Phys.org news

Phys.org / Why evolution never produced mammal teeth that slice and crush equally well

Evolution is all about trade-offs. Traits that may be beneficial in one situation may backfire in another. Over millions of years, species can become specialized for one way of living rather than being equally good at everything. ...

Jul 24, 2026
Phys.org / Plumage reflectance framework offers new insight into how birds evolved heat-controlling feathers

Birds can inhabit various environments with different climates and temperatures, ranging from cold polar regions to scorching hot deserts. To survive and thrive in these very different environments, they need to effectively ...

Jul 24, 2026
Phys.org / Small tropical islands face dangerous humid heat by end of the century

Millions of people living on tropical islands could face a future of increasingly dangerous heat as climate change drives longer and more intense periods of humid conditions. While rising temperatures are often discussed ...

Jul 24, 2026
Phys.org / How did inbred brown tree snakes take over the island of Guam?

If you look up invasive species in a textbook, there's a good chance you'll find a picture of a brown tree snake. Native to Australia and the South Pacific, the brown tree snake arrived on Guam sometime after World War II, ...

Jul 24, 2026
Phys.org / Unraveling the climate behind the collapse of Bronze Age civilizations

The most severe droughts in the ancient Eastern Mediterranean arose when multiple natural climate cycles coincided, according to a new study from Stockholm University published in Science Advances. The findings shed new light ...

Jul 24, 2026
Phys.org / Oxygen collisions at the LHC show new indications of extreme state of matter

All four main LHC experiments have found new signs that oxygen and neon collisions may create the extreme state of matter that existed during the first microseconds after the Big Bang.

Jul 24, 2026
Phys.org / Quantum Zeno effect could freeze computations as qubit systems scale up

The promise of quantum computing is to solve complex problems faster and more energy-efficiently than today's supercomputers—from optimizing logistics to simulating molecules. This goal is coming within reach as the number ...

Jul 24, 2026
Phys.org / Quantum dots reveal hidden light waves on metal surfaces

Photographs can reveal things that are otherwise impossible for the naked eye to see, be they distant galaxies or microscopic cells. Researchers at Osaka Metropolitan University have developed a practical and versatile imaging ...

Jul 24, 2026
Phys.org / Why Europa's hidden ocean may be more difficult to reach than scientists thought

Europa, one of Jupiter's icy moons, has long fascinated scientists because of what may lie beneath its frozen shell: a global ocean of liquid water. That hidden ocean has made Europa one of the most compelling places in the ...

Jul 24, 2026
Phys.org / Rocks from unexplored far side of the moon help rewrite lunar history

Ancient samples from the moon's far side are helping scientists uncover how asteroid impacts shaped the early solar system. The findings challenge decades of thinking about when those impacts occurred and offer new insights ...

Jul 24, 2026
Phys.org / New methods for removing harmful nitrates from drinking water identified

Nitrate contamination of drinking water poses a major health concern, particularly in agricultural communities where fertilizers, livestock manure and septic systems can leach nitrates into groundwater. Many rural households ...

Jul 24, 2026
Phys.org / Physicists turn to the universe's 'piano notes' to detect hidden particles

It's been said that a finely tuned ear knows the size and shape of a piano by merely listening to the instrument's notes. An international team of physicists has now devised an analogous approach to detect the universe's ...

Jul 24, 2026