Phys.org news

Dialog / Making sense of quantum gravity in five dimensions

Quantum theory and Einstein's theory of general relativity are two of the greatest successes in modern physics. Each works extremely well in its own domain: Quantum theory explains how atoms and particles behave, while general ...

Jan 5, 2026 in Physics
Phys.org / Nearly every corn seed planted in Colorado is covered in insecticide: Lawmakers may restrict the chemical

Colorado farmers plant tens of millions of corn seeds every year, nearly every one of them covered in a thin layer of insecticide.

Jan 5, 2026 in Biology
Phys.org / Roots of medieval migration into England uncovered in new study

Migration into England was continuous from the Romans through to the Normans and men and women moved from different places and at different rates, a study finds.

Jan 5, 2026 in Other Sciences
Phys.org / Hubble examines Cloud-9, first of new type of object

A team using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has uncovered a new type of astronomical object—a starless, gas-rich, dark-matter cloud that is considered a "relic" or remnant of early galaxy formation. Nicknamed "Cloud-9," ...

Jan 5, 2026 in Astronomy & Space
Phys.org / New species of bush tomato with visible nectar glands discovered in the Australian outback

A recent study led by Bucknell University Professor Chris Martine, biology, the David Burpee Professor of Plant Genetics and Research, has identified and described a new species of bush tomato with a special connection to ...

Jan 5, 2026 in Biology
Phys.org / Microbes may hold the key to brain evolution

A new study reveals that changes to the gut microbiome can change the way the brain works.

Jan 5, 2026 in Biology
Phys.org / Betelgeuse's elusive companion star: Siwarha's 'wake' detected

Using new observations from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope and ground-based observatories, astronomers have tracked the influence of a recently discovered companion star, Siwarha, on the gas around Betelgeuse. The research, ...

Jan 5, 2026 in Astronomy & Space
Phys.org / Metal–metal bonded molecule achieves stable spin qubit state, opening path toward quantum computing materials

Researchers at Kumamoto University, in collaboration with colleagues in South Korea and Taiwan, have discovered that a unique cobalt-based molecule with metal–metal bonds can function as a spin quantum bit (spin qubit)—a ...

Jan 5, 2026 in Physics
Phys.org / Second spider-parasitic mite species described in Brazil

When researchers studying spiders and scorpions at the Zoological Collections Laboratory of the Butantan Institute in São Paulo, Brazil, came across a few-millimeter-long spider wearing something resembling a pearl necklace, ...

Jan 5, 2026 in Biology
Phys.org / Thin ice may have protected lake water on frozen Mars

Small lakes on ancient Mars may have remained liquid for decades, even with average air temperatures well below freezing.

Jan 5, 2026 in Astronomy & Space
Phys.org / Ancient Antarctica reveals a 'one–two punch' behind ice sheet collapse

When we think of global warming, what first comes to mind is the air: crushing heat waves that are felt rather than seen, except through the haziness of humid air. But when it comes to melting ice sheets, rising ocean temperatures ...

Jan 5, 2026 in Earth
Phys.org / XRISM gives sharpest-ever glimpse at growth of a rapidly-spinning black hole

Astronomers have obtained the sharpest-ever X-ray spectrum of an iconic active galaxy, providing the most accurate, precise view ever obtained of the extreme relativistic effects imprinted onto the spacetime around a supermassive ...

Jan 5, 2026 in Astronomy & Space