Phys.org news
Phys.org / An unprecedented Antarctic heat wave hit in the dead of winter—what it signals for the decades ahead
In the middle of the Antarctic winter, during months of darkness when temperatures often dip below −30°C, the continent warmed dramatically. In July and August 2024, temperatures in parts of East Antarctica rose by up to ...
Phys.org / How giants that vanished 10,000 years ago triggered ripple effects that are still felt today
Between 50,000 and 10,000 years ago, many of the world's largest mammals disappeared. Picture creatures like saber-toothed cats with 7-inch fangs and elephant-sized sloths. Woolly mammoths whose curved tusks grew longer than ...
Phys.org / At just four nanometers thick, this metal starts behaving in a way physicists did not expect
Researchers in the University of Minnesota Twin Cities have discovered a powerful new way to control the electronic behavior of a metal—by manipulating the atomic properties of materials where they meet. The study, published ...
Phys.org / Beer and cannabis could share 'sex switch,' study finds
Researchers at University College Dublin have identified a genetic "switch" that determines the sex of cannabis plants, and found the same system may exist in hops. The study, published in New Phytologist, pinpoints a specific ...
Phys.org / Two suns are better than one—planets thrive around binary stars
Planets may actually form more easily around double stars than around single stars like our sun, according to new research from astrophysicists at the University of Lancashire. Binary stars are common in our galaxy, yet for ...
Phys.org / Room-temperature vibrations could transform how industry makes graphene
Researchers have demonstrated a new technique for creating 2D materials that runs at room temperature and increases production rates tenfold over current methods, without using toxic solvents. Scientists led by Dr. Jason ...
Phys.org / Self-organizing 'pencil beam' laser could help scientists design brain-targeted therapies
MIT researchers discovered a paradoxical phenomenon in optical physics that could enable a new bioimaging method that's faster and higher-resolution than existing technology. They discovered that, under the right conditions, ...
Phys.org / Single X-ray photons reveal hidden light-matter interactions in 50-nanometer double slits
A rainbow reveals with colors what otherwise remains hidden: light is "refracted" by transparent matter, in this case water droplets. This same physical effect underlies many everyday technologies, like LCD screens and broadband ...
Phys.org / Rivers worldwide reveal greenhouse gas rise that's been overlooked for decades
Rivers worldwide are under severe stress: they are warming, losing oxygen, and as a result emitting increasing amounts of greenhouse gases. Researchers at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) have now quantified these ...
Phys.org / Botany's answer to Darwin's finches shows evolution in real time
A new study reveals how a remarkable group of plants on the Galápagos Islands developed their diverse leaf shapes—offering unique insight into evolution at the genetic level. A large international team of researchers has ...
Phys.org / Brazil's farm expansion has left a vast soil carbon debt—but one fix could help meet climate goals
The conversion of Brazil's native biomes into agricultural areas has resulted in an estimated loss of 1.4 billion tons of soil carbon. This amount is equal to the emission of 5.2 billion tons of carbon dioxide (CO₂) equivalent, ...
Phys.org / Aligned cells may explain why some wounds heal faster than others
Understanding how wounds heal after injury could be a step closer thanks to a new mathematical model developed by researchers at the University of Bristol. The study, published in Physical Review Letters, builds on previous ...
