Phys.org news
Phys.org / Bat 'besties' start to sound alike over time, study finds
Ever suddenly realize you had picked up certain words or ways of speaking from a close friend? It turns out that humans are far from the only animals who copy the sounds of their closest companions—a new study shows that ...
Phys.org / Surgeonfish display unique feeding adaptations to remove algae from coral reefs
Globally, coral reefs are under siege by multiple stressors, one of which is herbaceous algae. An overabundance of algae on reefs can lead to regime shifts of reefs from being coral-dominated to algal-dominated.
Phys.org / Genome advancement puts better Wagyu marbling on the menu
Researchers from the University of Adelaide's Davies Livestock Research Center (DLRC) have described the most complete cattle genome yet, in a study that will lead to improvements in Wagyu breeding and result in better beef ...
Phys.org / Label-free technique unlocks secrets of bacterial shape-shifting
Scientists have long known that bacteria come in many shapes and sizes, but understanding what those differences mean has remained a major challenge, especially for species that can't be grown in the lab.
Phys.org / Searching for landslide clues in seismic signals from Alaska's Barry Arm
Since 2020, the Barry Landslide in Alaska's Prince William Sound has been outfitted with instruments monitoring seismic signals from the area, as researchers hope to catch a destructive, tsunami-generating landslide before ...
Phys.org / Natural language found more complex than it strictly needs to be—and for good reason
Human languages are complex phenomena. Around 7,000 languages are spoken worldwide, some with only a handful of remaining speakers, while others, such as Chinese, English, Spanish and Hindi, are spoken by billions. Despite ...
Phys.org / Physicists create 'quantum wire' where mass and energy flow without friction or loss
In physical systems, transport takes many forms, such as electric current through a wire, heat through metal, or even water through a pipe. Each of these flows can be described by how easily the underlying quantity—charge, ...
Phys.org / Ancient dirty dishes reveal decades of questionable findings
Olive oil is the Swiss army knife of foodstuffs. It can dress salads, sauté vegetables, even grease squeaky hinges. And for archaeologists, its ubiquitous presence in excavated pottery offers a window into the economic, ...
Phys.org / Monkeys have rhythm and can tap along to the beat (with a little help from the Backstreet Boys)
They may not yet be kings of the swingers, but macaque monkeys can keep time to music and move to the beat. Well, at least two adult macaques can, who were trained by researchers to tap along to different kinds of music. ...
Phys.org / Humans first entered Australia 60,000 years ago via two routes, DNA analysis suggests
Debate has long surrounded when humans first traveled into Sahul, the ancient landmass that is now Australia, New Guinea and Tasmania. Now, a study published in Science Advances, lends credence to the theory that the first ...
Phys.org / Close brush with two hot stars millions of years ago left a mark just beyond our solar system
Nearly 4.5 million years ago, two large, hot stars brushed tantalizingly close to Earth's sun. They left behind a trace in the clouds of gas and dust that swirl just beyond our solar system—almost like the scent of perfume ...
Phys.org / New digital state of matter could help build stable quantum computers
Scientists have taken another major step toward creating stable quantum computers. Using a specialized quantum computer chip (an essential component of a quantum computer) as a kind of tiny laboratory, a team led by Pan Jianwei ...
