Phys.org news

Thanks to the discovery of thousands of exoplanets to date, we know that planets bigger than Earth but smaller than Neptune orbit most stars. Oddly, our sun lacks such a planet. That's been a source of frustration for planetary ...

Chlorine is a fundamental input to modern industry, yet most of today's supply still relies on energy-intensive electrolysis. In order to reduce energy consumption, researchers from the Qingdao Institute of Bioenergy and ...

Think of the destruction of Earth's rainforests and a familiar image may come to mind: fires or chainsaws tearing through enormous swaths of the Amazon, releasing masses of planet-warming carbon dioxide.

Across all domains of life, immune defenses foil invading viruses by making it impossible for the viruses to replicate. Most known CRISPR systems target invading pathogens' DNA and chop it up to disable and modify genes, ...

Brain dead after a hard day of work? It turns out it's totally fine to park yourself in front of the TV. It might even make recovery—an essential part of burnout prevention—easier.

Martian winds can have quite an impact. ESA's Mars Express has spotted them whipping up sand grains and acting as a cosmic sandblaster, carving out intriguing grooves near Mars's equator.

Neuromorphic computers, inspired by the architecture of the human brain, are proving surprisingly adept at solving complex mathematical problems that underpin scientific and engineering challenges.

Astronomers have created a detailed forecast of where they expect to observe future stellar explosions in a nearby galaxy, opening a new window into how exploding stars shape the cosmos. Focusing on M33, a spiral galaxy about ...

The riskiest behavior in humans peaks in adolescence. Researchers from the University of Michigan and James Madison University expected to find risky behavior to peak in adolescence in a study of chimpanzees as well. But ...

The origin of life on Earth becomes even more fascinating and complex as we peer into the mysterious world of viruses. Said to have existed since living cells first appeared, these microscopic entities differ greatly from ...

Municipal bonds are a time-honored way to fund roads, schools, bridges and other public projects while paying investors interest, usually at tax-free rates.

Australian researchers have uncovered how a particular strain of a diarrhea-causing parasite managed to infect more animal species, offering new insights into how parasitic infections emerge and spread to people.