Phys.org news

Phys.org / Study traces evolutionary origins of essential PRPS enzyme complex

University of Cincinnati Cancer Center researchers looked billions of years into the past to learn more about the potential future of precision medicine.

Jul 8, 2025 in Biology
Phys.org / A nuanced model of soil moisture illuminates plant behavior and climate patterns

Any home gardener knows they have to tailor their watering regime for different plants. Forgetting to water their flowerbed over the weekend could spell disaster, but the trees will likely be fine. Plants have evolved different ...

Jul 8, 2025 in Earth
Phys.org / How ants actively protect themselves against dehydration

Insects use a wax layer on their bodies to prevent water loss. Furthermore, they use the layer for communication. Although the chemical composition of this layer has been extensively studied, researchers at Johannes Gutenberg ...

Jul 8, 2025 in Biology
Phys.org / Is Earth inside a huge void? 'Sound of the Big Bang' hints at possible solution to Hubble tension

Earth and our entire Milky Way galaxy may sit inside a mysterious giant hole which makes the cosmos expand faster here than in neighboring regions of the universe, astronomers say.

Jul 7, 2025 in Astronomy & Space
Phys.org / Radiocarbon dating reveals Rapa Nui not as isolated as previously thought

Archaeologists have analyzed ritual spaces and monumental structures across Polynesia, questioning the idea that Rapa Nui (Easter Island) developed in isolation following its initial settlement.

Jul 7, 2025 in Other Sciences
Phys.org / 'Space ice' is less like water than previously thought

"Space ice" contains tiny crystals and is not a completely disordered material like liquid water, as previously assumed, according to a new study by scientists at UCL (University College London) and the University of Cambridge.

Jul 7, 2025 in Astronomy & Space
Phys.org / Meteorite challenges the timeline of the early solar system

A small, inconspicuous meteorite may be about to change our understanding of how and when our solar system formed. Tiny shavings from the meteorite Northwest Africa 12264 are challenging the long-held belief that planets ...

Jul 7, 2025 in Astronomy & Space
Phys.org / An approach to realize heralded photon storage in a Rydberg superatom

Quantum technologies, systems that operate leveraging quantum mechanical effects, have the potential to outperform classical technologies in some specific tasks. Over the past decades, some researchers have also been trying ...

Jul 7, 2025 in Physics
Phys.org / Young brood-parasitic cowbirds may seek out unrelated adult females as role models

Unlike most other bird species, the brown-headed cowbird (Molothrus ater) lays its eggs in the nests of other bird species and leaves the host to raise its young—a behavior known as brood parasitism. To become a successful ...

Jul 7, 2025 in Biology
Phys.org / Grigoriev 1: New eclipsing variable star discovered in the Pegasus constellation

Astronomers from the Center of Astronomical and Space Education in Moscow report the discovery of a new star, which turned out to be an eclipsing variable binary. The finding of the new star, which received designation Grigoriev ...

Jul 7, 2025 in Astronomy & Space
Phys.org / Scientists reconstruct 540 million years of sea level change in detail

Sea level on Earth has been rising and falling ever since there was water on the planet. Scientists were already able to use sediments and fossils to roughly reconstruct how sea levels changed over time steps of a million ...

Jul 7, 2025 in Earth
Phys.org / Fig trees convert atmospheric CO₂ to stone, research reveals

Some species of fig trees store calcium carbonate in their trunks—essentially turning themselves (partially) into stone, new research has found. The team of Kenyan, U.S., Austrian, and Swiss scientists found that the trees ...

Jul 7, 2025 in Earth