Phys.org news

Phys.org / Tasmanian devils lived with people in outback Western Australia 45,000 years ago, new fossils show

Tasmanian devils are among Australia's most distinctive mammals. Stocky, powerful and famously noisy, wild populations are now restricted to Tasmania. But this was not always the case. In fact, thousands of years ago, devils ...

Sep 11, 2026
Phys.org / Smart pen detects pressure and movement to identify children's writing difficulties sooner

A study by Politecnico di Milano and the University of Insubria (Varese and Como) has been published in PLOS Digital Health. The study involved more than 700 children from primary and lower secondary school. The participants ...

Sep 11, 2026
Phys.org / Scientists discover a new way a disease-linked protein comes apart

Transthyretin amyloid disease (ATTR) is a progressive, life-threatening condition caused when the protein transthyretin (TTR) breaks apart and aggregates in the heart and other organs. One of the most common treatments, a ...

Sep 11, 2026
Phys.org / Uniting sequence and structure to map the protein universe across billions of years of evolution

An international team of researchers, including those at the Earth-Life Science Institute (ELSI) at the Institute of Science Tokyo, has developed a protein language model that brings together two fundamental sources of information ...

Sep 11, 2026
Phys.org / Planes on a snake? Scientists discover various crab species hitching rides on sea snakes

Like all other snakes, sea snakes shed their skin as they grow. But because they live near the surface of the open ocean, they don't have the benefit of removing their old skin by slithering against a hard surface. Instead, ...

Sep 11, 2026
Phys.org / Seasonal forecasts could give northern India months of warning before severe winter air pollution

Northern India experiences some of the world's worst winter air pollution, with dangerous episodes often prompting emergency control efforts. In major cities like Delhi, the Air Quality Index has reached levels above 999—over ...

Sep 11, 2026
Phys.org / AI-generated images may support conservation, but real-world data remain essential

New research finds there is no substitute for real-world observations, but that—under the right circumstances—AI-generated images can be used to improve the performance of computer models used for species identification and ...

Sep 11, 2026
Phys.org / Turkey-monitoring AI forecasts body weight three weeks ahead with 93% accuracy

Body weight monitoring is one of the most important tools for poultry farmers. It provides valuable information about growth, uniformity, feed conversion efficiency—how well birds turn feed into meat—and the occurrence of ...

Sep 11, 2026
Phys.org / Breaking down shoe foam by genetically tweaking a microbe found in compost

Your favorite pair of tennies, kicks or trainers may soon become a little more sustainable. In a study published Sept. 11 in the journal Chem Catalysis, researchers developed a new kind of enzyme based on a bacterium found ...

Sep 11, 2026
Phys.org / 1,000 times faster operations bring reliable quantum computing a step closer

So far, quantum computers have been held back by their extreme sensitivity to errors and external disturbances. The longer a quantum operation takes, the greater the risk of computational errors.

Sep 10, 2026
Phys.org / Continuous video of black hole radio observations challenges shock wave theory

For years, scientists have relied primarily on radio imaging from techniques like very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) to study jets from the active galactic nuclei of supermassive black holes. This allows for the detection ...

Sep 10, 2026
Phys.org / A galaxy with almost no stars? New Cloud-9 observations strengthen the case

Astronomers have taken one of the deepest looks yet at Cloud-9, a candidate "dark galaxy," and found no trace of stars. The paper outlining this discovery was posted to the arXiv preprint server on Aug. 21.

Sep 10, 2026