Phys.org news

Phys.org / Are your memories illusions? New study disentangles the Boltzmann brain paradox

In a recent paper, SFI Professor David Wolpert, SFI Fractal Faculty member Carlo Rovelli, and physicist Jordan Scharnhorst examine a longstanding, paradoxical thought experiment in statistical physics and cosmology known ...

Jan 21, 2026 in Physics
Phys.org / Metal clumps in a quantum state: Physicists place thousands of sodium atoms in a 'Schrödinger's cat state'

Can a small lump of metal be in a quantum state that extends over distant locations? A research team at the University of Vienna answers this question with a resounding yes. In the journal Nature, physicists from the University ...

Jan 21, 2026 in Physics
Phys.org / Key protein can restore aging neural stem cells' ability to regenerate

Researchers at the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore (NUS Medicine), have found that a key protein can help to regenerate neural stem cells, which may improve aging-associated decline in neuronal ...

Jan 21, 2026 in Biology
Phys.org / Meet the marten: An updated look at a rare, adorable carnivore

Oregon State University researchers have painted a clearer picture of the coastal marten, a secretive, ferret-sized forest carnivore renowned for its cuteness but nearly driven to extinction by human activity in the 20th ...

Jan 21, 2026 in Biology
Phys.org / Bird retinas function without oxygen—solving a centuries-old biological mystery

Neural tissue normally dies quickly without oxygen. Yet bird retinas—among the most energy-demanding tissues in the animal kingdom—function permanently without it. This may be relevant in future treatment of stroke patients.

Jan 21, 2026 in Biology
Phys.org / Massive black hole mystery unlocked by researchers

It's one of astronomy's great mysteries: how did black holes get so big, so massive, so quickly. An answer to this cosmic conundrum has now been provided by researchers at Ireland's Maynooth University (MU) and reported today ...

Jan 21, 2026 in Astronomy & Space
Phys.org / Massive cloud with metallic winds discovered orbiting mystery object

Sweeping winds of vaporized metals have been found in a massive cloud that dimmed the light of a star for nearly nine months. This discovery, made with the Gemini South telescope in Chile, one half of the International Gemini ...

Jan 21, 2026 in Astronomy & Space
Phys.org / Prehistoric tool made from elephant bone is the oldest discovered in Europe

A remarkable prehistoric hammer made from elephant bone, dating back nearly half a million years ago, has been uncovered in southern England and analyzed by archaeologists from UCL and the Natural History Museum, London.

Jan 21, 2026 in Other Sciences
Phys.org / Kenya's big cats under pressure: Cattle are pushing lions away

In the Kenyan savanna, lions and livestock essentially live in shifts: Cattle graze during the day and are enclosed at night when lions are active.

Jan 21, 2026 in Biology
Phys.org / Grains of sand prove people—not glaciers—transported Stonehenge rocks

Ask people how Stonehenge was built and you'll hear stories of sledges, ropes, boats and sheer human determination to haul stones from across Britain to Salisbury Plain, in south-west England. Others might mention giants, ...

Jan 21, 2026 in Earth
Phys.org / Old diseases return as settlement pushes into the Amazon rainforest

Human activity continues to expand ever further into wild areas, throwing ecology out of balance. But what begins as an environmental issue often evolves into a human problem.

Jan 21, 2026 in Biology
Phys.org / EAST achieves new plasma confinement regime using small 3D magnetic perturbations

A research group has achieved a new plasma confinement regime using small 3D magnetic perturbations that simultaneously suppress edge instabilities and enhance core plasma confinement in the Experimental Advanced Superconducting ...

Jan 21, 2026 in Physics