Phys.org news
Phys.org / This single well-known and widespread butterfly is actually three species in disguise
The tropical rainforests of Central and South America are among the most biodiverse places on Earth. Costa Rica alone is home to half a million species, five times more than exist in the entire country of Canada, despite ...
Phys.org / New electrocatalyst helps turn polluted water into fertilizer and polymers
A new electrochemical system simultaneously converts plant-derived materials and nitrate pollutants into valuable industrial chemicals. Developed by Tohoku University researchers, the system provides a more sustainable way ...
Phys.org / Growing up gets less scary with time, research finds
As young adults, many millennials feared growing up more than past generations. But they've come around to it as they age, research published in the journal Developmental Psychology has found.
Phys.org / Australia's under-16 social media ban shows little early effect on teen use: Research
Australia's social media ban for under-16s has had little impact on teenagers' scrolling habits, researchers said Thursday in one of the first evaluations of the world-leading measures.
Phys.org / Self-propelled actin filaments may explain how cells change shape spontaneously
Cells can spontaneously change shape even without external signals, but the underlying mechanisms behind this form of self-organization have remained unclear. Now, researchers from Japan have discovered self-propelled treadmilling ...
Phys.org / Shorter front-leg strides can be an early warning sign of dementia in senior dogs
Scientists have shown that the stride length of the front legs (but not the hind legs) of senior and geriatric dogs decreases as their cognitive performance worsens. In contrast, chronological age itself was a poor predictor ...
Phys.org / Organic carbon detected in Bright Angel rock formation on Mars
In September 2025, NASA announced that its Perseverance rover had discovered a potential biosignature, which is a substance or structure that might have a biological origin. A new paper, published in Science Advances, unambiguously ...
Phys.org / Binary black hole signal probes event horizon region for first time
If, in space, no one can hear you scream, it seems that you can actually hear the sound of a crash when two black holes collide. Using the loudest gravitational wave ever heard, two Australian scientists and colleagues have ...
Phys.org / Ancient proteins hint at all-female Homo naledi burial site in Rising Star cave system
Scientists have extracted and analyzed the first-ever ancient proteins from the fossils of Homo naledi, revealing a potential all-female burial site. The study, published in the journal Cell, raises the possibility that South ...
Phys.org / Quantum squeezing sidesteps the limits on mechanical transducers
From detecting the ripples of colliding black holes to imaging individual chemical bonds, mechanical transducers have repeatedly transformed our understanding of the universe. So far, however, the sensitivity of these devices ...
Phys.org / Why female guppies prefer rare males and how this might shape evolution
When it comes to choosing a partner, some species prefer males that stand out from the crowd. Evolutionary biologists call the resulting process negative frequency-dependent selection. It means that a male has a huge mating ...
Phys.org / Interlayer self-doping could unlock room-temperature multiferroics in atom-thin materials
Multiferroics are materials that exhibit more than one prominent "ferroic" property, such as ferromagnetism and ferroelectricity. One of their most advantageous features is that they allow engineers to control their magnetic ...
