Phys.org news
Phys.org / Allowing atoms to come and go can open the door to better materials modeling
Most materials, especially metals and ceramics, are crystals. Their atoms are arranged in three-dimensional lattices that repeat the same exact pattern, over and over again. But there's a well-known saying in materials science: ...
Phys.org / Seeing global trade through the lens of physics
New research from the Complexity Science Hub (CSH) shows why widely used algorithms for measuring economic complexity produce trustworthy results and how these tools may benefit diverse areas such as ecology, social science, ...
Phys.org / Musicality is rooted in human biology, not just culture, says professor
Humans are fundamentally "musical animals"—and our capacity for music is rooted in biology, not just culture. This is the conclusion of new work by University of Amsterdam professor of Music Cognition Henkjan Honing. In ...
Phys.org / Wolves kill—and ravens remember where
When a wolf pack runs down its prey, the first on the scene is often the raven. Even before the predators have had time to dig in, the ravens are already in line, waiting to take advantage of the odd scrap of meat that becomes ...
Phys.org / Musicologists map medieval chant tropes to 9th-century political borders
The spread of a particular genre of music reflects the borders between medieval empires in Europe. This is shown by a study conducted by a musicologist at the University of Würzburg, appearing in Transactions of the International ...
Phys.org / Self-regenerating catalyst restores its own performance, advancing CO₂ conversion technology
Technologies that convert carbon dioxide (CO₂) emitted from factories and power plants into useful chemical feedstocks are considered key to achieving carbon neutrality. However, rapid degradation of catalyst performance ...
Phys.org / Fortified salad packs a healthy punch to meet a growing vitamin B12 need
A pioneering research-industry partnership has used advances in indoor farming technology to grow pea shoots fortified with vitamin B12, opening an exciting route to market for farmers and addressing a major public health ...
Phys.org / Shell game: How oysters enlist help from microbes
For an oyster, creating an internal environment for calcification that forms its distinctive hard shell is essential. But new Harvard research has found that these bivalves may outsource the work, coordinating with microbes ...
Phys.org / Astronomers discuss fortifying our planetary defenses
When people think of asteroids, they tend to picture rare, civilization-ending impacts like those depicted in movies such as "Armageddon." In reality, the asteroids most likely to affect modern society are much smaller. While ...
Phys.org / The bizarre sex life of mayflies: Micro-CT scans reveal ins and outs of swarm Kamasutra
A new study on mayflies of the genus Ecdyonurus illustrates just how multifaceted and surprising reproductive behavior in nature can be. Entomologists at the State Museum of Natural History Stuttgart (SMNS), using state-of-the-art ...
Phys.org / Local droplet etching yields more symmetric quantum dots for integrated photonics
Light-based quantum technologies, such as quantum communication and photonic quantum computing, require reliable sources of individual photons and, ideally, pairs of entangled photons. Semiconductor quantum dots are promising ...
Phys.org / The 'croak' conundrum: Parasites complicate love signals in frogs
Across the animal kingdom, sound is more than communication—it's a signal of survival and success. From birds and primates to insects, fish, and amphibians, animals broadcast acoustic "advertisements" to defend territory, ...
