Phys.org news

Phys.org / Scavenging linked to virus variety in wild birds

The scavenging behavior of many wild birds plays an important role in the type, number and variety of viruses they have, a new University of Otago–Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka-led study has found.

3 hours ago
Phys.org / Hungry scent detection dogs more likely to 'cry wolf'

Dogs trained in scent detection may be better at sniffing out the right smell after breakfast, with new research finding hungry dogs working for treats are more likely to falsely identify the wrong scent. The study, led by ...

1 hour ago
Phys.org / 'Fingerprints' inside the sun could reveal if it once swallowed a planet

It is thought the sun may have engulfed a super-Earth-sized planet early in its history. Now, a new study has gone a step further, suggesting that such an event may have left behind detectable clues inside the sun that could ...

2 hours ago
Phys.org / Unaccounted climate feedback loops may amplify warming by 20–30% this century, but cutting emissions will reduce risks

New research shows that warming-induced emissions—greenhouse gas emissions from natural sources driven by rising temperatures—could amplify global warming by approximately 20%–30% and add an estimated 0.2°C–0.4°C of warming ...

6 hours ago
Phys.org / AI pinpoints when fish reach their thermal limit

Researchers have developed an AI-based system that automatically and objectively detects the moment when fish experience loss of equilibrium (LOE) due to temperature stress. The system combines DeepLabCut, a deep-learning ...

6 hours ago
Phys.org / The surprising place where giant dinosaurs incubated their eggs

Finding a fossilized dinosaur egg is exceptionally rare, but finding a stash of more than 250 shell fragments in the chilly southern reaches of the planet is even more surprising. The discoveries come from southernmost Patagonia ...

22 hours ago
Phys.org / The 'costly son' hypothesis: Why bigger sons may make births riskier across species

A new comparative review, published in The Anatomical Record, examines factors that may lead to birth complications among humans and other mammals. The study suggests that fetal sex may play an important role in risky births ...

23 hours ago
Phys.org / Ice Age origins of one of humanity's oldest drug habits discovered

A team of Griffith University archaeologists has uncovered evidence that humans were using mind-altering substances much earlier than previously supposed.

21 hours ago
Phys.org / New insect genus and four species named for Taylor Swift and her albums

Taylor Swift is now the namesake of a genus of plant-feeding insects from Australia that were previously unknown to science.

16 hours ago
Phys.org / JWST discovers that Chariklo's invisible rings are changing

Until just over a decade ago, ring systems were thought to be exclusive to the giant planets of the solar system, such as Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. However, in 2013, a small body barely 250 kilometers (155 miles) ...

21 hours ago
Phys.org / Unconventional quantum materials could dramatically boost the search for dark matter

For decades, physicists have searched for dark matter, the invisible substance thought to make up roughly 85% of all matter in the universe. Although its gravitational influence shapes galaxies and the large-scale structure ...

16 hours ago
Phys.org / Helium measurements clarify conditions seconds after the Big Bang

New observations of the composition of distant galaxies offer insights into the earliest phases of the universe and confirm decades of scientific understanding of the elements and particles produced by the Big Bang, according ...

20 hours ago