Phys.org news
Phys.org / Aerosol pollution found to thicken fog over Northern India—especially at night
Frequent, thick winter fog events are a common nuisance in Northern India, exacerbated by heavy air pollution and dense aerosol concentrations. Because these fog events often cause major disruptions to transportation and ...
Phys.org / Video game experiment reveals people value feeding their neighbors—even at a cost to themselves
For many people, the allure of video games is that they offer players a chance to enter a world very different from their own: everything from fighting dragons in a mythical realm to racing cars on an obstacle-filled roadway. ...
Phys.org / Scientists reveal what drives homosexual behavior in primates
Homosexual behavior in primates has a deep evolutionary basis and is more likely to occur in species that live in harsh environments, are hunted by predators or live in more complex societies, scientists said Monday.
Phys.org / Microplastics found in rural woodland at higher levels than in city centers
Air-polluting microplastics have been found in rural environments in greater quantities than in urban locations, researchers say. Scientists led by the University of Leeds detected up to 500 microscopic particles of plastic ...
Phys.org / Overlooked decline in grazing livestock brings risks and opportunities
For decades, researchers have focused on the problem of overgrazing, in which expanding herds of cattle and other livestock degrade grasslands, steppes and desert plains. But a new global study reveals that in large regions ...
Phys.org / Mars was once a 'blue planet': Ancient river deltas point to vast ocean
Using images from cameras on Mars orbiters, an international research team has discovered structures on Mars that are very similar to classic river deltas on Earth. These are traces of rivers that have deposited their sediments ...
Phys.org / Tiny Mars's big impact on Earth's climate: How the red planet's pull shapes ice ages
At half the size of Earth and one-tenth its mass, Mars is a featherweight as far as planets go. Yet new research reveals the extent to which Mars is quietly tugging on Earth's orbit and shaping the cycles that drive long-term ...
Phys.org / A new valve for quantum matter: Steering chiral fermions by geometry alone
A collaboration between Stuart Parkin's group at the Max Planck Institute of Microstructure Physics in Halle (Saale) and Claudia Felser's group at the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Physics of Solids in Dresden has realized ...
Phys.org / 'Death by a thousand cuts': Pablo's galaxy ran out of fuel as black hole choked off supplies
Astronomers have spotted one of the oldest "dead" galaxies yet identified, and found that a growing supermassive black hole can slowly starve a galaxy rather than tear it apart.
Phys.org / Tissue repair slows in old age. These proteins speed it back up
As we age, we don't recover from injury or illness like we did when we were young. But new research from UCSF has found gene regulators—proteins that turn genes on and off—that could restore the aging body's ability to ...
Phys.org / The cosmic seesaw: Black holes eject material as winds or jets, but not both at once
Astronomers at the University of Warwick have discovered that black holes don't just consume matter—they manage it, choosing whether to blast it into space as high-speed jets or sweep it away in vast winds.
Phys.org / El Niño and La Niña synchronize global droughts and floods, study finds
Water extremes such as droughts and floods have a huge impact on communities, ecosystems, and economies. Researchers with The University of Texas at Austin have turned their attention to tracking these extremes across Earth ...