Phys.org news
Phys.org / A galaxy with almost no stars? New Cloud-9 observations strengthen the case
Astronomers have taken one of the deepest looks yet at Cloud-9, a candidate "dark galaxy," and found no trace of stars. The paper outlining this discovery was posted to the arXiv preprint server on Aug. 21.
Phys.org / 'Peculiar' new species of Jurassic squid found in Wyoming
A "peculiar" new species of Jurassic squid-like animal has been unearthed in Wyoming, U.S., following the discovery of two exceptionally rare fossils dating to around 160 million years ago.
Phys.org / 'Fingerprints' inside the sun could reveal if it once swallowed a planet
It is thought the sun may have engulfed a super-Earth-sized planet early in its history. Now, a new study has gone a step further, suggesting that such an event may have left behind detectable clues inside the sun that could ...
Phys.org / Unaccounted climate feedback loops may amplify warming by 20–30% this century, but cutting emissions will reduce risks
New research shows that warming-induced emissions—greenhouse gas emissions from natural sources driven by rising temperatures—could amplify global warming by approximately 20%–30% and add an estimated 0.2°C–0.4°C of warming ...
Phys.org / Scavenging linked to virus variety in wild birds
The scavenging behavior of many wild birds plays an important role in the type, number and variety of viruses they have, a new University of Otago–Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka-led study has found.
Phys.org / AI pinpoints when fish reach their thermal limit
Researchers have developed an AI-based system that automatically and objectively detects the moment when fish experience loss of equilibrium (LOE) due to temperature stress. The system combines DeepLabCut, a deep-learning ...
Phys.org / Tiny 2D cracks creep through materials before triggering sudden fracture, experiments reveal
We have all seen something suddenly break: a phone screen cracks, a plastic object snaps or a piece of glass shatters. To our eyes, the failure seems to happen all at once. But what if the most important part of the break ...
Phys.org / White is more than a color: How nature inspired a new sustainable way to make white, water-repellent materials
Look closely at Hokusai's The Great Wave off Kanagawa, one of Japan's most iconic masterpieces. The brilliant white of the waves, snow on Mount Fuji and clouds above contain no white pigment. Instead, their whiteness comes ...
Phys.org / The surprising place where giant dinosaurs incubated their eggs
Finding a fossilized dinosaur egg is exceptionally rare, but finding a stash of more than 250 shell fragments in the chilly southern reaches of the planet is even more surprising. The discoveries come from southernmost Patagonia ...
Phys.org / A wandering black hole caught feeding on the run
Astronomers have found the first direct evidence that a wandering black hole can feed itself by dragging gas along in its wake as it moves through its galaxy. It's the first direct evidence of an accretion channel long predicted ...
Phys.org / Ancient bones reveal that cannibalism took different forms in Neolithic Spain
Cannibalism was sometimes on the Neolithic menu, as numerous archaeological discoveries have revealed. But while ancient human bones show the practice took place, far less evidence exists about the forms it may have taken ...
Phys.org / The 'costly son' hypothesis: Why bigger sons may make births riskier across species
A new comparative review, published in The Anatomical Record, examines factors that may lead to birth complications among humans and other mammals. The study suggests that fetal sex may play an important role in risky births ...