Phys.org news

When conditions get too dry, Madagascar hissing cockroaches like to "cuddle." Under certain conditions, the large insects gather in groups, with many participants in physical contact with one another. According to recent ...

There are few technologies more fundamental to modern life than the ability to control light with precision. From fiber-optic communications to quantum sensors, the manipulation of photons underpins much of our digital infrastructure. ...

As a result of climate change, rising sea levels are threatening low-lying coastal areas around the world, such as the Wadden Sea in the North Sea. Tidal basins form a natural protective barrier there. They connect the mainland ...

One of the great mysteries in plant biology is how, given the clouds of pollen released by dozens of plant species all at the same time, an individual plant can recognize which particular species' pollen grains will induce ...

About 4.5 billion years ago, the most momentous event in the history of Earth occurred: a huge celestial body called Theia collided with the young Earth. How the collision unfolded and what exactly happened afterward has ...

In a new study published in Nature Physics, researchers have demonstrated that quantum light, particularly bright squeezed vacuum (BSV), can drive strong-field photoemission at metal needle tips.

While it is well known that climate change is heating the world's oceans, it was thought that the deep sea was safe from its effects—until now. Researchers have discovered that a rapidly warming part of the Atlantic is ...

Loggerhead turtles are able to sense Earth's magnetic field in two ways, but it wasn't clear which sense the animals use to detect the magnetic field when navigating using the magnetic map they are born with. Now researchers ...

A new study has found African lions produce not one, but two distinct types of roars—a discovery set to transform wildlife monitoring and conservation efforts.

Making new friends has its challenges, even for birds. Researchers at the University of Cincinnati found that monk parakeets introduced to new birds will "test the waters" with potential friends to avoid increasingly dangerous ...

When ultraviolet light hits ice—whether in Earth's polar regions or on distant planets—it triggers a cascade of chemical reactions that have puzzled scientists for decades.

A new study challenges the idea that language stems from a single evolutionary root. Instead, it proposes that our ability to communicate evolved through the interaction of biology and culture, and involves multiple capacities, ...