Phys.org news

Phys.org / Sea levels rising dramatically in some areas due to land subsidence

Densely populated coastal regions in many parts of the world are particularly vulnerable to flooding. The sinking of land masses exacerbates the impacts of rising sea levels in these areas, according to a study by researchers ...

17 hours ago
Phys.org / Neanderthals gathered shellfish using the same strategies as modern humans, study finds

Neanderthal populations in southern Europe collected shellfish throughout the year, with a marked preference for the colder months, according to a new international study led by researchers from the Institute of Environmental ...

14 hours ago
Phys.org / Worker bumble bees help determine which baby bee will become queen

Every bumble bee colony has a queen, but a new study led by researchers at Penn State suggests the process of determining which baby bee reigns supreme may be less monarchal than the royal title suggests. The study, published ...

14 hours ago
Phys.org / Southern Ocean intermediate waters may hold key to Earth's carbon dioxide history

Researchers at National Taiwan University and partner institutions have uncovered new evidence that Antarctic Intermediate Water (AAIW)—a distinct layer sitting 500–1,500 meters below the ocean surface—played a pivotal role ...

13 hours ago
Phys.org / Even after adopting cattle, early east African herders kept hunting and gathering for 1,000 years

Eastern Africa's earliest livestock herders continued fishing, hunting and gathering for centuries after livestock were first brought to the region. The first pastoralists in eastern Africa didn't suddenly switch to a diet ...

14 hours ago
Phys.org / Eyes that photosynthesize: Scientists plant a cure for dry eye disease

What if eyes could use light to heal themselves? Drawing inspiration from how plants harness sunlight, researchers at the National University of Singapore (NUS) are pioneering a revolutionary treatment for dry eye disease. ...

16 hours ago
Phys.org / How hidden viruses wake up inside seaweed and pass on to future generations

Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Biology Tübingen have shown that giant viruses long thought to exist only as fleeting, free-living particles that can embed themselves permanently in the genome of a multicellular ...

15 hours ago
Phys.org / Learning physics can derail some students: New research shows the best way to keep them on track

For many undergraduate students, exploring the complexities of physics for the first time, from wading through advanced mathematics, to absorbing information in a large lecture format, can be a daunting endeavor—one that ...

17 hours ago
Phys.org / Dark lunar craters could host ultrastable lasers for moon navigation

They rank among the darkest and coldest places in the solar system: Hundreds of lunar craters, many of them at the moon's south pole, never receive direct sunlight and lie in permanent shadow. That's exactly why physicist ...

15 hours ago
Phys.org / Prototype sets record for optical quantum information technology

Chinese scientists have developed a programmable quantum computing prototype called Jiuzhang 4.0 that has set a new world record for optical quantum information technology, according to a study published May 13 in the journal ...

18 hours ago
Phys.org / Behold the neuron, a complicated cell with a simple mission

Neurons, the uber-connected nerve cells that act as a main switchboard for the brain, are central to some incredibly complicated processes. They make it possible to think, walk, speak, and breathe. They even have built-in ...

20 hours ago
Phys.org / Chemical pathway unlocks next-generation infrared III–V nanocrystals

A research team led by Professor Sohee Jeong at Sungkyunkwan University has uncovered a key chemical pathway for the controlled synthesis of III–V semiconductor quantum dots, a class of next-generation infrared materials ...

16 hours ago