Phys.org news

Phys.org / Ötzi the Iceman and his microbiome—a 5,300-year-old relationship

Researchers at Eurac Research have obtained a detailed picture of the microbial community associated with Ötzi, Europe's oldest known natural human mummy. The study provides insights into a complex microbiome, ranging from ...

15 hours ago
Phys.org / Atomic reshuffle leads to record-breaking catalysts for hydrogen production

Researchers have discovered that atoms can be mixed, separated, and recombined within the same experiment, providing a pathway to a record-breaking catalyst for green hydrogen production. In their study, the team created ...

16 hours ago
Phys.org / Terahertz imaging maps spatial chirality in materials with 100-micrometer resolution

In nature, there exist structures that are mirror images of each other but cannot be perfectly superimposed. These are known as chiral objects, derived from the Greek word for "hand," since left and right hands share the ...

14 hours ago
Phys.org / City birds dazzle females with 'borrowed' human items

Bowerbirds in an Australian city use a range of human items—from glass and plastic to banknotes and even a pair of handcuffs—to impress females, shows new research in Royal Society Open Science. Male bowerbirds create an ...

16 hours ago
Phys.org / Leafy camouflage reshapes katydid love songs, making males more attractive to females

New research from the University of St Andrews has discovered that insects who conceal themselves as leaves also use their leafy camouflage to amplify mating calls, making themselves more attractive to the opposite sex. The ...

15 hours ago
Phys.org / Small Magellanic Cloud is being pulled apart, reshaping how astronomers read its past

Using more than a decade of observations from the VISTA Survey of the Magellanic Clouds (VMC), researchers measured the motions of millions of stars across the Small Magellanic Cloud with unprecedented precision. The new ...

17 hours ago
Phys.org / Strain creates moiré 2D materials without twisting or stacking, opening more scalable route

Cornell researchers have developed a new way to create moiré patterns—atomic-scale structures that can give materials unusual quantum behaviors—without relying on the traditionally used difficult-to-control twisting and stacking ...

15 hours ago
Phys.org / Lab evolution recreates COVID's path to omicron in months, reveals key conditions

A key step in the origin of many pandemics occurs when an animal-borne virus infects humans and then evolves to spread more efficiently from person to person. That is why scientists and physicians keep a close watch on viruses ...

19 hours ago
Phys.org / Laser beam builds cell-like protein networks without chemical modification

Networks of protein fibers play important roles in living cells. To understand the dynamical behavior of these networks, model networks are needed to perform in vitro studies. However, fabrication of protein networks similar ...

16 hours ago
Phys.org / Climate-based tool predicts coral bleaching months in advance, offering critical lead time for reef protection

Researchers at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) have developed a new method to predict coral bleaching five to six months before it occurs, giving reef managers valuable time to protect vulnerable ecosystems. ...

16 hours ago
Phys.org / Bees can swim and use visual cues to survive water crashes

When a bee crashes into water, it may still be able to swim to safety. New research from Michigan State University confirms that honeybees can propel themselves across the water's surface, and their movement is purposeful ...

18 hours ago
Phys.org / Canadian forest fires are losing their climate cooling power, says study

Diminishing periods of snow cover in northern forests, shortened by climate change, are poised to disrupt a delicate balance in some of the planet's most climate-sensitive regions—according to new research from McMaster University, ...

17 hours ago