Phys.org news
Phys.org / Ancient Greek priestesses may have turned ergot fungus into a psychedelic brew during the Eleusinian Mysteries
The Eleusinian Mysteries were secret religious rites in ancient Greece honoring the goddess Demeter and her daughter Persephone, and aimed to remove the fear of death. The ceremonies included days of fasting, rituals and ...
Phys.org / Rare Type Icn supernova SN 2024abvb is among the most luminous known
An international team of astronomers has carried out photometric and spectroscopic observations of SN 2024abvb—a recently discovered supernova of a rare Type Icn. The new observational campaign yields important information ...
Phys.org / Dense, dark forests in Europe are a modern phenomenon
For over 20 million years, the landscape of Europe has been a tree-rich mosaic of grasslands, scrubs and more or less open woodlands with an abundance of wildflowers. This is the conclusion of a new and comprehensive study ...
Phys.org / Microplastics and nanoplastics in urban air originate mainly from tire abrasion, research reveals
Although plastic particles in the air are increasingly coming into focus, knowledge about their distribution and effects is still limited. Chemical analyses from Leipzig now provide details from Germany for the first time: ...
Phys.org / Self-propelling microbes switch up swimming strategy to optimize light intake
Researchers in Hong Kong and the UK have revealed how one species of self-propelling microbes can actively change the path of their swimming motions, depending on how much light they receive. Reporting in Physical Review ...
Phys.org / Feral horses and cattle create more resilient nature, rewilding study reveals
Protected natural areas across Europe are changing. Climate change, with rising temperatures and heavy rainfall, is turbocharging the growth of shrubs and trees, choking the flowers and insects that need the light and heat ...
Phys.org / Quantum dynamics show 'memory' depends on whether states or observables evolve
An international group of researchers have investigated the role of memory in quantum systems and dynamics. Their findings show that a quantum process can appear memoryless from one perspective while retaining memory from ...
Phys.org / Trees cover rock, eventually: Study maps how bare Georgia bedrock turns into forest
In the forests of the southeastern United States, dense tree cover dominates most landscapes. That's why the Appalachian Trail is sometimes nicknamed "The Green Tunnel." But avid hikers know that often in the Southeast, they'll ...
Phys.org / Chemists rapidly assemble fusicoccadiene, a complex fungal molecule tied to cancer research
A Florida State University chemist has developed a method to rapidly assemble significantly complex natural molecules with potential for biomedical applications, opening the door for novel drug therapies based on the molecule's ...
Phys.org / 'Old Mother Goose' challenges a 14-million-year lineage story in New Zealand
The discovery of a rare fossil goose in an ancient Central Otago lake shows the evolutionary history of Aotearoa New Zealand birds is much more dynamic than once thought, a University of Otago–Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka researcher ...
Phys.org / First 3D reconstruction of the face of 'Little Foot' completed
Identified as the most complete Australopithecus fossil discovered to date, "Little Foot" was buried in sediments whose movement and weight caused fractures and deformations, making analysis of its skull—and more particularly ...
Phys.org / MeerKAT discovers record-breaking cosmic laser halfway across the universe
Astronomers using the MeerKAT radio telescope in South Africa have discovered the most distant hydroxyl megamaser ever detected. It is located in a violently merging galaxy more than 8 billion light-years away, opening a ...
