in chemistry classrooms around the world may be wrong. Dr. Edwin Johnson, Lecturer at the University of Newcastle, co-authored the paper published in the Journal of Chemical ...

11 hours ago
Phys.org / Elongated canopy gaps may best support the natural regeneration of oak forest

As climate change intensifies, one of the key challenges facing forestry is how to balance efficient timber production with the preservation of forests' climate-regulating functions, biodiversity, and resilience. The growing ...

7 hours ago
Phys.org / Findings reconsider the existence of Europa's vapor plumes

Looking back at 14 years of Hubble telescope data for Jupiter's moon Europa has given Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) scientists a better understanding of its tenuous atmosphere. The findings have cast doubt on previous ...

8 hours ago
Phys.org / Ancient Arctic fossils uncover three mammal species that survived months of darkness

Today's Arctic may feel remote and desolate, but more than 70 million years ago, it was a surprisingly lively place for some of Earth's ancient mammals.

10 hours ago
Phys.org / You are what you eat: Cichlid fish reveal how food sources drive evolution of digestive system

Different beak and jaw shapes are illustrative examples of how animal species have adapted to different food sources. In a new study published in the journal Nature, researchers now show how diet itself shapes the composition ...

7 hours ago
Phys.org / Indian and Tibetan wolves reveal ancient lineages with unexpected genomic diversity

Wolves in India, like the pack that raised Mowgli in "The Jungle Book," can often feel disconnected from both the research and storytelling of wolves. Rice University professor Lauren Hennelly is working to change that. Her ...

8 hours ago
Phys.org / From wetland sediment, scientists uncover centuries of climate chaos—and human resilience

The climate of the ancient Eastern Mediterranean was far more turbulent than previously thought—and a new study suggests that people adapted anyway. An international team of scientists, spearheaded by UC San Diego's Center ...

8 hours ago