Phys.org news
Phys.org / A single origin story for the Milky Way's most mysterious stars
Lurking at the heart of the Milky Way, Sagittarius A* (Sgr A*) is a supermassive black hole four million times the mass of the sun, surrounded by a puzzling collection of young, massive stars whose orbits have long defied ...
Phys.org / Ultraluminous X-ray source in Whale galaxy investigated for spectral and timing variability
Astronomers from Germany and Turkey have analyzed available data from various space telescopes to investigate an ultraluminous X-ray source designated X-4, which is located in the nearby galaxy NGC 4631. Results of the new ...
Phys.org / Pacific plate's rotation gave Alaska's Aleutian Islands a later-life lift
New research by Brown University geologists confirms that the Aleutian Islands, the archipelago stretching from Alaska to Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula, experienced a massive geological uplift between 5 million and 7 million ...
Phys.org / Semiconductor quantum dots 'reawaken' predicted Rabi oscillations, boosting quantum control
Physicists at Paderborn University have, for the first time, experimentally demonstrated the so-called "return" of Rabi oscillations in semiconductor quantum dots. The phenomenon, which was first predicted theoretically in ...
Phys.org / Sea anemones reveal antiviral defense that reverses human immune playbook
A new study has uncovered a previously unknown antiviral defense mechanism in sea anemones, revealing that animals may have evolved more than one way to fight viral infections. Researchers discovered that a protein resembling ...
Phys.org / European heatwave's unlikely accomplice: An ocean 'cold blob'
The heat wave battering Europe may have an unlikely partner in crime: a patch of cold ocean water south of Iceland and Greenland that can influence weather patterns over the continent.
Phys.org / How a 'copper economy' helps fungi and bacteria build stubborn biofilms
Scientists have discovered that two common human pathogens can work together by managing copper in their shared environment—a finding that could open new ways to break down stubborn mixed biofilms.
Phys.org / Secrets of how we see color revealed at the molecular level
A global team has cracked a decades-old mystery, revealing the atomic structures of the molecules in our eyes that allow us to see colors. "To understand how we detect light and perceive colors, we need to know the exact ...
Phys.org / Scientists find evidence of vast hidden magma systems inside Mars
Researchers from the University of Oxford have uncovered evidence that Mars once hosted enormous, Earth-like magmatic systems deep beneath its surface—despite the planet lacking the plate tectonics long thought necessary ...
Phys.org / Elusive thorium–thorium bonding directly observed using Hirshfeld atom refinement
Researchers have directly visualized a rare type of chemical bond between some of the heaviest elements in the periodic table, providing experimental evidence of how these atoms share electrons in systems where this has been ...
Phys.org / Screen reveals new proteins that control RNA processing
Researchers at the University of California San Diego have developed a large-scale screening approach that identifies proteins controlling a fundamental step in gene expression known as alternative polyadenylation (APA). ...
Phys.org / Ancient ocean circulation reversed Atlantic and Pacific oxygen patterns 15 million years ago
The eastern tropical Pacific Ocean is known for its large low-oxygen zones that are increasing in size, putting marine life at risk. New research shows that 15 million years ago, the opposite was true.