Phys.org news
Phys.org / Resurrected ancient enzyme offers new window into early Earth and the search for life beyond it
By resurrecting a 3.2-billion-year-old enzyme and studying it inside living microbes, researchers at the University of Wisconsin–Madison have created a new way to improve our understanding of the origins of life on Earth ...
Phys.org / Entangled atomic clouds enable more precise quantum measurements
Researchers at the University of Basel and the Laboratoire Kastler Brossel have demonstrated how quantum mechanical entanglement can be used to measure several physical parameters simultaneously with greater precision.
Phys.org / Rethinking where life could exist beyond Earth
Astronomers have long searched for life within a rather narrow ring around a star, the "habitable zone," where a planet should be neither too hot nor too cold for liquid water. A new study argues that this ring is too strict: ...
Phys.org / Study challenges long-held theory that language is built on grammar trees
Every time we speak, we're improvising. "Humans possess a remarkable ability to talk about almost anything, sometimes putting words together into never-before-spoken or -written sentences," said Morten H. Christiansen, the ...
Phys.org / AI model that found 370 exoplanets now digs into TESS data
Scientists have discovered over 6,000 planets that orbit stars other than our sun, known as exoplanets. More than half of these planets were discovered thanks to data from NASA's retired Kepler mission and NASA's current ...
Phys.org / Increased soil salinity alters global inorganic carbon storage, finds study
A new global study shows that increasing soil salinity is systematically reshaping the storage and distribution of soil inorganic carbon (SIC), a key but often-overlooked part of terrestrial ecosystems. The findings, published ...
Phys.org / Space station crew credits ultrasound machine for handling in-orbit health crisis
The astronauts evacuated last week from the International Space Station say a portable ultrasound machine came in "super handy" during the medical crisis.
Phys.org / Chimpanzees are better at solving resource dilemmas in larger, more tolerant groups
Despite being one of the most cooperative species on the planet, humans routinely fail to manage shared resources sustainably. We overfish from the oceans, burn fossil fuels, and over-prescribe antibiotics; behaviors that ...
Phys.org / 2D topological crystalline insulator turns decade-old prediction into reality
Physicists from University of Jyväskylä and Aalto University (Finland) have experimentally realized a two-dimensional topological crystalline insulator. This is a quantum material that has been theoretically predicted for ...
Phys.org / Battery-free nano-sensors could pave the way for next-generation wearables
Nano-sensors that work without batteries or wires could pave the way for more comfortable, less obtrusive sleep and health care monitoring at home, according to scientists at the University of Surrey.
Phys.org / Aging zoo animals threaten long-term species conservation goals
Many mammal populations in European and North American zoos are aging—a trend that jeopardizes the long-term viability of so-called reserve populations and, with it, a core mission of modern zoos in global species conservation. ...
Phys.org / Rainfall–salinity link sustains prolonged La Niña events, study reveals
La Niña—a climate phenomenon characterized by unusually cool sea surface temperatures in the central and eastern tropical Pacific Ocean—can persist for multiple years, exerting significant climate impacts worldwide. ...