Phys.org news

Phys.org / Domestic cats came from North Africa to Europe only 2,000 years ago, DNA evidence suggests

Despite the ubiquity of cats in modern homes, we still don't know many details about the timing and routes of early cat domestication and dispersal into Europe and beyond, aside from the common association of cats with ancient ...

Nov 28, 2025 in Biology
Phys.org / Google Quantum AI realizes three dynamic surface code implementations

Quantum computers are computing systems that process information leveraging quantum mechanical effects. These computers rely on qubits (i.e., the quantum equivalent of bits), which can store information in a mixture of states, ...

Nov 28, 2025 in Physics
Phys.org / Quantum sensor based on silicon carbide qubits operates at room temperature

Over the past decades, physicists and quantum engineers introduced a wide range of systems that perform desired functions leveraging quantum mechanical effects. These include so-called quantum sensors, devices that rely on ...

Nov 28, 2025 in Physics
Phys.org / Dating a North American rock art tradition that lasted 175 generations

The Pecos River murals are a stunning collection of monumental, multicolored rock paintings in limestone rock shelters across southwest Texas and northern Mexico. They depict human-like figures that reach up to eight meters ...

Nov 28, 2025 in Other Sciences
Phys.org / Tiny reconfigurable robots can help manage carbon dioxide levels in confined spaces

Vehicles and buildings designed to enable survival in extreme environments, such as spacecraft, submarines and sealed shelters, heavily rely on systems for the management of carbon dioxide (CO2). These are technologies that ...

Nov 28, 2025 in Nanotechnology
Phys.org / First 'Bible map' published 500 years ago still influences how we think about borders, study suggests

The first Bible to feature a map of the Holy Land was published 500 years ago in 1525. The map was initially printed the wrong way round—showing the Mediterranean to the East—but its inclusion set a precedent which continues ...

Nov 28, 2025 in Other Sciences
Phys.org / Dark matter-dark energy interaction shapes cosmic halo spin and alignment, simulations show

A cosmological simulation study by researchers from the Shanghai Astronomical Observatory of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has systematically revealed, for the first time, how the interaction between dark matter and dark ...

Nov 28, 2025 in Astronomy & Space
Phys.org / Finding information in the randomness of living matter

When describing collective properties of macroscopic physical systems, microscopic fluctuations are typically averaged out, leaving a description of the typical behavior of the systems. While this simplification has its advantages, ...

Nov 28, 2025 in Physics
Phys.org / Tiny lead fragments in hunted meat exceed safe levels, study reveals

This fall, when Adam Leontowich headed to southeast Saskatchewan to hunt whitetailed deer and ruffed grouse, he once again opted for lead-free ammunition—cartridges with copper bullets for his .308 rifle and shells with ...

Nov 28, 2025 in Chemistry
Phys.org / Studies show how the giant statues on Rapa Nui were made and moved—and what caused the island's deforestation

Rapa Nui, also known as Easter Island, is often portrayed in popular culture as an enigma. The rationale is clear: The tiny, remote island in the Pacific features nearly 1,000 enormous statues—the moai. The magnitude and ...

Nov 28, 2025 in Other Sciences
Phys.org / Physicists generate hybrid spin-sound waves, expanding options for 6G implementation

Acoustic frequency filters, which convert electrical signals into miniaturized sound waves, separate the different frequency bands for mobile communications, Wi-Fi, and GPS in smartphones. Physicists at RPTU have now shown ...

Nov 28, 2025 in Physics
Phys.org / How phototherapy could reverse antibiotic resistance

Lars Stevens-Cullinane works in a dark room. But he's not processing negatives and printing photographs on light-sensitive paper; he's testing whether brief flashes of light can make drug-resistant bacteria sensitive to antibiotics.

Nov 28, 2025 in Chemistry