Phys.org news
Phys.org / Two paths to scalable quantum computing: Optical links between fridges and higher-temperature qubits
Superconducting qubits—bits of quantum information—have been widely considered a promising technology for moving quantum computing forward. But there's still much work to be done before they can be brought out of a near absolute ...
Phys.org / The physics of brain development: How cells pull together to form the neural tube
In about one out of every 1,000 pregnancies, the neural tube, a key nervous system structure, fails to close properly. Georgia Tech physicists are now helping explain why this happens, having uncovered the physics that drive ...
Phys.org / To thwart pathogens, researchers are giving beneficial microbes what they really want
University of California San Diego researchers have developed a new tool for understanding and modifying any microbiome, including the human microbiome. The approach, called Microbial Interaction and Niche Determination (MIND), ...
Phys.org / Lost millennium of Galapagos deep-sea corals linked to major Pacific climate shift
Scientists have discovered that deep-water corals in the Galapagos region vanished for more than 1,000 years before eventually recovering. The findings reveal that deep-water coral ecosystems may be more susceptible to climate ...
Phys.org / How primitive plants evolved to survive Earth's most catastrophic extinction event
Earth responded to its most severe past warming event by evolving a new and bizarre type of photosynthesis that allowed a group of primitive plants to survive. Research led by the University of Leeds has revealed how lycophytes—a ...
Phys.org / Madagascar's ancient baobabs store 700 years of climate secrets—what they reveal
Madagascar is home to seven species of baobab trees, of which six are found nowhere else on the planet. Many of the trees have been alive for well over 1,000 years. The ancient trees have become symbols of Madagascar itself. ...
Phys.org / Cracking a long-standing problem in high-entropy alloy nanoparticle synthesis
Composed of five or more elements in nearly equal amounts, high-entropy alloys (HEAs) have emerged as promising catalysts due to their compositionally complex surfaces that can accelerate chemical reactions. Until now, scientists ...
Phys.org / Hypertriton appears more tightly bound than expected, sharpening the picture of nuclear forces
An international research team of the A1 Collaboration at the Mainz Microtron (MAMI) of Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) has succeeded in determining the binding energy of the hypertriton with unprecedented precision. ...
Phys.org / How resilient fungus might survive Mars and space
Scientists have long known that fungi are resilient, but a new study suggests that some strains might survive every step of the long, brutal trip to Mars. In a paper published in Applied and Environmental Microbiology, researchers ...
Phys.org / Ant supergene reveals surprising twist in evolution of social behavior
In the spring, ants are once again hard at work. Beyond their everyday presence, ants are also key model organisms in cutting-edge evolutionary genetics research, helping scientists understand how social behavior and cooperation ...
Phys.org / Why so many mollusks sound Greek—their naming evolves at a snail's pace
"A rose by any other name would smell as sweet," said Juliet Capulet in William Shakespeare's famous play. And the same is presumably true for mollusks, albeit with different odors. When you think about the scientific names ...
Phys.org / Why a bizarre Brazil 'pterosaur' fossil is now being reclassified as a fish
Georges Cuvier, the 19th-century French anatomist who first recognized pterodactyls as flying reptiles, wrote that "of all the beings whose ancient existence has been revealed to us, [they are] the most extraordinary."
