Phys.org news
Phys.org / Scientists build 'cell villages' to map the genetics of brain cell fitness
How readily a cell divides and how well it survives are fundamental to life, shaping everything from organ size to the body's ability to withstand disease. That combination, known as cell fitness, isn't the same for everyone. ...
Phys.org / Unexpected bond-breaking order reveals a new path to bioluminescence
The dancing lights of fireflies and the eerie blue sparkle in crashing waves get their glow when a molecular square of carbon and oxygen atoms breaks. New research from Stanford University has shown that mechanical force ...
Dialog / How to keep the Earth habitable when the sun dies
In a billion years, the sun will start to run out of fuel and expand to become a red giant. Earth's oceans and atmosphere will be burned away, and Earth will likely be engulfed by the sun altogether. The sun will then shrink ...
Phys.org / Ant teams beat gravity-based puzzle solvers
Ants live in highly organized colonies and cooperate daily to tackle a wide range of problems. Their striking group behaviors have fascinated biologists for centuries and even inspired the development of various artificial ...
Phys.org / Simulations hint at a hidden population of companionless black holes
So far, almost all stellar-mass black holes detected by astronomers have been found in binary systems. However, astronomers have long suspected that these binary black holes are the exception and that, within the Milky Way, ...
Phys.org / New quantum encryption method prevents ciphertext from being cloned
Digital security currently relies on difficult equations to protect data. For example, when you use a credit card online, the information is locked inside a math problem that would take a modern computer thousands of years ...
Phys.org / New models shed light on how an exotic phase of hydrogen in Earth's core may behave
While Earth's core consists mostly of iron, its density implies that lighter elements are also mixed in. Because hydrogen is abundant in the universe and can mix with iron under certain conditions, scientists suspect it makes ...
Phys.org / A 21-hour dip could help explain Tabby's star's decade-long dimming mystery
Since 2016, an ordinary-looking F-type star called KIC 8462852, nicknamed Tabby's star, has behaved anything but ordinarily. In a new study published in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society on July 6, researchers ...
Phys.org / New museum find shows nature can't stop inventing seahorses
At first glance, it looks exactly like a seahorse. It has the same horse-shaped head tilted down from the body, the same curled, grasping tail and, in the males, a fully enclosed pouch for brooding the young.
Phys.org / Geological evidence questions the role of Agulhas Leakage in Atlantic Ocean circulation
For decades, scientists have asserted that the leakage of warm, salty Indian Ocean water south of South Africa into the Atlantic is a major contributor to the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC), a component ...
Phys.org / Homo antecessor skull layers resemble modern humans and Neanderthals, fragments suggest
A new study provides quantitative data on cranial vault thickness in Homo antecessor, based on the analysis of three parietal fragments recovered from the Gran Dolina site in the Sierra de Atapuerca, Burgos, Spain.
Phys.org / Rising seas are inundating US coastal wetlands, putting many on track to become open water
Along the three coasts of the contiguous United States, a silent race unfolds. Fueled by climate change, sea levels rise faster than at any time in recent geologic history. Meanwhile, coastal wetlands cling to a slim lead, ...