Phys.org news
Phys.org / Why are mountain forests in Mexico and Central America hotspots for oak trees? Study shows most definitive answer yet
The mountains of Mexico and Central America harbor some of the greatest biodiversity of oak trees worldwide, and a landmark study conducted by The Morton Arboretum with U.S. and Mexican collaborators provides the most definitive ...
Phys.org / Small talk shapes big trends: Physics predicts how language patterns spread
A new model to predict how language changes over time has been developed by a statistical physicist at the University of Portsmouth. The model is a step towards understanding the "statistical physics of language," a scientific ...
Phys.org / Physics-based weather models more accurate than AI at predicting extreme weather
Weather forecasting is another aspect of modern life that artificial intelligence is transforming. Models like GraphCast, Pangu-Weather, and Fuxi are already better than traditional physics-based climate models at predicting ...
Phys.org / JWST pins down the origins of a planetary odd couple
Across the Milky Way galaxy, a planetary odd couple is circling a star some 190 light years from Earth. A normally "lonely" hot Jupiter is sharing space with a mini-Neptune, in a rare and unlikely pairing that's had astronomers ...
Phys.org / Astronomers map lifetime of over 100,000 molecular clouds across 66 galaxies
An international team of astronomers has analyzed the data from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) and Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) to investigate giant molecular clouds in nearby galaxies. The new ...
Phys.org / Life with one less: Engineered bacteria break the 20-amino-acid rule
One of life's many mysteries is how it ended up choosing only a set of 20 amino acids to build proteins for its wide catalog of organisms, from single-celled bacteria to behemoth whales. From a chemical standpoint, many of ...
Phys.org / Colored microplastics could be making global warming worse
There's more bad news about microplastics. We already know they pose a risk to health and can pollute ecosystems, but now researchers have discovered that tiny plastic particles drifting in Earth's atmosphere could be a significant ...
Phys.org / Why isolated human groups speak more diverse languages even as genetic diversity shrinks
Languages and human DNA both capture aspects of human diversity. But how are they related? A new international study led by the University of Zurich finds a clear but counterintuitive pattern: regions with high genetic diversity ...
Phys.org / Three billion years ago, Earth's life relied on a rare metal
A collaborative team of scientists has discovered that life on Earth over three billion years ago relied on the metal molybdenum, which was incredibly scarce in the environment at the time. The study, published in Nature ...
Phys.org / Unraveling the evolution of an extraordinary photosynthesis in a tropical tree species
Plants use sunlight to convert water and carbon dioxide into energy-rich sugars and oxygen in various ways (photosynthesis). Drought is a major challenge in this process. A research team led by Wolfram Weckwerth at the University ...
Phys.org / Polar vortex forecasts gain months of lead time with new climate-based method
Florida State University researchers have discovered how to accurately predict winter weather forecasts months in advance, affording sectors such as agriculture, water management, energy use and public health a longer lead ...
Phys.org / Inexpensive material compresses light, paving the way for photonic microcircuits in the terahertz range
A two-dimensional lamellar crystal composed of atomically thin layers of lead iodide (PbI2) could be used to manufacture a new generation of circuits that use light and mechanical vibrations (rather than electrons) to transmit ...
