Phys.org news
Phys.org / AI makes a major breakthrough in a math problem that had stumped experts for decades
For nearly 80 years, mathematicians have struggled to solve a classic geometry puzzle first posed by Paul Erdős in 1946: the planar unit distance problem. The question posed by the legendary Hungarian mathematician was, on ...
Phys.org / Astronomers discover a super-Earth orbiting a nearby red dwarf
Astronomers from Italy and Brazil have investigated a nearby red dwarf star known as Ross 318 and have discovered an exoplanet orbiting this star, which is at least six times more massive than Earth. The discovery is reported ...
Phys.org / Hi-res microscopes give biologists petabytes of data. Scientists are creating an AI assistant to make sense of it
In a cramped, windowless room on the University of California, Berkeley, campus, two bespoke microscopes—each a Swiss Army knife for high-resolution imaging—operate around the clock gathering data that will help train a game-changing ...
Phys.org / Physicists figure out how to reduce formation of 'viscous fingers'
When they reach the bottom of a soap dispenser, frugal handwashers might try adding water to the bottle to push out the last bit of soap. But usually, the water drills right through the soap and jets out an only slightly ...
Phys.org / Why we live alone—and what it means for the climate and our sense of community
Solo living in your own home places a greater strain on the planet's resources than living with others, as everyone needs their own appliances—a toaster, a washing machine and so on. The Nordic countries stand out: Almost ...
Phys.org / 'Designer' superconducting diamond: Researchers uncover path to multi-modality quantum chips
Diamond is extremely valuable to science and technology not for its sparkle but for its extreme hardness, high thermal conductivity, transparency to a large fraction of the light spectrum, and a host of other exceptional ...
Phys.org / Novel porous gel changes color, shrinks and hardens when it detects target molecules
Researchers at Kyoto University and Tohoku University have developed a new porous polymer gel that selectively recognizes specific molecules (referred to as "guests" in the study) through coordination chemistry and converts ...
Phys.org / Something coming: what scientists know about a potential 'super' El Nino
Forecasters say a potentially "super" El Niño is rapidly taking shape in the Pacific—but whether it evolves into a history-making event could hinge on fickle winds and other volatile atmospheric shifts.
Phys.org / Nickelate reveals nodeless gap, providing key clue to high-temperature superconductivity
The mechanism of high-temperature (TC) superconductivity is a key challenge in condensed matter physics. Recently, Chinese scientists made significant progress in the study of high-TC nickelate superconductors.
Phys.org / Scientists discover thriving hard-substrate fauna in Oceania's deep sea
In the crushing darkness of the hadal zone—deep ocean trenches plunging 6,000 m to nearly 11,000 m—scientists have uncovered a hidden community. A study published in Science on May 14 reports the discovery of a protist-dominated ...
Phys.org / Key switch controlling soil fungi symbiosis could solve a longstanding agricultural problem
Over the course of evolution, plants have developed an elegant strategy to counteract a lack of phosphate in the soil—they form symbiotic relationships with soil fungi. These mycorrhizal fungi efficiently supply their plant ...
Phys.org / Understanding the mechanisms of collective cell movement
Like schools of fish and flocks of birds, our cells can also migrate collectively in coordination with their neighbors. This harmonious movement of cells occurs during embryonic development, wound healing, and cancer metastasis. ...
