Phys.org news
Phys.org / Living tissues are shaped by self-propelled topological defects, biophysicists find
With a new mathematical model, a team of biophysicists has revealed fresh insights into how biological tissues are shaped by the active motion of structural imperfections known as "topological defects." Published in Physical ...
Phys.org / Symbiotic bacteria in planthoppers break record for smallest non-organelle genome ever found
Many insects rely on heritable bacterial endosymbionts for essential nutrients that they cannot get through their diet. A new study, published in Nature Communications, indicates that the genomes of these symbiotic bacteria ...
Phys.org / The bouba-kiki effect: Baby chicks match sounds to shapes just like humans
When we hear certain sounds, our brains often pair them with specific shapes. For example, most people will associate a sharp-sounding word with a jagged, pointed shape, while a soft, rolling word is linked to something smooth ...
Phys.org / Near-infrared study finds no clear counterpart to mysterious gamma-ray source
Spanish astronomers have conducted a near-infrared study of an ultra-high energy gamma-ray source designated LHAASO J2108+5157. The new study, published February 11 on the arXiv preprint server, tries to unravel the mysterious ...
Phys.org / Quantum entanglement could link distant telescopes for sharper images
To capture higher-definition and sharper images of cosmological objects, astronomers sometimes combine the data collected by several telescopes. This approach, known as long-baseline interferometry, entails comparing the ...
Phys.org / Pregnancy complications may have helped wipe out Neanderthals
Neanderthals disappeared from the fossil record approximately 40,000 years ago. Their extinction was a gradual process over thousands of years, and theories as to why include competition with modern humans and rapid climate ...
Phys.org / Atom-thin electronics withstand space radiation, potentially surviving for centuries in orbit
Atom-thick layers of molybdenum disulfide are ideally suited for radiation-resistant spacecraft electronics, researchers in China have confirmed. In a study published in Nature, Peng Zhou and colleagues at Fudan University ...
Phys.org / Evidence points to early goat and sheep dairy consumption in Neolithic Iran
Approximately 9,000 years ago, human communities in Southwest Asia underwent a dramatic transformation, known as the Neolithic revolution. This period was marked by pronounced changes in how they lived and sourced food, with ...
Phys.org / How early farming unintentionally bred highly competitive 'warrior' wheat
An evolutionary "arms race" for light and space led to the early domestication of wheat, according to new research that could offer fresh insights into crop design. The study led by Dr. Yixiang Shan and Professor Colin Osborne, ...
Phys.org / New generation of climate models sheds first light on long-standing Pacific puzzle
Researchers have long been puzzled by the observed cooling of the eastern tropical Pacific and the Southern Ocean accompanying global warming. Existing climate models have failed to capture this pattern. At the Max Planck ...
Phys.org / Supercomputer simulations reveal rotation drives chemical mixing in red giant stars
Advances in supercomputing have made solving a long‐standing astronomical conundrum possible: How can we explain the changes in the chemical composition at the surface of red giant stars as they evolve?
Phys.org / Scientists reveal best- and worst-case scenarios for a warming Antarctica
The climate crisis is warming Antarctica fast, with potentially disastrous consequences. Now scientists have modeled the best- and worst-case scenarios for climate change in Antarctica, demonstrating just how high the stakes ...
