Phys.org news
Phys.org / Hologram technology where 'light becomes the key' enables hard-to-copy security
A new type of hologram technology has been developed that uses the motion of light as a key, revealing information only under specific conditions. This is gaining attention as a novel approach that can simultaneously overcome ...
Phys.org / When strength in numbers stops working: Climate extremes rewrite monkey society in Costa Rica
As climate change intensifies, scientists are becoming increasingly concerned about how animals will cope with a more unpredictable world. One way to gain insight is by studying how animals have already responded to natural ...
Phys.org / 'Indian Niño' drove record heat in 2023 and 2024, new study finds
In 2023 and 2024, Earth's average global surface temperature spiked nearly 0.3 degrees Celsius above what was already expected from climate change. Each year was declared the hottest on record and coincided with deadly wildfires, ...
Phys.org / Freshwater mussel protein offers new source of inspiration for medical-grade glues
Researchers at the University of Toronto have identified a protein from the quagga mussel that can stick to surfaces underwater, even though it lacks a chemical feature long thought to be essential for this kind of adhesion. ...
Phys.org / Space junk falls to Earth faster when sunspots peak, reshaping satellite collision forecasts
Solar emissions exert 'drag' on space junk orbiting Earth. From historical measurements across a period of 36 years, researchers have now shown that space junk begins to fall down much faster once the sun's activity across ...
Phys.org / On the ground or in the atmosphere? Swarm satellites help characterize and pinpoint destructive events
When solar storms strike Earth, they can disrupt power grids, rail systems, satellites, and even marine life. These effects arise because solar wind and geomagnetic activity disturb the magnetosphere–ionosphere system, generating ...
Phys.org / Medieval jaw reveals Scotland's first known dental bridge made from 20-carat gold
Without good dental care, teeth tend to suffer. An abundance of archaeological evidence has shown that poor oral health was common throughout history. And unsurprisingly, there have been many attempts at dental restoration ...
Phys.org / Indigenous Andeans have a digestive superpower—and it may be linked to potatoes
Indigenous people of the Andes were the first to domesticate the potato, making the starch-rich crop a dietary staple for this high-altitude population long before it spread to the rest of the world. Today, their descendants ...
Phys.org / Astronomers map lifetime of over 100,000 molecular clouds across 66 galaxies
An international team of astronomers has analyzed the data from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) and Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) to investigate giant molecular clouds in nearby galaxies. The new ...
Phys.org / Three billion years ago, Earth's life relied on a rare metal
A collaborative team of scientists has discovered that life on Earth over three billion years ago relied on the metal molybdenum, which was incredibly scarce in the environment at the time. The study, published in Nature ...
Phys.org / Carnivorous plants and wasps blur the line between friend and food
Acid-filled pitchers complete with fangs. Labyrinthine chambers decorated with bristles. Leaves that snap shut in less than a second. Employing strategies like these, carnivorous plants have a reputation as fearsome predators, ...
Phys.org / Small talk shapes big trends: Physics predicts how language patterns spread
A new model to predict how language changes over time has been developed by a statistical physicist at the University of Portsmouth. The model is a step towards understanding the "statistical physics of language," a scientific ...
