Phys.org news
Phys.org / Tightly guided atoms could enable low-power quantum navigation when GPS fails
Within tiny halos of light clinging to a vanishingly thin wisp of optical fiber, scientist Jongmin Lee guides atoms like marbles through a narrow pipe. Rock the fiber and the atoms shift side by side; they just don't fall ...
Phys.org / A fake spider at the tip of this snake's tail helps it lure birds: Scientists get their first look inside it
Lots of animals use mimicry to survive. Some copy the appearance of threatening predators, and others have evolved to resemble plants or rocks so they can blend into the background and avoid being attacked. But a viper from ...
Phys.org / Ultrathin silicon structures can tune mid-IR light in billionths of a second
Light in the mid-infrared (mid-IR) portion of the electromagnetic spectrum plays a key role in modern sensing. Because molecules interact with this kind of light in specific ways, researchers use technologies like mid-IR ...
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 / Under pressure: How a deep-sea protein adapts to an extreme environment
Life in the deep sea is under immense pressure—literally. Such extreme conditions can disrupt the delicate structures of proteins essential to life. Yet somehow, the proteins in deep-sea creatures remain functional. This ...
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 / 'CRISPR-Combo' system speeds regeneration of hard-to-breed perennial crops
Editing a plant's genes is only half the battle. Before a new, improved trait can ever reach a farmer's field, scientists must be able to grow a whole plant from just a few edited cells—a process that can be slow, unreliable ...
Phys.org / Chinese cave traces Denisovan hunting and adaptation across 120,000 years
An ancient cave in southwestern China has revealed new evidence about how Denisovans—an ancient human relative—lived, survived and adapted over more than 100,000 years.
Phys.org / A cellular threshold can determine whether herpesvirus becomes active or lies dormant
During the COVID-19 pandemic, we wore masks and kept 2 meters (6.6 feet) apart in an effort to reduce the spread of the tiny droplets we release into the air with every breath, conversation or cough. The main goal was to ...
Phys.org / How sex with multiple mates can help save species from extinction
Allowing females to mate with multiple males, rather than just one, could help make species more resistant to extinction, University of East Anglia research shows. A new study reveals that when females have multiple males ...
Phys.org / Water isotopes reveal early drought signals in Central Amazon rainfall
The historic droughts of 2023 and 2024 in the Amazon reduced river flows and altered the region's rainfall composition. Daily monitoring in Manaus, the capital of the Brazilian state of Amazonas, revealed these changes through ...
Phys.org / 'White graphene' reshaped at the atomic scale with tailor-made nanopores
A research team at the University of Vienna led by physicist Jani Kotakoski demonstrates how the shape of nanopores in hexagonal boron nitride—the electrically insulating counterpart to graphene, also known as "white graphene"—can ...
