Phys.org news
Phys.org / Pumas make roads safer for drivers by changing prey behavior patterns
Living among large predatory carnivores could actually make you safer. A study published in the journal Current Biology found that pumas—wild cats also known as mountain lions, cougars or panthers—change deer behavior, leading ...
Phys.org / Backpack lab finds wastewater contamination and drug-resistant bacteria in Galápagos waters
From routine surgeries to cancer treatment, modern medicine depends on drugs that can fight infections caused by microbes such as bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites. But some microbes are becoming resistant to the drugs ...
Phys.org / Total eclipse gives scientists chance to probe sun's mysteries
Scientists plan to use a total solar eclipse that will be visible in Spain next week as a rare chance to learn more about the stormy, unpredictable nature of our star.
Phys.org / Ancient armored fish that narrowly avoided meteorite strike reveals life before Earth's largest mass extinction
A rare fossil discovered near South America's largest known meteorite crater has been named a new species. Initially mistaken for a frog by locals, Leolepis matogrossensis is actually a species of ancient ray-finned fish—the ...
Phys.org / Were there tiny dinosaurs? New study explores one of evolution's biggest mysteries
Dinosaurs are famous for being big, from the towering Tyrannosaurus rex to the colossal Apatosaurus. But a new study published today in the journal Evolution by scientists at the American Museum of Natural History and Princeton ...
Phys.org / Melting sea ice combines with Arctic sea to make clouds
Scientists have uncovered a previously unknown natural process that dramatically increases the number of cloud-forming particles in the Arctic atmosphere—potentially altering cloud cover, sunlight reflection and future climate ...
Phys.org / A new species of Ice Age toad discovered at La Brea Tar Pits: The spadefoot toad Spea labreae
For the first time, researchers have discovered a new species of extinct amphibian from Ice Age Los Angeles at La Brea Tar Pits: a spadefoot toad they have named Spea labreae. Only one other extinct Pleistocene amphibian ...
Phys.org / Why some people are mosquito magnets while others get away unbitten
Some mosquitoes really are picky eaters. They will not just stick their proboscis into any old human. We know this anecdotally, with some people claiming they are always bitten while others are completely ignored, though ...
Phys.org / A temperature dial for more realistic quantum simulations
Scientists from Rice University in the U.S. have developed a way to precisely tune the temperature inside a trapped-ion simulator. The breakthrough means they will be able to run quantum simulations at precise temperatures ...
Phys.org / Molecular orbitals imaged in 3D, opening path to femtosecond videos
One of the most famous and intriguing results of quantum mechanics is the finding that fundamental particles, such as electrons, cannot be pinned down to one single location. Instead, a particle is described by its "wavefunction," ...
Phys.org / Fossils from Wyoming's Smiley Draw deepen understanding of early primate evolution
A new study from the University of Kansas complicates the picture of primates living in North America some 55 million years ago during the Eocene, a warm period that allowed mammals to diversify quickly.
Phys.org / Cannabis farming is changing streams in California, experts warn
Groundwater pumped to irrigate cannabis crops in California's Emerald Triangle can cause some streams that normally run year-round to dry up entirely during summer, say researchers from Simon Fraser University, the University ...
