Phys.org news

Phys.org / Pika research finds troubling signs for the iconic Rocky Mountain animal

A new study led by the University of Colorado Boulder carries a warning for one of the Rocky Mountains' most iconic animals—the American pika (Ochotona princeps), a small and fuzzy creature that often greets hikers in Colorado ...

Nov 19, 2025 in Biology
Phys.org / Coaxing bilayer graphene into a single diamond-like layer for industrial applications

Graphene's enduring appeal lies in its remarkable combination of lightness, flexibility, and strength. Now, researchers have shown that under pressure, it can briefly take on the traits of one of its more glamorous carbon ...

Nov 19, 2025 in Nanotechnology
Phys.org / Soil carbon decomposition varies vastly, holding implications for climate models

Soil stores more carbon than Earth's atmosphere and plants combined, which makes the speed of soil carbon's decomposition an important variable in models used to predict changes to our climate.

Nov 19, 2025 in Earth
Phys.org / Magnetic nanocultures: A tiny lens into the vast world of soil microbes

An estimated 1 trillion species of microorganisms reside on Earth, yet scientists have been able to study less than two percent of them. Because many microorganisms cannot be cultivated in laboratories, researchers at Carnegie ...

Nov 19, 2025 in Nanotechnology
Phys.org / Surface-only superconductor is the strangest of its kind

Something strange goes on inside the material platinum-bismuth-two (PtBi₂). A new study by researchers at IFW Dresden and the Cluster of Excellence ct.qmat demonstrates that while PtBi₂ may look like a typical shiny gray ...

Nov 19, 2025 in Physics
Phys.org / How a plant-parasitic nematode can infect a wide range of organisms

UC Davis nematologists, including Valerie Williamson, professor emerita in the Department of Plant Pathology, and associate professor Shahid Siddique, Department of Entomology and Nematology, have long wondered how a plant-parasitic ...

Nov 19, 2025 in Biology
Phys.org / Webb witnesses a feasting supermassive black hole in the early universe

Researchers using the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope have confirmed an actively growing supermassive black hole within a galaxy just 570 million years after the Big Bang. Part of a class of small, very distant galaxies ...

Nov 19, 2025 in Astronomy & Space
Phys.org / Central America's 'five great forests' are lifelines for North America's migratory birds

Every spring, the familiar songs of Wood Thrushes and warblers return to the parks and backyards of eastern North America. But their journey begins far to the south—in the lush, remote forests of Central America that sustain ...

Nov 19, 2025 in Biology
Phys.org / Emerald green degradation in masterpieces: Scientists identify the culprits

An international team of researchers have found what triggers degradation in one of the most popular pigments used by renowned 19th and 20th century painters. Using a multi-method approach, including advanced synchrotron ...

Nov 19, 2025 in Chemistry
Phys.org / Tiny antennas bring electrical energy to 'unpowerable' nanoparticles

A new technique uses "molecular antennas" to funnel electrical energy into insulating nanoparticles, creating a new class of ultra-pure near-infrared LEDs for medical diagnostics, optical communications, and sensing.

Nov 19, 2025 in Nanotechnology
Phys.org / Webb reveals Apep's four 'spiraling' dust shells shaped by Wolf-Rayet stars

NASA's James Webb Space Telescope has delivered a first of its kind: a crisp mid-infrared image of a system of four serpentine spirals of dust, one expanding beyond the next in precisely the same pattern. (The fourth is almost ...

Nov 19, 2025 in Astronomy & Space
Phys.org / Ancient bog growth reveals shifting Southern Hemisphere winds 15,000 years ago

Scientists have revealed that ancient bogs in the Southern Hemisphere hold clues to a major shift in Earth's climate thousands of years ago.

Nov 19, 2025 in Earth