Phys.org news
Phys.org / Fermi mission uncovers possible sibling supernova remnants
A new study of two supernova remnants, the debris left behind after stars explode, suggests the explosions came from stellar siblings that once orbited each other. The first star's detonation sent its binary companion hurtling ...
Phys.org / How to train your magnet: Excitons as a new knob for magnetic control
Scientists can learn a lot about a quantum material by watching how it responds to light. In magnetic semiconductors, one especially useful messenger is the exciton: a pairing of a negatively charged electron and the positively ...
Phys.org / What if there is no one to farm? Scientists reveal a hidden risk to future food security
The cause of future food shortages may not be a lack of farmland, but a shortage of agricultural workers. Amid low birth rates and rural decline, a joint international research team from KAIST has developed a new data-driven ...
Phys.org / How a telescope's mirror stability makes or breaks exoplanet detection
Finding life beyond our solar system is a major goal of modern astronomy. NASA's planned Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO) aims to take direct images of Earth-sized planets around stars other than our sun. This task, however, ...
Phys.org / How sea-ice microbes survive the Southern Ocean's harsh winter has implications for climate change
A study led by South African scientists reveals that during winter, the sea ice around Antarctica harbors a reservoir of microbes, most of which have one thing in common—the ability to produce and break down a compound known ...
Phys.org / Rice gene switch helps plants rebound from cold and use nitrogen more efficiently
Global climate change has increased the frequency of regional cold spells, causing substantial yield losses and even crop failure. Meanwhile, excessive nitrogen fertilizer use in agriculture has increased non-point-source ...
Phys.org / Out-of-equilibrium cesium atoms reveal fractional Fermi seas, exposing new critical quantum phase
In a new study published in Physical Review Letters, a team from the Nägerl group, together with theory collaborator Alvise Bastianello from the CNRS and the Université Paris-Dauphine, demonstrates that highly unusual quantum ...
Phys.org / How do flocking birds and schools of fish move? New research offers crystal-clear answer
Flocking birds and schools of fish are a familiar sight. While previous research has uncovered the broad dynamics driving these movements, their underlying intricacies remain a mystery. Now a study by a team of New York University ...
Phys.org / Trace additive unlocks faster bioplastic biodegradation without losing transparency or strength
Compostable plastics could be part of a solution to the world's plastic waste problem. But currently these materials need industrial composting facilities to break down. In a step toward making a home-compostable plastic, ...
Phys.org / Mating reveals cholesterol's hidden role in male fruit fly lifespan
Scientists have discovered that the optimal diet for male fruit flies may depend strongly on whether they are reproducing, challenging long-standing assumptions about nutrition and aging. Led by researchers from the University ...
Phys.org / Shell too snug? Hermit crabs have a fix
For decades, biologists have known that hermit crabs forced to live in shells that are too small slow their growth. What wasn't clear was how they did it. New research suggests the answer isn't simply that the crabs eat less. ...
Phys.org / Heat waves increase wildfire risk—a new study explains how much, and it's not a small number
When heat waves hit the Western United States, the risk of wildfires quickly rises. The prolonged heat dries out vegetation, but that's only part of the cause—heat waves also play other roles in spreading wildfires.
