Phys.org news
Phys.org / From power grids to epidemics: Study shows how small patterns trigger systemic failures
Why do some systems collapse suddenly after what seems like a minor disturbance? A single transmission line failure can cascade into widespread blackouts. A delayed shipment can ripple through a global supply chain, emptying ...
Phys.org / Mantle plume vs. plate tectonics: Basalt cores reshape the North Atlantic breakup debate
About 56 million years ago, Europe and North America began pulling apart to form what became the ever-expanding North Atlantic Ocean. Vast amounts of molten rock from Earth's mantle reached the ocean floor as the crust stretched ...
Phys.org / Rewriting our understanding of early hominin dispersal from Africa to Eurasia
What if Homo erectus (H. erectus), the direct ancestor of modern humans, arrived in China much earlier than we thought? Research published in Science Advances may rewrite our understanding of early human dispersal in that ...
Phys.org / Microscopic mirrors for future quantum networks: A new way to make high-performance optical resonators
Researchers in the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) and the Faculty of Arts and Sciences have devised a new way to make some of the smallest, smoothest mirrors ever created for controlling ...
Phys.org / New study identifies sequence of critical thresholds for Antarctic ice basins
The Antarctic ice sheet does not behave as one single tipping element, but as a set of interacting basins with different critical thresholds. This is the finding of a new study by the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact ...
Phys.org / Feeling worse about money? Climate change may be part of the reason
Climate change is not just reshaping the planet, it's already affecting how people feel about their lives, their health and their financial security, according to a new study from the Universities of Portsmouth and Dundee. ...
Phys.org / Solving a longstanding mystery about complex life's origin—oxygen-tolerant Asgard archaea may explain eukaryotes' rise
The most widely accepted scientific explanation for the arrival of all complex life on Earth has had an unsolved mystery at its heart. According to the theory, all plants, animals and fungi, known collectively as eukaryotes, ...
Phys.org / Cosmic predators: How supermassive black holes slow star growth in nearby galaxies
Intense radiation emitted by active supermassive black holes—thought to reside at the center of most, if not all, galaxies—can slow star growth not just in their host galaxy, but also in galaxies millions of light-years ...
Phys.org / Understanding 'Snowball Earth' extreme climates when the world is covered in ice
In the whole history of Earth's climate, few events are as extreme as those that geologists call "Snowball Earth."
Phys.org / Antarctic warming is altering atmospheric stability: New evidence from the 1950s to the present
A new study published in the Journal of Climate reveals how surface warming in Antarctica, particularly over the Antarctic Peninsula, is significantly altering the stability of the lowest layers of the atmosphere.
Phys.org / As glaciers retreat, Greenland seals may lose key feeding hotspots
Studying foraging behavior in marine mammals is especially difficult. Unlike terrestrial animals, which can often be directly observed, marine mammals feed underwater and across vast, remote areas, making it challenging to ...
Phys.org / Simplifying quantum simulations—symmetry can cut computational effort by several orders of magnitude
Quantum computer research is advancing at a rapid pace. Today's devices, however, still have significant limitations: For example, the length of a quantum computation is severely limited—that is, the number of possible ...
