Phys.org news
Phys.org / Resurrected ancient enzyme offers new window into early Earth and the search for life beyond it
By resurrecting a 3.2-billion-year-old enzyme and studying it inside living microbes, researchers at the University of Wisconsin–Madison have created a new way to improve our understanding of the origins of life on Earth ...
Phys.org / Rule-breaking supermassive black hole discovered in the early universe
An international research team led by scientists at Waseda University and Tohoku University has discovered an extraordinary quasar in the early universe that hosts one of the fastest-growing supermassive black holes known ...
Phys.org / Sourdough starters reveal a recipe for predicting microbial species survival
People have long said that "bread is life." Now, researchers at Tufts University are using the bubbling mixtures of flour and water known as sourdough starters to explore what shapes life at the microscopic level. Their findings, ...
Phys.org / Beneath Antarctica's largest ice shelf, a hidden ocean is revealing its secrets
Beneath Antarctica's Ross Ice Shelf lies one of the least measured oceans on Earth—a vast, dark cavity roughly twice the volume of the North Sea.
Phys.org / AI model that found 370 exoplanets now digs into TESS data
Scientists have discovered over 6,000 planets that orbit stars other than our sun, known as exoplanets. More than half of these planets were discovered thanks to data from NASA's retired Kepler mission and NASA's current ...
Phys.org / Increased soil salinity alters global inorganic carbon storage, finds study
A new global study shows that increasing soil salinity is systematically reshaping the storage and distribution of soil inorganic carbon (SIC), a key but often-overlooked part of terrestrial ecosystems. The findings, published ...
Phys.org / Rethinking where life could exist beyond Earth
Astronomers have long searched for life within a rather narrow ring around a star, the "habitable zone," where a planet should be neither too hot nor too cold for liquid water. A new study argues that this ring is too strict: ...
Phys.org / 2D topological crystalline insulator turns decade-old prediction into reality
Physicists from University of Jyväskylä and Aalto University (Finland) have experimentally realized a two-dimensional topological crystalline insulator. This is a quantum material that has been theoretically predicted for ...
Phys.org / Aging zoo animals threaten long-term species conservation goals
Many mammal populations in European and North American zoos are aging—a trend that jeopardizes the long-term viability of so-called reserve populations and, with it, a core mission of modern zoos in global species conservation. ...
Phys.org / Study challenges long-held theory that language is built on grammar trees
Every time we speak, we're improvising. "Humans possess a remarkable ability to talk about almost anything, sometimes putting words together into never-before-spoken or -written sentences," said Morten H. Christiansen, the ...
Phys.org / Rainfall–salinity link sustains prolonged La Niña events, study reveals
La Niña—a climate phenomenon characterized by unusually cool sea surface temperatures in the central and eastern tropical Pacific Ocean—can persist for multiple years, exerting significant climate impacts worldwide. ...
Phys.org / Tuning color through molecular stacking: A new strategy for smarter pressure sensors
Piezofluorochromism, the phenomenon of materials reversibly changing their fluorescent color when pressure is applied, is used to create the pressure sensors used in automotive and medical industries. By monitoring color ...
