Phys.org news

Phys.org / Cosmic gas flows, not collisions, explain Milky Way's double chemical signature

Clues about how galaxies like our Milky Way form and evolve and why their stars show surprising chemical patterns have been revealed by a new study.

Dec 8, 2025 in Astronomy & Space
Phys.org / The 'hobbits' mysteriously disappeared 50,000 years ago. Our new study reveals what happened to their home

About 50,000 years ago, humanity lost one of its last surviving hominin cousins, Homo floresiensis (also known as "the hobbit" thanks to its small stature). The cause of its disappearance, after more than a million years ...

Dec 8, 2025 in Other Sciences
Phys.org / Electrons stay put in layers of mismatched 'quantum Legos'

Electrons can be elusive, but Cornell researchers using a new computational method can now account for where they go—or don't go—in certain layered materials.

Dec 8, 2025 in Physics
Phys.org / Engineering analysis of Thrinaxodon fossils uncovers unexpectedly advanced hearing in early mammal kin

One of the most important steps in the evolution of modern mammals was the development of highly sensitive hearing. The middle ear of mammals, with an eardrum and several small bones, allows us to hear a broad range of frequencies ...

Dec 8, 2025 in Biology
Phys.org / Adrift like Shackleton: Robot float survives Antarctic ice

A robotic float has measured the temperature and salinity from parts of the ocean never sampled before—underneath massive floating ice shelves in East Antarctica.

Dec 8, 2025 in Earth
Phys.org / Olfaction written in bones: New insights into the evolution of the sense of smell in mammals

The sense of smell is vital for animals, as it helps them find food, protect themselves from predators and interact socially. An international research team led by Dr. Quentin Martinez and Dr. Eli Amson from the State Museum ...

Dec 8, 2025 in Biology
Phys.org / Nano water droplet technology removes 99.9% of ultrafine dust in the air

A KAIST research team has developed a new water-based air purification technology that combines nano water droplets that capture dust with a nano sponge structure that autonomously draws up water, enabling dust removal using ...

Dec 8, 2025 in Nanotechnology
Phys.org / Icy hot plasmas: Fluffy, electrically charged ice grains reveal new plasma dynamics

When a gas is highly energized, its electrons get torn from the parent atoms, resulting in a plasma—the oft-forgotten fourth state of matter (along with solid, liquid, and gas). When we think of plasmas, we normally think ...

Dec 8, 2025 in Physics
Phys.org / Sum-frequency microscope can image an invisible 2D material

Researchers from the Physical Chemistry and Theory departments at the Fritz Haber Institute have found a new way to image layers of boron nitride that are only a single atom thick. This material is usually nearly invisible ...

Dec 8, 2025 in Nanotechnology
Phys.org / Reconfigurable platform slows lights for on-chip photonic engineering

Integrated circuits are the brains behind modern electronic devices like computers or smart phones. Traditionally, these circuits—also known as chips—rely on electricity to process data. In recent years, scientists have ...

Dec 8, 2025 in Physics
Phys.org / Webb reveals double helium tails escaping from a 'hot Jupiter'

For the first time, scientists have continuously monitored a planet's escaping atmosphere over a complete orbit, revealing that the gas giant WASP-121 b is surrounded by not one but two massive helium tails stretching more ...

Dec 8, 2025 in Astronomy & Space
Phys.org / Expanding the search for quantum-ready 2D materials

Quantum technologies from ultrasensitive sensors to next-generation information processors depend on the ability of quantum bits, or qubits, to maintain their delicate quantum states for a sufficiently long time to be useful.

Dec 8, 2025 in Physics