Phys.org news

Phys.org / Swedish freshwater bacteria reveal lost genes and unexpected photosynthesis abilities

Bacteria are among the most diverse and ancient forms of life on Earth. Yet, much of what is known about them comes from a small group of species, mostly studied for their roles in human health.

Dec 12, 2025 in Biology
Phys.org / Hidden patterns of isolation and segregation found in all American cities

A comprehensive analysis of 383 U.S. cities reveals a striking pattern: most have rings of isolation in suburban areas and segregated pockets near the urban core, that are shaped by race, wealth, and proximity to downtown, ...

Dec 12, 2025 in Other Sciences
Phys.org / Global measures consistently underestimate food insecurity: 1 in 5 who suffer from hunger may go uncounted

International humanitarian aid organizations rely on analyses from the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) system, a global partnership that monitors and classifies the severity of food insecurity to help ...

Dec 12, 2025 in Earth
Phys.org / The monster hiding in plain sight: JWST reveals cosmic shapeshifter in the early universe

In a glimpse of the early universe, astronomers have observed a galaxy as it appeared just 800 million years after the Big Bang—a cosmic Jekyll and Hyde that looks like any other galaxy when viewed in visible and even ultraviolet ...

Dec 11, 2025 in Astronomy & Space
Phys.org / Parker Solar Probe spies solar wind 'U-turn'

Images captured by NASA's Parker Solar Probe as the spacecraft made its record-breaking closest approach to the sun in December 2024 have now revealed new details about how solar magnetic fields responsible for space weather ...

Dec 11, 2025 in Astronomy & Space
Phys.org / Migratory birds' stunning precision in flight revealed by new data loggers

Red-backed shrikes fly thousands of kilometers to reach Africa—and they do so with astonishing precision. Aided by new technology, researchers at Lund University in Sweden have been able to track the birds' journeys in ...

Dec 11, 2025 in Biology
Phys.org / Earth's atmosphere may help support human life on the moon

The moon's surface may be more than just a dusty, barren landscape. Over billions of years, tiny particles from Earth's atmosphere have landed in the lunar soil, creating a possible source of life-sustaining substances for ...

Dec 11, 2025 in Astronomy & Space
Phys.org / A new species of tiny orange frog discovered in Brazil's cloud forests

Despite the vast numbers of animal species already identified, the natural world is still capable of springing a few surprises. Deep in the cloud forests of the Serra do Quiriri mountain range in the southern Brazilian Atlantic ...

Dec 11, 2025 in Biology
Phys.org / All-optical modulation in silicon achieved via an electron avalanche process

Over the past decades, engineers have introduced numerous technologies that rely on light and its underlying characteristics. These include photonic and quantum systems that could advance imaging, communication and information ...

Dec 11, 2025 in Physics
Phys.org / Astronomers examine nuclear star cluster of nearby galaxy Messier 74

By analyzing the data from the PHANGS-MUSE survey, an international team of astronomers has inspected a nuclear star cluster of the nearby large spiral galaxy Messier 74. The new study presented Dec. 3 on the arXiv pre-print ...

Dec 11, 2025 in Astronomy & Space
Phys.org / Ear piercings marked one of the earliest Maya rites of passage, research shows

In a recent study, Ph.D. candidate Yasmine Flynn-Arajdal studied iconographic representations of children in the Classic (ca. 250–950 AD) and Post-classic (ca. 950–1539 AD) imagery, as well as in ethnohistoric and ethnographic ...

Dec 11, 2025 in Other Sciences
Phys.org / Tiny optical modulator could enable giant future quantum computers

Researchers have made a major advance in quantum computing with a new device that is nearly 100 times smaller than the diameter of a human hair.

Dec 11, 2025 in Physics