Phys.org news
Phys.org / All-optical modulation in silicon achieved via an electron avalanche process
Over the past decades, engineers have introduced numerous technologies that rely on light and its underlying characteristics. These include photonic and quantum systems that could advance imaging, communication and information ...
Phys.org / Ultra-hot super-Earth shows signs of thick atmosphere despite extreme conditions
Researchers using NASA's James Webb Space Telescope have detected the strongest evidence yet for an atmosphere on a rocky planet outside our solar system.
Phys.org / Astronomers examine nuclear star cluster of nearby galaxy Messier 74
By analyzing the data from the PHANGS-MUSE survey, an international team of astronomers has inspected a nuclear star cluster of the nearby large spiral galaxy Messier 74. The new study presented Dec. 3 on the arXiv pre-print ...
Phys.org / Ear piercings marked one of the earliest Maya rites of passage, research shows
In a recent study, Ph.D. candidate Yasmine Flynn-Arajdal studied iconographic representations of children in the Classic (ca. 250–950 AD) and Post-classic (ca. 950–1539 AD) imagery, as well as in ethnohistoric and ethnographic ...
Phys.org / Why do raccoons cross the road? Research shows they don't
A new study led by researchers from Saint Louis University, the Saint Louis Zoo, and partner organizations recently set out to understand how raccoons use space in one of the nation's largest urban parks.
Phys.org / Tiny optical modulator could enable giant future quantum computers
Researchers have made a major advance in quantum computing with a new device that is nearly 100 times smaller than the diameter of a human hair.
Phys.org / Chinese intertidal shellfish farming: An unexpected fuel station for millions of migrating shorebirds
China's tidal flats feed people and mollusk-eating migrating shorebirds such as red knots, great knots and Eurasian oystercatchers. Under good management, these flats used for aquaculture markedly reduce human disturbance ...
Phys.org / The monster hiding in plain sight: JWST reveals cosmic shapeshifter in the early universe
In a glimpse of the early universe, astronomers have observed a galaxy as it appeared just 800 million years after the Big Bang—a cosmic Jekyll and Hyde that looks like any other galaxy when viewed in visible and even ultraviolet ...
Phys.org / Polar bears may be adapting to survive warmer climates, says study
New research reveals a link between rising temperatures and changes in polar bear DNA, which may be helping them adapt and survive in increasingly challenging environments.
Phys.org / Chip-scale magnetometer uses light for high-precision magnetic sensing
Researchers have developed a precision magnetometer based on a special material that changes optical properties in response to a magnetic field. The device, which is integrated onto a chip, could benefit space missions, navigation ...
Phys.org / Rooster 'epidemic' fueled by backyard coops, sanctuaries say
A yearslong surge in displaced roosters is overwhelming animal sanctuaries in Maryland and across the country, fueled by a pandemic-born boom in backyard chicken coops and the noisy realities of owning a male bird.
Phys.org / How Earth's mantle locked away vast amounts of water in early magma ocean
Some 4.6 billion years ago, Earth was nothing like the gentle blue planet we know today. Frequent and violent celestial impacts churned its surface and interior into a seething ocean of magma—an environment so extreme that ...