Phys.org news
Phys.org / A 4-star system caught eclipsing itself in a way never seen before
Astronomers have found a four-star system doing something that has never been confirmed before. The system, TIC 433545934, has two close pairs of stars orbiting each other. While each pair eclipses its own two stars, as usual, ...
Phys.org / A 2-degree twist creates a nanoscale grid that traps light energy at room temperature
You may have once tried taking a close-up picture of a computer screen and noticed a wavy, rippling effect. This optical effect occurs whenever two fine, repeating grids overlap and slightly misalign, such as when the pixel ...
Phys.org / One step closer to the ideal glass—simulations reveal hidden order at absolute zero
In the physical sense, glass is not limited to familiar window glass; it forms whenever a liquid is cooled so quickly that it cannot crystallize. As a result, glass has an amorphous structure—that is, its "building blocks" ...
Phys.org / Mechanical memory helps explain how cells adapt their movement to changing environments
Cells in our bodies squeeze through dense tissue channels, thread past neighboring cells and navigate every nook and cranny within the extracellular matrix—the mesh-like network that surrounds and supports cells. How well ...
Phys.org / Corners in focus: Metasurface enables motion tracking without digital image processing
A research team at City University of Hong Kong (CityUHK) has developed a new optical corner-detection imaging method that uses azimuthal Hilbert transform metasurfaces and is designed to work as a universal framework. The ...
Phys.org / Soil bacteria share amino acids, helping nearly half survive nutrient gaps
Bacteria, too, depend on good neighborly relations: A new study by the Osnabrück University, in collaboration with researchers from the University of Cambridge in England, shows that soil bacteria live in beneficial communities ...
Phys.org / Tiny root hairs, big impact: How bacteria help plants survive drought
What helps plants cope better with drought? With heat waves and periods of extreme drought becoming increasingly common worldwide, the need for drought-tolerant plants is increasingly urgent. With the help of bacteria, plants ...
Phys.org / Can satellites detect when forests lose resilience?
For years, scientists have been using a method called "temporal autocorrelation (TAC)" to measure forest resilience using satellite data. However, scientists have not used TAC uniformly, and its use as a resilience indicator ...
Phys.org / Antarctic bacteria share 'life‑support' genes to survive extreme conditions
Antarctica is one of the driest, coldest places on Earth. Very little life survives its extremes. In the soils scattered around the frozen ice sheets, however, communities of microbes do survive. And one of the keys to their ...
Phys.org / Climate scientists solve monsoon puzzle and warn of risks to fisheries
A new study has reconciled a long-standing paradox in the South Asian summer monsoon cycle. Climate scientists have discovered why geological records from land and sea have told opposite stories about monsoons throughout ...
Phys.org / How chromosomes find their partners
For a long time, so-called satellite DNA was considered largely worthless. Now, ETH Zurich researchers have shown in fruit flies that these repetitive sections of genetic material act as a kind of barcode, enabling the correct ...
Phys.org / How to CT scan a 400-pound crocodile
At 61, Bill had begun showing changes in his health—decreased appetite, weight loss and abdominal bloating. But his bloodwork was normal, leaving the cause of his symptoms unknown. The next step was clear: Bill should get ...
