Phys.org news
Phys.org / Rainfall can shape bird populations as much as temperature, global study reveals
Scientists have long focused on rising temperatures to understand how climate change is reshaping the natural world. But there's a critical blind spot in that picture: rain. A new global study reveals precipitation has been ...
Phys.org / Study finds 77% of US national parks are highly vulnerable to climate change
National parks in the United States represent a treasure trove of natural, historical, and recreational landscapes, but their health is at risk. A comprehensive new study on the climate-change vulnerability of national parks, ...
Phys.org / Ancient zircon crystals provide a window into early Earth history
There are many open questions about how our planet formed 4.55 billion years ago: When did plate tectonics start? When did the Earth's mantle begin to vigorously circulate in a process called convection? What was Earth like ...
Phys.org / HETDEX data reveal a vast 'sea of light' between early galaxies
Astronomers with the Hobby-Eberly Telescope Dark Energy Experiment (HETDEX) have used data from the project to make the largest, most accurate 3D map yet of the light emitted by excited hydrogen in the early universe, 9 billion ...
Phys.org / Left-handed people may have a psychological edge in competition
Left-handers are more competitive than right-handers, according to a new study published in the journal Scientific Reports. The findings may help explain why left-handedness has persisted throughout evolution despite the ...
Phys.org / Liquid crystal phase in antiferromagnets can be detected electrically
The best candidate for next-generation magnetic devices—technology that can power, store, sense or transport information—may be, counterintuitively, antiferromagnets. Today, the most widely used magnetic materials are ...
Phys.org / Wildlife imaging shows that AI models aren't as smart as we think
Using AI to identify wildlife reveals a potential "transferability crisis," researchers say. Marketing for AI imaging systems often suggests that models can easily tackle novel scenarios across ecosystems and settings, much ...
Phys.org / Life forms can planet hop on asteroid debris—and survive
Tiny life forms tucked into debris from an asteroid hit could catapult to other planets—including Earth—and survive, a new Johns Hopkins University study finds. The work demonstrates that a certain hardy bacterium easily ...
Phys.org / Letting atomic simulations learn from phase diagrams
A new computational method allows modern atomic models to learn from experimental thermodynamic data, according to a University of Michigan Engineering and Université Paris-Saclay study published in Nature Communications. ...
Phys.org / Brazilian fossil site yields smallest rhynchosaur fossil ever recorded
A study published in the Journal of Systematic Palaeontology describes the smallest rhynchosaur fossil ever recorded from the Brazilian Triassic, with the reconstructed skull only measuring around 2.5 cm (~1 inch). Additionally, ...
Phys.org / Hidden atomic dichotomy drives superconductivity in ultra-thin compound
Physicists in China have unveiled new clues to the origins of high-temperature superconductivity in an iron-based material just a single unit-cell thick. Led by Qi-Kun Xue and Lili Wang at Tsinghua University, the team's ...
Phys.org / Rewilding could fill gap left by Panama's lost giants
Many large herbivores that once roamed modern-day Panama have declined or died out—including the 6-meter-long giant ground sloth and elephant-related creatures called Cuvieronius. New research suggests that introducing ...
