Phys.org news

Phys.org / Scientists uncover environmental cues behind black bear hibernation

New research from Virginia Tech scientists in the College of Natural Resources and Environment provides fresh insight into how environmental conditions influence black bear hibernation, with implications for wildlife management ...

14 hours ago
Phys.org / Shark DNA could hold answers to how we age

Age isn't just a number for one of the ocean's top apex predators. It's a mystery University of Georgia researchers are solving. A new UGA study has determined how to estimate the age of sharks by analyzing changes to individual ...

15 hours ago
Phys.org / We're building a New York‑sized city every month. That's worrying for our climate

We each need a roof over our heads, classrooms to learn in and offices or spaces to work in. To meet this unprecedented demand for new buildings, globally, we're constructing the equivalent of an entire New York City every ...

16 hours ago
Phys.org / Breaking up of swan families in winter disrupts spring migration

Young Bewick's swans only survive their first spring migration if they stay with their parents long enough. If they lose their parents in winter, they leave later and are unable to keep up with the rest of the population. ...

16 hours ago
Phys.org / Blood-camouflaged nanoparticles defeat drug-resistant breast tumors in mouse model

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is one of the most aggressive and treatment-resistant subtypes of breast cancer, accounting for 15% to 20% of all cases. Unlike other breast cancers, TNBC lacks targetable receptors, leaving ...

17 hours ago
Phys.org / Seeing the unseen: A new tool visualizes hidden structures in complex biological data

Modern biology research can now generate valuable data on an unprecedented scale. But there is one major obstacle: making sense of these complex high-dimensional datasets. A team at the University of Basel, Switzerland, has ...

22 hours ago
Phys.org / Quantum dots keep their glow under heat after dual modification

Quantum dots are semiconductor crystals only a few nanometers in size. Their ability to produce bright, precisely tunable colors has made them promising materials for light-emitting diodes, displays, solar cells and other ...

17 hours ago
Phys.org / Dark energy and quantum gravity may be deeply intertwined

For close to a century, physicists have pursued a way to unite gravity with quantum mechanics. Known as quantum gravity, this goal has remained frustratingly out of reach so far. Similarly elusive is the force of dark energy, ...

Aug 20, 2026
Phys.org / A little Big Bang: Bowling-pin-shaped nuclei shed new light on the universe's first moments

What happened in the first moments of the universe—before the building blocks of life and the world we know today came into existence? Physicists at the CERN research facility in Switzerland are trying to answer this question ...

Aug 20, 2026
Phys.org / Neanderthal hips challenge long-standing hypothesis of a trade-off between childbirth and bipedal walking

The most prominent difference between human male and female skeletons is the pelvis, which anthropologists often use to determine the sex of ancient remains. Scientists have long believed the human pelvis evolved mainly as ...

Aug 20, 2026
Phys.org / Stone tools suggest Neanderthals once inhabited Arabian deserts

Neanderthals are largely associated with colder climates across Eurasia. But researchers know that both Homo sapiens and Neanderthals moved through nearby Southwest Asia between about 100,000 and 50,000 years ago, and Arabia ...

Aug 20, 2026
Phys.org / RNA droplets may have helped start life on Earth

It's one of the origins-of-life chicken-or-egg problems: How could RNA have helped give rise to the first cells before there were cells to contain it?

Aug 20, 2026