Phys.org news
Phys.org / Growing bacteria line up single-file, then buckle in liquid crystals
When scientists study bacteria that are not in a Petri dish or a test tube but in environments that more closely mimic their actual microbial habitats, they often find delightfully unexpected behaviors. For Sujit Datta, a ...
Phys.org / Ocean heat waves linked with poorer health among children in coastal communities
Marine heat waves—periods of abnormally warm ocean temperatures—may have negative health effects on children who live in coastal communities in low- and middle-income countries, according to a study led by researchers at ...
Phys.org / Declining star formation not caused by simple 'fuel crisis,' new measurements suggest
The universe has been having fewer and fewer stellar "babies." Over the past 4.5 billion years, the rate of star birth has crashed to less than half of what it once was. But here's the twist: the most essential "fuel" for ...
Phys.org / An anomalous return of the Odden ice tongue suggests unusual Arctic conditions
Data from many sources, including NASA, have shown a significant decrease in Arctic sea ice since 1979. However, the processes driving the melting and freezing of sea ice are complex, and fluctuations occur throughout the ...
Phys.org / Physicists finally put Feynman's path integral to the test
For nearly 80 years, physicists have relied on a thought experiment created by Richard Feynman to predict how quantum particles behave. For the first time, researchers in China have tested this trick directly in the lab.
Phys.org / JWST reveals likely Type II supernova from when universe was only 2 billion years old
Astronomers using the James Webb Space Telescope have identified one of the most distant exploding stars ever confirmed. The supernova, SN 2023aeaf, was found at a redshift of 3.195—so far away that its light has been traveling ...
Phys.org / UK and Ireland face greatest risk from rare tropical cyclones reaching Europe
Europe is no stranger to powerful windstorms, but some storms capable of causing serious damage have an unusual origin. Tropical cyclones can occasionally travel north from lower latitudes and reach Europe, where they can ...
Phys.org / A snake-headed vessel hints at a mysterious Roman cult
The ancient Romans were a deeply religious and superstitious people, worshiping dozens of cults—some official and others secretive. One of these was dedicated to Sabazios, a deity from Thrace and Phrygia (regions spanning ...
Phys.org / JWST may solve a 20-year mystery behind a rule-breaking gamma-ray burst
Astronomers may have finally solved the mystery behind a nearly two-decade-old cosmic explosion that seemed to break the rules of physics. The energy output of a powerful gamma-ray burst, GRB 061201, discovered in 2006, did ...
Dialog / Faint far-infrared radiation drives a correlated insulator-to-metal transition in magic-angle graphene
One of the central ideas in modern physics is the phase transition—a sudden transformation of the state of a material. We encounter phase transitions throughout everyday life: water freezes into ice, wax melts in the warmth ...
Phys.org / Not tiger, not wolf: Australian thylacine skull reveals a far different hunting style
A new study led by Flinders University has flipped the historical narrative about Australia's thylacine, finding the native apex predator known as the "Tasmanian tiger" was significantly different from the wolves and wild ...
Phys.org / Physicists take Hall effect in a new direction
Carnegie Mellon University scientists have uncovered a new phenomenon that challenges a longstanding assumption about how electronic materials respond to magnetic fields. The discovery broadens the fundamental understanding ...
