Phys.org news

Phys.org / An extremely stable quantum gas offers a new lens on strongly interacting systems

Molecular gases are a new form of artificial quantum matter. However, when these molecules collide, they are often lost extremely rapidly. Researchers from Radboud University and Columbia University have been able to suppress ...

4 hours ago
Phys.org / Are bots changing how people talk? Language in the age of AI

A Facebook post about your trip to Peru. An Amazon review of a new toaster oven. An email to the super about the inflatable reindeer blocking the hallway. You phrase and rephrase things all day without thinking that anyone—or ...

8 hours ago
Phys.org / Bolivia's tilcayo tiger cat becomes first new wildcat species in 100 years

Scientists have discovered a new species of wild cat for the first time in more than a century, a Bolivian researcher told AFP on Thursday.

14 hours ago
Phys.org / 'Plasticorals,' coral rubble fused with plastic, represent a new form of plastic pollution

During routine beach litter surveys on the subtropical island of Okinawa, Japan, researchers came across small, brightly colored specks in the pale coral rubble. Back at the lab, spectroscopic and microscopic analyses revealed ...

5 hours ago
Phys.org / From the start, the solar system chose fire over ice to build its first bodies

When the solar system first took up the task of building solid bodies—such as planets, moons and protoplanets—it basically had a choice between two ingredients: heat-forged chondrules, which were millimeter-sized bits of ...

5 hours ago
Phys.org / Time is running out to catch a giant planet's strange orbit

A team of researchers, including those from the University of Tokyo, spotted a rare kind of planet that's unusually hot and eccentric. TOI-1355 b orbits its star, TOI-1355, which is also much hotter than our sun, in a strange ...

5 hours ago
Phys.org / 'Lost' medieval castle found hiding inside university building in Dublin

One of Dublin's "lost" medieval castles has been found hiding in plain sight inside University College Dublin's Roebuck Castle. New research reveals that substantial remains of the Norman castle of Roebuck, an important fortress ...

6 hours ago
Phys.org / How 30,000 archaeological treasures were saved from imminent destruction during Syria's civil war

A new study sheds light on how Syrian archaeologists risked their lives to rescue approximately 30,000 priceless artifacts from the Deir ez-Zor Museum during the summers of 2014 and 2015 as the city faced the imminent threat ...

6 hours ago
Phys.org / Why high levels of the amino acid cysteine are toxic to cells

Cysteine is one of the main building blocks that cells use to make proteins. But this amino acid is a double-edged sword—too much cysteine is toxic to the cell. Cells therefore keep free cysteine levels to a minimum, converting ...

6 hours ago
Phys.org / Closing the space gap: A more precise way to measure distance between quasar pairs

A new way to accurately measure the distance between quasar pairs—the blazing, black-hole-powered centers of distant galaxies that appear side by side in space—is showing promise through University of Alberta research.

6 hours ago
Phys.org / In 2025, the ozone hole shrunk to one of its smallest sizes in decades

The Antarctic ozone hole in 2025 was one of the smallest in decades—a testament to the continuing success of international action to protect Earth's ozone layer, which shields us from the sun's harmful ultraviolet rays, according ...

7 hours ago
Phys.org / Tiny atomic tweak makes plastic-eating enzymes more powerful

A new approach that changes just one atom in plastic-degrading enzymes could help make them more efficient while maintaining their stability, according to new research from The Australian National University published in ...

7 hours ago