Phys.org news
Phys.org / Life's earliest proteins may have folded into complex shapes with far fewer amino acids
How did the earliest life on Earth build complex biological machinery with so few tools? A new study explores how the simplest building blocks of proteins—once limited to just half of today's amino acids—could still form ...
Phys.org / Archaeological digs in Amazon provide clues about Indigenous inhabitants before colonization
Paving roads in the Amazon rainforest has long brought deforestation that threatens the people who live there. The same roadwork, however, has also allowed archaeologists to get glimpses of the region's past long before Europeans ...
Phys.org / How a sinking lithospheric root raised Mongolia's Hangay Mountains
Central Mongolia's Hangay Mountains rise more than four kilometers above sea level, forming a dramatic dome that shapes the region's climate. But for decades, geologists have been puzzled: What caused this massive mountain ...
Phys.org / AI model designs new antibiotic for staph infections after exploring 46 billion compounds
Researchers at McMaster University have developed a new generative artificial intelligence (AI) model capable of drastically speeding up drug discovery—and, in early tests, it has already designed a brand-new antibiotic. ...
Phys.org / Riding the quantum wave: Quasiparticles reveal a magneto-optical transport phenomenon
Excitons are being explored in materials science and information technology as a means of storing light. These luminous quasiparticles move through individual layers of quantum materials and can absorb and emit light with ...
Phys.org / Brazil unearths a bizarre beaked reptile with a trans-Atlantic prehistoric link
Paleontologists from the Federal University of Santa Maria (UFSM) have published a new study in the scientific journal Royal Society Open Science, in which they describe a new species based on a fossil skull approximately ...
Phys.org / A huge tectonic boundary shook the ground where dinosaurs once stood
Scientists have discovered a Jurassic tectonic plate boundary that could help to predict what the planet might look like millions of years into the future. Dr. Jordan Phethean, Senior Lecturer in Earth Sciences at the University ...
Phys.org / Honeybees pass their math test, upending an animal intelligence debate
We've run the numbers and the verdict is in: Honeybees do have the ability to process numerical information. New research led by Monash University has now addressed recent international debate over whether bees are truly ...
Phys.org / Tiny songbird crosses Sahara by flying night after night
Every year a small songbird, no heavier than a letter, crosses the Sahara Desert, the Mediterranean and the Arabian Desert on its migration. New research from Lund University in Sweden now reveals how the tiny bird manages ...
Phys.org / What wild honey from the Philippine jungle reveals about biodiversity
In the Philippines, Indigenous communities have been harvesting wild honey for centuries. A new chemical analysis of this honey now provides insights into the biodiversity of the region. "And an additional reason to protect ...
Phys.org / AI automates quantum dot voltage tuning for scaling up quantum computing
Semiconductor spin qubits are a promising candidate for the building blocks of next-generation quantum computers due to their high potential for integration and compatibility with existing semiconductor technologies. Qubits—like ...
Phys.org / These 'good' viruses hold up a booming industry—AI just found a faster way to track them
Researchers have developed a new methodology that uses artificial intelligence tools to identify and count target viruses more efficiently than previous techniques. The new approach can be used in applications such as pharmaceutical ...
