Phys.org news
Phys.org / Single-celled organism becomes multicellular via three different pathways
Some single-celled organisms are known to transition to multicellularity during their lifetimes, usually either by cloning themselves or when many similar cells come together to form a larger multicellular organism. A new ...
Phys.org / Rydberg atoms detect clear signals from a handheld radio
For the first time, a team of US researchers has used sensors containing highly excited Rydberg atoms to detect signals from an ordinary handheld radio. Through a careful approach to demodulating the incoming signals, Noah ...
Phys.org / Sea urchin spines inspire self-powered underwater sensors
Nature does it again! The natural world has a knack for giving us the blueprints for some useful technologies, and the humble sea urchin is the latest contributor. Scientists have designed a new class of smart sensors by ...
Phys.org / Energy loss triggers quantum thermal Hall-like effect at macroscopic scale
In many quantum materials—materials with unusual electrical and magnetic properties driven by quantum mechanical effects—electrons can organize themselves into Landau levels. Landau levels are essentially quantized energy ...
Phys.org / Russian astronomers observe the eruptive behavior of a young star
Russian astronomers from Moscow State University have performed photometric, polarimetric, and spectroscopic observations of a young star designated IRAS 21204+4913. Results of the new observations, which were published February ...
Phys.org / Green turtle nests may bury 'plastic rocks' and endanger the species
Even the most remote regions of the globe are not free from plastic pollution. In a study published in Marine Pollution Bulletin, researchers from São Paulo State University (UNESP) in Brazil have detected plastic rocks ...
Phys.org / Matching vibrations is all it takes to shut down superconductivity in a nearby crystal
The world is never really at rest. Even in a vacuum near ultracold temperatures where all classical motion should come to a halt, you'll find quantum fluctuations. In thin, two-dimensional materials, these include random ...
Phys.org / Study of 40,000 cases links Somalia migration mainly to water scarcity
A study published in Nature Food by researchers from the Politecnico di Milano and the University of California at Berkeley provides forward-thinking answers to the debate on the role of environmental stresses on migration ...
Phys.org / A cosmic explosion with the force of a billion suns went unseen—until we caught its echo
Some of the universe's most extreme explosions leave behind almost no trace. The original explosion is unseen, but our observations can capture the long-lived echo it leaves behind as the shock front plows into its surrounding ...
Phys.org / Mitochondria can reshape lipid storage in cells by repurposing a protein-insertion complex
A recent study by the University of Bonn and University Hospital Bonn and the University of Freiburg shows that the mitochondria appear to be able to influence the number of lipid droplets in the cell using a mechanism that ...
Phys.org / What does it mean to compute? Framework maps hidden computations running inside natural dynamic systems
Some computers are easy to spot. Artificial, human-built computers like those found in smartphones and laptops are abstract dynamic systems with observable computational elements like input, output, energy cost, and logical ...
Phys.org / Dogs are more like toddlers than cats when it comes to helping humans
Why does your dog rush to "help" when you are searching for something, while your cat seems… eh, less concerned? New research suggests that this difference may stem from deep evolutionary roots—and that, in certain situations, ...
