Phys.org news

Phys.org / Deep-sea larvae travel toward sunlight before returning to hydrothermal vents 2,000 meters down

Hydrothermal vents on the ocean floor host a broad range of rare and unusual ecosystems. They can be spread far apart, yet there is often overlap among the creatures that inhabit them. Researchers, including those from the ...

57 minutes ago
Phys.org / Scientists find hidden individuality in viral infections

An international team of researchers developed a new way to uncover hidden differences in how viruses infect and destroy individual microbial cells—solving a biological puzzle that has persisted for more than 80 years.

56 minutes ago
Phys.org / Large precolonial villages in the Brazilian Cerrado practiced maize-based polyculture, evidence reveals

For decades, researchers have debated the subsistence strategies of precolonial societies in the Brazilian Cerrado (tropical savanna): Were they hunter-gatherers or intensive maize farmers, and in either case, how did they ...

57 minutes ago
Phys.org / Climate impact research needs more real-world data, study suggests

European cities are experimenting with hundreds of climate solutions, from green roofs to electric vehicles, in hopes of adapting to the warmer world around us. But despite a growing body of research on these solutions, we ...

1 hour ago
Phys.org / Scientists recover sub-Saharan Africa's oldest ancient animal DNA

Ancient DNA can be a powerful tool for helping us reconstruct the long-dead past. Most surviving genetic material comes from the bones and teeth of animals that lived in cold environments, where freezing temperatures help ...

2 hours ago
Phys.org / NASA's Perseverance rover reads record of ancient Mars impacts

NASA's Perseverance Mars rover has uncovered evidence that a 245-foot-thick (75-meter-thick) stack of ancient rock on the rim of Jezero Crater was built by repeated asteroid impacts. Referred to as the "Broom Point member" ...

1 hour ago
Phys.org / Oxygenic photosynthesis works with one photosystem, overturning 50-year textbook rule

LMU researchers demonstrate that oxygenic photosynthesis can occur with only a single photosystem, overturning a fundamental principle of biology.

1 hour ago
Phys.org / Birds respond differently to environmental change—and their traits explain why

A sweeping new Cal Poly study of North American birds reveals that environmental change does not affect all species equally and that a bird's traits can explain whether populations rise or fall as local conditions change.

1 hour ago
Phys.org / Nanoscale gaps reveal new design rule for atom-thin chips and memory

Researchers at the College of Design and Engineering at the National University of Singapore have identified a key design principle for building reliable electronics from materials only one atomic layer thick, giving engineers ...

1 hour ago
Phys.org / A new stellar census strengthens the case for a 13.8-billion-year-old universe

Astronomers have used the ages of more than 155,000 stars in the Milky Way to independently estimate the age of the universe, and their findings may be good news for the standard cosmological model. The new research was reported ...

7 hours ago
Phys.org / Ultraviolet light uncovers the first known juveniles of a mysterious Jurassic fish family

For more than 150 years, fossils of Jurassic fish scattered across Europe's museums were studied and drawn by generations of scientists. However, when a paleontologist decided to shine an ultraviolet light on them, a hidden ...

5 hours ago
Phys.org / Medaka males can mate 27 times daily, but sperm performance drops fast

Oryzias latipes, commonly known as medaka, is a small fish measuring about 2–3 cm (0.8–1.2 inches) in length that exhibits highly active spawning behavior during the breeding season. Previous research by an Osaka Metropolitan ...

2 hours ago