Phys.org news
Phys.org / 3D models preserve threatened Buddhist temples in Western Himalayas
Using 3D technology and interdisciplinary expertise, a research team has explored Buddhist temples in the remote Dolpo region of Nepal and digitized them for posterity.
Phys.org / Optimal packing: How chloroplasts in plant cells maximize light use while allowing for safe rearrangement
Optimal packing problems have inspired mathematicians for centuries. Biophysicists now add a layer to the question: How do chloroplasts arrange themselves optimally within cells, when the meaning of "optimal" changes over ...
Phys.org / Comprehensive study examines properties of 1,449 planetary nebulae across the Milky Way
By analyzing the data from the HASH database, astronomers have conducted a comprehensive study of nearly 1,500 planetary nebulae in the Milky Way galaxy. Results of the study, published October 15 on the arXiv preprint server, ...
Phys.org / Supersolid spins into synchrony, unlocking quantum insights
A supersolid is a paradoxical state of matter—it is rigid like a crystal but flows without friction like a superfluid. This exotic form of quantum matter has only recently been realized in dipolar quantum gases.
Phys.org / Nanoparticle blueprints reveal path to smarter medicines
Lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) are the delivery vehicles of modern medicine, carrying cancer drugs, gene therapies and vaccines into cells. Until recently, many scientists assumed that all LNPs followed more or less the same ...
Phys.org / Geochemical research could help identify microbial activity in Earth's rock record and perhaps in Martian sediments
Because oxygen-bearing sulfate minerals trap and preserve signals from Earth's atmosphere, scientists closely study how they form. Sulfates are stable over billions of years, so their oxygen isotopes are seen as a time capsule, ...
Phys.org / The key to why the universe exists may lie in an 1800s knot idea science once dismissed
In 1867, Lord Kelvin imagined atoms as knots in the aether. The idea was soon disproven. Atoms turned out to be something else entirely. But his discarded vision may yet hold the key to why the universe exists.
Phys.org / Giant wooden marker post dates Cahokia's political and economic peak
Dr. Nicholas Kessler and his colleagues examined the largest known marker post from the ancient North American city of Cahokia. Their study is published in PLOS One.
Phys.org / Light particles prefer company: Photons exhibit collective behavior only after reaching certain threshold
As far as particles of light are concerned, the collective is more important than the individual. When they get to decide between two states, they will favor the one that many of their fellow particles have already adopted. ...
Phys.org / Exploring how dark matter alters electron-capture supernovae and the birth of neutron stars
Electron-capture supernovae (ECSNe) are stellar explosions that occur in stars with initial masses around 8–10 times that of the sun. These stars develop oxygen-neon-magnesium cores, which become unstable when electrons ...
Phys.org / Antarctic ice reveals two volcanoes erupting simultaneously may have caused 15th-century cooling
Nearly 600 years ago, a massive volcanic eruption sent clouds of sulfurous gas and ash high into the atmosphere. The blast known as the 1458/59 CE event was so huge that it triggered decades of cooling, especially in the ...
Phys.org / Retreating glaciers may send fewer nutrients to the ocean, study finds
The cloudy, sediment-laden meltwater from glaciers is a key source of nutrients for ocean life, but a new study suggests that as climate change causes many glaciers to shrink and retreat, their meltwater may become less nutritious.
