Phys.org news

Phys.org / Ultra-high-resolution lidar reveals hidden cloud structures

Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory and collaborators have developed a new type of lidar—a laser-based remote-sensing instrument—that can observe cloud structures at the ...

Dec 23, 2025 in Earth
Phys.org / Hagfish olfactory genes hint at ancient origins of vertebrate sense of smell

Researchers at University of Tsukuba and their collaborators have conducted a comprehensive analysis of the olfactory receptor repertoire of the hagfish (Eptatretus burgeri), a jawless vertebrate. This organism retains many ...

Dec 23, 2025 in Biology
Phys.org / Molecular mechanisms behind speciation in corals identified

Matías Gómez-Corrales, a recent biological sciences Ph.D. graduate from the University of Rhode Island, and his advisor, Associate Professor Carlos Prada, have published a paper in Nature Communications, revealing key mechanisms ...

Dec 23, 2025 in Biology
Phys.org / Mysterious, thermally insulating patches at the base of Earth's mantle

With modern seismic tomography, Earth scientists have discovered that above Earth's core-mantle boundary (CMB), about 2,900 kilometers beneath our feet, there is a thin layer about 300 kilometers thick with remarkable structural ...

Dec 23, 2025 in Earth
Phys.org / Drug-resistant Candida auris harnesses CO₂ to survive on skin, research reveals

A new study involving the Medical University of Vienna shows how the multi-resistant fungus Candida auris utilizes carbon dioxide (CO₂) to survive on the skin and become resistant to antifungal therapies. The research team ...

Dec 23, 2025 in Biology
Phys.org / New tool predicts road expansion, deforestation and disease hotspots

Researchers have developed a tool that reliably predicts where destructive new roads are likely to carve through tropical forests, giving environmentalists and public health officials a head-start in identifying at-risk areas ...

Dec 23, 2025 in Earth
Phys.org / Passive adaptation mechanism reveals how cells balance their protein levels

Every cell depends on proteins to function and stay healthy. These proteins are made inside the cell from amino acids, but cannot simply accumulate inside the cell forever. Once they have done their job or become damaged, ...

Dec 23, 2025 in Biology
Phys.org / Study shows the 2008 recession caused people to identify with a lower class

Class identity, which is how individuals view their economic and social positions in relation to others, has wide-ranging effects on people's well-being, thoughts, and behavior. Previous studies have shown that people who ...

Dec 22, 2025 in Other Sciences
Phys.org / Scientists chart over 140,000 DNA loops to map human chromosomes in the nucleus

One of the most detailed 3D maps of how the human chromosomes are organized and folded within a cell's nucleus is published in Nature.

Dec 22, 2025 in Biology
Phys.org / Two ancient human species came out of Africa together, not one, suggests new study

The textbook version of the "Out of Africa" hypothesis holds that the first human species to leave the continent around 1.8 million years ago was Homo erectus. But in recent years, a debate has emerged suggesting it wasn't ...

Dec 22, 2025 in Biology
Phys.org / Anything-goes 'anyons' may be at the root of surprising quantum experiments

In the past year, two separate experiments in two different materials captured the same confounding scenario: the coexistence of superconductivity and magnetism. Scientists had assumed that these two quantum states are mutually ...

Dec 22, 2025 in Physics
Phys.org / The simulation hypothesis: Mathematical framework redefines what it means for one universe to simulate another

The simulation hypothesis—the idea that our universe might be an artificial construct running on some advanced alien computer—has long captured the public imagination. Yet most arguments about it rest on intuition rather ...

Dec 22, 2025 in Other Sciences