Phys.org news
Phys.org / Museum fossil reveals that extinct giant echidnas once roamed Australia
Paleontologists have used an Ice Age fossil found 120 years ago in an underground cave to reveal that extinct giant echidnas roamed southeastern Australia during the Pleistocene Epoch, filling a major knowledge gap in the ...
Phys.org / New 'molecular handle' uses common amino acid to build complex medicines
In a new study published in Nature Communications, a team of chemists has unveiled a radically simple way to attach a highly sought-after "molecular handle," known as the dichloromethyl group, onto complex compounds. Instead ...
Phys.org / Tiny crystal defects solve decades-old mystery in organic light emitters
Materials that emit and manipulate light are at the heart of technologies ranging from solar energy to advanced imaging systems. But even in well-studied materials, some fundamental behaviors remain unexplained. Researchers ...
Phys.org / A tiny twist and synthetic diamond put superconductivity on a switch, opening a new route to lossless electronics
Researchers have discovered evidence that superconductivity can be controlled by influencing the surrounding environment, a finding that may lead to more efficient electronics down the road, according to a new study published ...
Phys.org / From ship wakes to soft tissues: Exploring fluid and solid surface-wave physics
A new study by scientists in the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) shows that when a pressure disturbance moves across an ultrasoft elastic material, such as a gel or a biological tissue, ...
Phys.org / Between eternal night and day, the faces of two cousins of Earth
An international team including the University of Bern (UNIBE) and the University of Geneva (UNIGE), members of the National Center of Competence in Research PlanetS, has succeeded in mapping the climate of rocky exoplanets ...
Phys.org / Video shows that sunbirds suck, while hummingbirds don't
Two unrelated groups of nectar eaters, hummingbirds and sunbirds, have evolved different techniques to slurp the sweet liquid from flowers. The tongue suctioning employed by sunbirds is unique among vertebrates, according ...
Phys.org / Global warming is changing the hatching of bees and wasps
A large-scale experiment shows that warmth brings bees and wasps out of hibernation earlier—leaving some of them with poorer starting conditions. This is particularly true for species in cooler regions that emerge during ...
Phys.org / Math model reveals how life may have switched on from Earth's primordial soup
Isolating the first spark of life on Earth is a matter of biology, geology, and chemistry—but it's also an amazing math problem. At least, that's how Varun Varanasi viewed it when he was a Yale undergraduate. The question, ...
Phys.org / Unlocking unusual superconductivity in a lightweight element
Superconductors—materials that can conduct electricity without energy loss—are crucial for next-generation high-efficiency, ultrafast electronics. However, most superconductors share a critical limitation: they lose their ...
Phys.org / Quantum sensors get a precision boost as 2D defects reveal their hidden timing
A key factor for the performance of sensors is the speed at which the system returns to its initial state after a disturbance or measurement, similar to the taring of a balance. In the quantum sensor under investigation, ...
Phys.org / Plants use a protein-tagging complex to control stress survival, study finds
A specific cellular mechanism regulates the protein balance of plants, thereby influencing how they respond to environmental stress. An international research team led by Dr. Markus Wirtz at the Center for Organismal Studies ...
