Phys.org news
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 / 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 / NASA loses contact with its Maven spacecraft orbiting Mars for the past decade
NASA has lost contact with a spacecraft that has orbited Mars for more than a decade.
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 ...
Phys.org / Graphene membranes offer efficient, low-cost option for industrial CO₂ capture
Carbon capture is becoming essential for industries that still depend on fossil fuels, including the cement and steel industries. Natural-gas power plants, coal plants, and cement factories all release large amounts of CO₂, ...
Phys.org / Small galaxies may buck the black hole trend, Chandra finds
Most smaller galaxies may not have supermassive black holes in their centers, according to a recent study using NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory. This contrasts with the common idea that nearly every galaxy has one of these ...
Phys.org / How to build a genome: Scientists release troubleshooting manual for synthetic life
Leading synthetic biologists have shared hard-won lessons from their decade-long quest to build the world's first synthetic eukaryotic genome in a Nature Biotechnology paper. Their insights could accelerate development of ...
Phys.org / Astronomers challenge 50-year-old quasar law
Compelling evidence that the structure of matter surrounding supermassive black holes has changed over cosmic time has been uncovered by an international team of astronomers.
Phys.org / Migratory birds' stunning precision in flight revealed by new data loggers
Red-backed shrikes fly thousands of kilometers to reach Africa—and they do so with astonishing precision. Aided by new technology, researchers at Lund University in Sweden have been able to track the birds' journeys in ...
Phys.org / Swarm detects rare proton spike during solar storm
The European Space Agency's Swarm mission detected a large but temporary spike of high-energy protons at Earth's poles during a geomagnetic storm in November. It did this not with the scientific instruments for measuring ...
Phys.org / Popular song lyrics have become more negative since 1973, analysis reveals
Over the past 50 years, the lyrics of popular songs in the U.S. have become simpler, more negative, and contain more stress-related words, according to an analysis published in Scientific Reports. The authors suggest that ...
Phys.org / Fungal allies arm plant roots against disease by rewriting the rules of infection
Scientists have discovered that beneficial root-dwelling fungi boost plant resilience to disease by remodeling the plant cell membrane at pathogen infection sites—offering critical new insights into how plants coordinate ...
