Phys.org news
Phys.org / JWST's 'overmassive' early black holes may not be so massive after all
Astronomers studying a population of unusually X-ray-silent and overmassive black holes discovered by the James Webb Space Telescope have found that they may not be as massive as they appear. The new paper, outlining a plausible ...
Phys.org / Could geoengineering work to tamp down super El Niños?
With an anticipated "super" El Niño looming, a new study led by UC San Diego's Scripps Institution of Oceanography considers whether society could use a weather-altering technique as a tool to mitigate the floods, extreme ...
Phys.org / Black hole collisions may follow entropy law, offering simpler remnant predictions
When two black holes orbit each other, they eventually spiral inward and collide in one of the most violent phenomena in the universe. The event is so energetic that it significantly distorts the universe around it. It emits ...
Phys.org / Long-theorized electron-on-helium qubit achieves strong coupling to a single microwave photon
Quantum computers, devices that store and process information leveraging the principles of quantum mechanics, have been found to be promising for tackling some problems that cannot be solved by classical computers. Quantum ...
Phys.org / Nanoplastics found in Antarctic soils for first time, suggesting long-range atmospheric transport
Microplastic contamination has been a much-discussed topic over the last several years, but contamination from even smaller plastic particles represents another pressing issue. Nanoplastics—defined as being under a micrometer ...
Phys.org / Tiny Jurassic bird reveals a key step in bird evolution
The transition from a lumbering, heavy dinosaur body to the flight-adapted bird body plan is one of many fascinating episodes in evolutionary history. Working out how this massive transformation took place relies heavily ...
Phys.org / How Fourth of July celebrations and the national political mood may shape psychedelic experiences
Psychedelic drugs are known to make people highly sensitive to their surroundings. In other words, a user's mindset and immediate environment heavily shape the entire trippy experience. In a study published in the journal ...
Phys.org / The oldest deliberately collected fossil ichthyosaur was discovered in Roman Britain around 1,800 years ago
Around 1,800 years ago, a fossilized spinal bone lay on the windswept beaches of Roman Britain until a curious passerby picked it up and carried it far away, only to drop it in a pit.
Phys.org / This rare British butterfly looks familiar, but its genome tells a very different story
The British swallowtail butterfly (Papilio machaon britannicus) is the U.K.'s only native swallowtail and its largest native butterfly. It's instantly recognizable by its striking light yellow-and-black wings, with twin tail-like ...
Phys.org / Slowing Atlantic current could fuel stronger California atmospheric rivers by century's end
A slowing Atlantic Ocean current is projected to intensify powerful storms in California while reducing snowfall over Greenland, according to a recent University of California, Riverside study. The Atlantic Meridional Overturning ...
Phys.org / New CRISPR method makes it possible to control protein production in cells
The speed at which a cell produces proteins is a decisive factor in determining whether it divides, specializes or retains its stem cell properties. A team of researchers led by Professor Stefan H. Stricker, professor of ...
Phys.org / Scientists discover rare 'super-Jupiter' planet with 180-day long orbit
Scientists from Queen's University Belfast have led an international team in the discovery of a rare new planet, which is larger than Jupiter and orbits a distant star every 180 days. Named NGTS-38 b, it is an exoplanet—a ...
