Phys.org news
Phys.org / Atacama Desert's extreme aridity initiated 20 million years earlier than previously thought, study finds
A collaborative study with the University of Cologne, recently published in Nature Communications, provides compelling evidence that the extreme aridity in the hyperarid core of the Atacama Desert began over 40 million years ...
Phys.org / Robot fish could unravel how our ancient ancestors first learned to walk
Researchers have developed a fish-like robot that shows how some species of modern fish are able to walk on land, and could help unravel how early vertebrates evolved similar abilities hundreds of millions of years ago.
Phys.org / From flat moss to forests and flowers: Protein discovery may explain how plants conquered land
If plants had never learned to grow in multiple directions, our world would look very different. No trees, flowers, or other complex plants—and therefore no animals or humans. New research from the University of Copenhagen ...
Phys.org / Tiny membrane tethers revealed as key to plant cell survival in drought
Water deficit resistance in plants has long been a topic of interest for cultivating reliable crops. Some plants can alter their above-ground structure to lock in moisture, while others develop deep, industrious roots that ...
Phys.org / Nanoparticles boost delivery of lung cancer drugs 30-fold
Lung cancer remains one of the world's deadliest cancers, yet despite decades of effort to develop new drugs, many fail because they don't stay in the body long enough to be effective or because they damage healthy organs. ...
Phys.org / Meteor as heavy as an elephant causes widespread speculation across New England
When the double boom rang out in New England over the weekend, shaking homes and sending pets fleeing, questions started flooding social media.
Phys.org / New mantises planking their way to urban dominance
A team of scientists have discovered and named three new "leaf-planking" praying mantis species and recorded another mantis species turning up far from its assumed habitat. JCU Ph.D. candidate Matthew Connors recently discovered ...
Phys.org / Icy moons' ability to host life could be revealed through an ecology-based method
New observatories and spacecraft missions are probing environments in our solar system that could potentially host life but have long remained hidden. Icy moons like Saturn's Enceladus and Jupiter's Europa likely contain ...
Phys.org / First direct view tracks planet-forming disk spinning around AB Aurigae
The rotation of a protoplanetary disk (a disk where planets are being formed) has been observed directly for the very first time by mapping the emissions from the dust grains within it. The disk in question surrounds the ...
Phys.org / One of our planets may be missing, and it could explain why the solar system looks the way it does
Our solar system has two ice giants, Uranus and Neptune, but there may have been a third. According to a new study published in the journal Icarus, this extra world might have triggered a violent planetary shuffling billions ...
Phys.org / Mathematician solves origami donut efficiency challenge with fewest folds
Most people wouldn't think that it would take rigorous mathematical proof to show how many folds it takes to make a donut shape out of paper. Yet, no one could quite figure it out until recently.
Phys.org / Student astronomer discovers 'Rosetta Stone' for mysterious cosmic signals
An international team led by astronomers at the University of Sydney has uncovered the clearest evidence yet for the origin of an unusual class of cosmic signals. In doing so, they have identified a rare stellar system that ...
