Phys.org news
Phys.org / Study reveals hidden 'chemical currency' fueling the ocean's carbon cycle
A new study, led by Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) and Columbia University, identifies a diverse set of molecules released by marine phytoplankton that fuel microbial life and help drive Earth's carbon cycle. ...
Phys.org / New study shows democracy has deep global roots—not just Greece and Rome
A new study on ancient societies from around the world is rewriting what we thought we knew about democracy. A team of researchers analyzed archaeological and historical evidence from 31 ancient societies across Europe, Asia, ...
Phys.org / Drought hits gulf fisheries, sparking food security fears
A severe and prolonged U.S. drought in the late 1980s played a central role in one of the largest fisheries declines ever recorded in the Gulf of Mexico, according to a new study published in Nature Communications.
Phys.org / AI rebuilds molecules from exploding fragments
Researchers at the Department of Energy's SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and collaborating institutions recently built a generative AI model that can recreate molecular structures from the movement of the molecule's ...
Phys.org / How young galaxies grew magnetic fields faster than expected
How fast can a galaxy build ordered magnetic fields spanning thousands of light-years? Existing theories say several billion years, but observations of galaxies in our universe imply shorter timescales. In a study published ...
Phys.org / What makes a genus real? Scientists use tree bats to evaluate a testable '2 Sigma Genus Concept'
Dr. Amy Baird, Professor of Biology at the University of Houston-Downtown (UHD), and her colleagues are seeking to change the attitude of biologists toward the meaning of taxonomic categories above the species level with ...
Phys.org / 3D model predicts mosquito flight paths from sight and CO₂ cues
A mosquito finds its target with the help of certain cues in its environment, such as a person's silhouette and the carbon dioxide they exhale. Now researchers at MIT and Georgia Tech have found that these visual and chemical ...
Phys.org / A 'consortium' of bacteria cooperates to eat phthalate plasticizers that single microbes can't stomach
Plastic trash has reached the world's most remote locations, from the bottom of the Mariana Trench to the summit of Everest. Hundreds of plastic-eating microbes that could help us clean up have been discovered over the past ...
Phys.org / California's lead-ammo bans are working, but expanding condor ranges undercut gains
Recent data showing an increase in lead exposure and deaths among critically endangered California condors seems to fly in the face of decades of conservation measures, including bans on lead bullets and public-education ...
Phys.org / Finding Easter eggs in entertainment boosts enjoyment and fan behavior, study finds
If you've watched popular movies or television shows in the last decade, there's a good chance you've found an Easter egg or two: not an actual brightly colored egg but a subtle reference to another movie or story in the ...
Phys.org / Why heights and snakes still hit harder: Study tracks fear sweat in 119 people
Fear-eliciting images of modern and ancestral threats are equally likely to evoke physiological reactions, despite their distinct evolutionary origins, according to a study published in the open-access journal PLOS One by ...
Phys.org / Colliding dust and the sparks of creation: Carbon-coated grains provide new clue to life's early energy
Two microscopic grains collide and produce a tiny spark. This phenomenon may have provided the energy to kick off life on Earth. But if these solid particles have the same composition, what factor causes the charge to flow ...
