Phys.org news

Phys.org / Could mass arise without the Higgs boson?

The geometry of space, where physical laws unfold, may also hold answers to some of the deepest questions in fundamental physics. The very structure of spacetime might underlie every interaction in nature.

Nov 10, 2025 in Physics
Phys.org / Tropical spiders craft giant doppelgängers as decoys

The extraordinary anti-predator strategy of two tiny, orb-weaving spider species has been uncovered by scientists from The Australian National University (ANU) and the University of Florida.

Nov 10, 2025 in Biology
Phys.org / Phages with fully-synthetic DNA can be edited gene by gene

A team led by University of Pittsburgh's Graham Hatfull has developed a method to construct bacteriophages with entirely synthetic genetic material, allowing researchers to add and subtract genes at will. The findings open ...

Nov 10, 2025 in Biology
Phys.org / Turning the faint quantum 'glow' of empty space into a measurable flash

Researchers from Stockholm University and the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Mohali have reported a practical way to spot one of physics' strangest predictions: the Unruh effect, which says that ...

Nov 10, 2025 in Physics
Phys.org / AI data centers projected to strain US energy and water resources by 2030

As the everyday use of AI has exploded in recent years, so have the energy demands of the computing infrastructure that supports it. But the environmental toll of these large data centers, which suck up gigawatts of power ...

Nov 10, 2025 in Earth
Phys.org / Billions live in environments that violate human rights, global analysis finds

More than 99% of the world's 7.7 billion people have one or more of their environmental rights threatened, according to new research.

Nov 10, 2025 in Earth
Phys.org / Dinosaur eggshells unlock a new way to tell time in the fossil record

An international team of geologists and paleontologists is pioneering a groundbreaking methodology to reliably determine the age of fossil-bearing rocks—by directly dating fossilized dinosaur eggshells.

Nov 10, 2025 in Biology
Phys.org / Stable molecule trapped with deep ultraviolet light for the first time

Researchers from the Department of Molecular Physics at the Fritz Haber Institute have demonstrated the first magneto-optical trap of a stable "closed-shell" molecule: aluminum monofluoride (AlF). They were able to cool AlF ...

Nov 10, 2025 in Physics
Phys.org / Diet alone doesn't explain divergent health of California sea lions in US and Mexico

When scientists compared what California sea lions eat in the Channel Islands (U.S.) and the Gulf of California (Mexico), they expected to find a clear explanation for why populations were booming in California but shrinking ...

Nov 10, 2025 in Biology
Phys.org / Harnessing intricate, self-organized plasma patterns to destroy PFAS

Increasing the surface area when plasma and water interact could help scale up a technology that destroys contaminants such as PFAS, detergents and microbial contaminants in drinking water, new research from the University ...

Nov 10, 2025 in Physics
Phys.org / Understanding how bacteria use 'sunscreen' to adapt to climate

Cyanobacteria, commonly known as blue-green algae, are found almost everywhere in the world—from hot springs to arctic ice to antioxidant smoothies. Part of their extreme adaptability lies within a unique light-harvesting ...

Nov 10, 2025 in Biology
Phys.org / Human impact on Amazon forests is transforming its ecological functions and evolutionary history

A new study reveals that the impact humans are having on the Amazon rainforest is so profound it is even changing the evolutionary history and functionality of the forests.

Nov 10, 2025 in Biology