Phys.org news

Phys.org / Earth's mantle may have been cooler than thought before Pangea's breakup

When the supercontinent Pangea began to fragment around 200 million years ago during the Early Jurassic, it reshaped the face of the planet. Vast new oceans opened, continents drifted apart and the familiar geography of today ...

Feb 23, 2026
Phys.org / Astronomers discover rare super-Jupiter orbiting distant star

Using NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), an international team of astronomers has discovered a new exoplanet orbiting a distant star known as TIC-65910228. The newfound alien world is slightly larger and ...

Feb 23, 2026
Phys.org / CT scans of Inca child sacrifices reveal new details about capacocha rituals

The Incas were known to engage in a sacrificial ritual involving children to appease their gods. Archaeologists have found and analyzed the remains of these human sacrifices, although not all of them have undergone CT scanning, ...

Feb 23, 2026
Phys.org / Mysterious Greek inscription reignites debate on whether a Syrian mosque stands atop Roman Emperor Elagabalus' Temple

A recently discovered Greek inscription at the base of a column inside the Great Mosque of Homs in Syria has rekindled a longstanding scholarly debate about the exact location of the Temple of the sun, whose high priest ascended ...

Feb 23, 2026
Phys.org / Curiosity rover captures Martian spiderwebs up close

For about six months, NASA's Curiosity Mars rover has been exploring a region full of geologic formations called boxwork, low ridges standing roughly 3 to 6 feet (1 to 2 meters) tall with sandy hollows in between. Crisscrossing ...

Feb 23, 2026
Phys.org / How horses whinny: Helium tests reveal whistling while singing mechanism

A horse's whinny is an unusually distinctive mix of sounds including both high and low frequencies. Reporting in Current Biology, researchers demonstrate how horses produce high-frequency sounds that defy their large size ...

Feb 23, 2026
Phys.org / Global greening: Study shows Earth's green wave is shifting northeast

A team of scientists led by the German Center for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv), the Helmholtz Center for Environmental Research (UFZ), and Leipzig University has developed a new method to track Earth's greenness—a ...

Feb 23, 2026
Phys.org / Quantum computers go high-dimensional with a four-state photon gate

The collaboration of TU Wien with research groups in China has resulted in a crucial building block for a new kind of quantum computer: The realization of a novel type of quantum logic gate makes it possible to carry out ...

Feb 23, 2026
Phys.org / Peatland lakes in Congo Basin release carbon that is thousands of years old

Researchers at ETH Zurich have now discovered for the first time that large blackwater lakes in the extensive peatlands of the central Congo Basin are releasing ancient carbon. To date, climate researchers had assumed that ...

Feb 23, 2026
Phys.org / Iron Age massacre targeted women and children, new research reveals

New research has revealed that women and children were deliberately targeted in one of the largest prehistoric mass killings discovered in Europe. Archaeological investigations at the Gomolava burial sites in northern Serbia ...

Feb 23, 2026
Phys.org / Jupiter's Galilean moons may have gained life's building blocks at birth

Southwest Research Institute was part of an international team that demonstrated how complex organic molecules (COMs), key chemical precursors to life, could have been incorporated into Jupiter's Galilean moons during their ...

Feb 23, 2026
Phys.org / Twisting optical fiber creates a robust new pathway for light

Light powers everything from communications to sensing, yet even tiny imperfections can scatter it and weaken signals. To address this, a team led by the University of Bath—working with the University of Cambridge and international ...

Feb 23, 2026