Phys.org news
Phys.org / Quantum neural networks get their first hardware test
Neural networks have transformed how machines find patterns in data, from recognizing faces in photos to predicting the shapes of proteins. So far, all of this progress has been made on ordinary classical computers, but with ...
Phys.org / Why the future of fashion might involve wearing live fungi
The idea of having living fungi cover your body might not be the most appealing thing in the world. But what if it was part of a clothing fabric that could change color, protect you from UV rays and even repair its own tears? ...
Phys.org / Astronomers identify one of the universe's rarest black hole events
A team of astronomers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has observed an extremely rare "wandering" black hole located tens of thousands of light-years from the center of its galaxy. This finding could reshape ...
Phys.org / How flying together helps Andean condors save energy
Animals are constantly moving to find food, water, suitable habitats, mates and safe places to rest. Because moving requires substantial energy, animals often rely on various biological and behavioral strategies to reduce ...
Phys.org / Hubble shows star formation in Andromeda galaxy is winding down
A new study using data from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope finds that star formation in the nearby Andromeda galaxy has undergone a 500-million-year decline, with an even steeper drop in the last 40 million years. Andromeda, ...
Phys.org / Kids who own cellphones have poorer reading comprehension scores than those who don't, researchers find
School cellphone bans might seem like a good way to improve learning for elementary school children, but new research published in Behavioral Sciences shows that simply owning a cellphone correlates with worse reading comprehension. ...
Phys.org / How invasive rats rewire coral reef food webs to create winners and losers
Invasive rats on tropical islands are creating winners and losers among the tiny underwater animals near the bottom of the food chain that inhabit surrounding coral reefs. Scientists say the changes to these marine ecosystems ...
Phys.org / Water's local asymmetry drives proton hopping between molecules, simulations reveal
Complex simulations—the most intricate of their kind to date—carried out by an international research team led by scientists at Heidelberg University's Institute for Physical Chemistry, have revealed how water governs the ...
Phys.org / Thin films 'dance' with substrates that are no longer inert, opening path toward 3D chips
Many of today's electronic devices—from the semiconductors in your cell phone to the photovoltaic cells in your solar panels—are built on thin-film substrates. The thin film is an electrically conductive material, while the ...
Phys.org / Seabirds trade their own survival to raise more chicks after energy-intensive breeding seasons
Wild seabirds that face high energy demands during the breeding season go on to migrate farther and raise more chicks the next year, but at a cost to their own survival. An international team led by researchers from Nagoya ...
Phys.org / Industrial poultry farming is accelerating the spread of a major foodborne disease
A new study by the Ineos Oxford Institute for Antimicrobial Research at the University of Oxford reveals that industrial poultry farming has led to a more than 100-fold increase in the movement of Campylobacter, allowing ...
Phys.org / Simple semiconductor films break light's front-back symmetry
Light typically interacts with a material the same way whether it enters through the front or the back—like polarized sunglasses that work the same from either side. Cornell researchers have demonstrated a simple route to ...