Phys.org news
Phys.org / Researchers find microplastics in hedgehogs—then trace them back to pet food
When colleagues and I found microplastics in hedgehog droppings, we wanted to know where they were coming from. One answer was surprisingly close to home: pet food.
Phys.org / White barn owls may use moonlight to startle prey
White barn owls are effective killing machines. They fly silently through the night air and swoop down on unsuspecting prey with their sharp talons. But they have something you would think goes against being a stealth predator: ...
Phys.org / Sawdust, cellulose binders and beeswax combine into eco-friendly foam
Polystyrene—common in packing peanuts and box inserts—is manufactured from fossil fuels. To develop a sustainable alternative, researchers reporting in ACS Applied Polymer Materials tested an unconventional starting material: ...
Phys.org / Pathway to high-fidelity quantum computing identified
Researchers from the University of Sydney, working with IBM, have identified and quantified important factors limiting the performance of quantum computers and demonstrated ways to overcome their impact.
Phys.org / Horizon edge states gain finite description in string theory calculation
Modern physics theories highlight the key role of horizons—boundaries beyond which information cannot reach an observer—in a variety of cosmological and gravitational phenomena. Two renowned examples of these boundaries are ...
Phys.org / Although woodland salamanders have looked the same for millions of years, their physiology has evolved rapidly
For her doctoral dissertation, Yale's Nathalie Alomar decided to study a small amphibian that appeared to have eluded the forces of evolution. She found that there is more to its evolution than meets the eye.
Phys.org / 500-million-year fossil record reveals corals' symbiotic advantage shifted with changing environments
Coral reef ecosystems, widely seen as a climate change bellwether, are more complex than previously understood. A new international study by the universities of Bristol, Wuhan in China, and Erlangen-Nuremberg in Germany reveals ...
Dialog / Liquid ripples rewrite 130-year-old biological classic: New reflections on the lock-and-key model
This April, when the spring breeze carried the formal acceptance notice of our paper by the Journal of the American Chemical Society to my desk, my thoughts instantly drifted back to the late Phil Geissler. A legendary physical ...
Phys.org / Espresso 'pucks' stop behaving predictably above certain pressures
When a physics student asked baristas at the Warsaw Coffee Conference what their biggest question for scientists was, the baristas said they wanted to know how to stop channeling during brewing.
Phys.org / Looking at AI startups to predict which jobs AI will affect
A study of funded AI startups provides a glimpse of which jobs may be most affected by AI. As AI tools are embraced by industry after industry, the impacts of these tools on jobs remain unclear. Previous analyses have focused ...
Phys.org / Einstein Probe detects mysterious X-ray transient that doesn't fit any known class
Astronomers have reported the discovery of an unusual X-ray transient detected by the Einstein Probe that does not fit any known class of cosmic explosions. The paper presenting its multiwavelength analysis was published ...
Phys.org / Amazon fish reveal a synchronized survival tactic that could transfer to drone swarms
Some fish swim in synchrony. Others, it turns out, breathe in synchrony. This is true for arapaimas, an obligate air-breathing species living in the Amazon. A new study in Communications Biology, led by the Leibniz Institute ...
