Phys.org news
Phys.org / Recent H5N1 bird flu variants show increased ability to infect dairy cattle
The H5N1 avian influenza virus—commonly known as bird flu—has been causing outbreaks in dairy cows in the United States since March 2024. Now, scientists studying the adaptation of the avian H5N1 viruses to cows have ...
Phys.org / New agentic AI platform accelerates advanced optics design
Stanford engineers debuted a new framework introducing computational tools and self-reflective AI assistants, potentially advancing fields like optical computing and astronomy.
Phys.org / Manta rays create mobile ecosystems, study finds
A new study from the University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric, and Earth Science and the Marine Megafauna Foundation finds that young Caribbean manta rays (Mobula yarae) often swim with groups of other ...
Phys.org / New biomolecular technique uncovers millet in medieval Ukrainian dental calculus
A study has, for the first time, identified minute traces of broomcorn millet consumption directly from human dental calculus, offering an unprecedented window into medieval diets and expanding the toolkit available to archaeologists ...
Phys.org / Molecules as switches for sustainable light-driven technologies
Metal nanostructures can concentrate light so strongly that they can trigger chemical reactions. The key players in this process are plasmons—collective oscillations of free electrons in the metal that confine energy to ...
Phys.org / Nanoscale magnetic mazes could transform data center communications
A collaborative team has developed a new way to create magnetic optical materials, one that removes a long-standing design bottleneck and could boost the speed and efficiency of data-center communications. Using an ion beam ...
Phys.org / Climate shapes arms race between ants and their social parasites
Two new studies show how climate influences behavior, communication, and genome evolution—driving adaptation in a long-running conflict.
Phys.org / Study uncovers new drug target for huge class of viruses
A study from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC), published in Nature Communications, reveals how enteroviruses—including pathogens that cause polio, encephalitis, myocarditis, and the common cold—initiate ...
Phys.org / Amazon could lose over a third of forest cover by century's end
A new LMU study estimates that land use changes in conjunction with climate change could lead to the loss of up to 38% of the Amazon rainforest by the end of the 21st century.
Phys.org / The Alps set to lose a record number of glaciers in the next decade, study warns
Glaciers are melting worldwide. In some regions, they could even disappear completely. Looking at the number of glaciers disappearing, the Alps could reach their peak loss rate as early as 2033 to 2041. Depending on how sharply ...
Phys.org / Interstellar comet keeps its distance as it makes its closest approach to Earth
A stray comet from another star swings past Earth this week in one last hurrah before racing back toward interstellar space.
Phys.org / Iron minerals' hidden chemistry explains how soils trap carbon
While scientists have long known that iron oxide minerals help lock away enormous amounts of carbon—sequestering it from the atmosphere—a new Northwestern University study now reveals exactly why these minerals are such ...
