Phys.org news

Georges Cuvier, the 19th-century French anatomist who first recognized pterodactyls as flying reptiles, wrote that "of all the beings whose ancient existence has been revealed to us, [they are] the most extraordinary."

Superconducting qubits—bits of quantum information—have been widely considered a promising technology for moving quantum computing forward. But there's still much work to be done before they can be brought out of a near absolute ...

Scientists have discovered that deep-water corals in the Galapagos region vanished for more than 1,000 years before eventually recovering. The findings reveal that deep-water coral ecosystems may be more susceptible to climate ...

University of California San Diego researchers have developed a new tool for understanding and modifying any microbiome, including the human microbiome. The approach, called Microbial Interaction and Niche Determination (MIND), ...

Maintaining connections between natural habitats may support beneficial microbes that help wildlife defend against disease. In a new study of tropical amphibians, a team led by Penn State biologists found that amphibians ...

Heat is a ubiquitous form of energy that, unlike others, is notoriously difficult to store due to its natural tendency to dissipate. While this property is essential for phenomena like solar energy reaching Earth, it also ...

Scientific models have predicted that climate change will drive oceans in the Northern Hemisphere to warm faster than oceans in the Southern Hemisphere. However, observational data over the last 70 years show the opposite—that ...

Canadian researchers studying 450-million-year-old fossils near Quebec City have identified a new species of basal-medusozoan: Paleocanna tentaculum, a soft-bodied, tube-shaped polyp with a ring of tentacles. Closely related ...

An international research team has rediscovered a dinosaur tracksite in the Saijrakh area of northern Mongolia. The site was originally reported about 70 years ago but had since been lost due to a lack of detailed documentation ...

2D materials are widely seen as a promising path toward better computer chips. Researchers at TU Wien have now shown that some of these materials are unsuitable due to an underestimated effect. But there are alternatives.

Madagascar is home to seven species of baobab trees, of which six are found nowhere else on the planet. Many of the trees have been alive for well over 1,000 years. The ancient trees have become symbols of Madagascar itself. ...

An international study, led by researchers from Griffith University, the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, the Zoological Society of London and the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, is the first to demonstrate ...