Phys.org news
Phys.org / Heat index maps uncover when city greening cools most—and when it can backfire
Tree shade is one of the fastest ways to make heat more bearable. It cuts direct sunlight, protects people walking or working outdoors, and remains essential for heat action plans. A new study by researchers from the Indian ...
Phys.org / Shark face study uncovers 400-million-year-old blueprint shared across jawed vertebrates
Most of what scientists know about face development comes from studies in bony vertebrates such as mice, chickens, and zebrafish. However, their evolutionary counterparts, cartilaginous fishes, have remained largely unexplored. ...
Phys.org / Metagenomics and AI could unlock uncultivated bacteria and archaea
Advances in DNA sequencing have expanded our view of the microbial world, but the inability to cultivate most microbes has been a major constraint. Now, a systematic, predictive framework that combines existing genomic and ...
Phys.org / Brazilian microfossils interpreted as animal traces are actually algae and bacteria, research reveals
A reexamination of microfossils found in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso do Sul shows that the marks previously interpreted as traces of worms or other small oceanic animals are actually communities of fossilized microscopic ...
Phys.org / Why prescribed fire often fails: Scorched invasive shrubs can resprout instead of die
Invasive woody plants present a major ecological challenge in eastern U.S. forests by outcompeting native species and spreading quickly, forming dense thickets that crowd out native plants and disrupt ecosystems. Land managers ...
Phys.org / Deep beneath Swiss Alps, researchers trigger 8,000 tiny quakes in controlled test
Researchers have made the ground shake in southern Switzerland, triggering thousands of tiny earthquakes in a monitored setting, as they seek to discover seismicity insights that could reduce risks.
Phys.org / Hubble survey sets up Roman's future look near Milky Way's center
The Milky Way's galactic bulge, the bulbous region that surrounds the galactic center, contains a dense collection of stars, planets, and other free-floating objects. This region has been studied for decades with numerous ...
Phys.org / Snow and glacier ecosystems across remote Antarctic island reveal hidden microbial diversity
Research led by a University of Bristol Ph.D. student has revealed a host of thriving microscopic algae communities in snow and glaciers across one of the most remote locations on Earth. The study, which appears in ISME Communications ...
Phys.org / Researchers find coherent ferrons—polarization waves with potential across quantum and telecom applications
In new research published in Nature Materials, a team of researchers led by Columbia University chemist Xiaoyang Zhu, in collaboration with fellow Columbians Xavier Roy, Milan Delor, Dmitri Basov, and James McIver, has observed ...
Phys.org / Climate patterns may shape where violent conflict risks are amplified
A new Rice University study is shedding light on a long-debated question: Can climate variability influence the risk of armed conflict? The answer, researchers say, is yes—but in more nuanced and region-specific ways than ...
Phys.org / How carbon dioxide cools the upper atmosphere—and warms Earth below
Even as temperatures rise on Earth's surface and in the lower atmosphere, the planet's upper atmosphere has cooled dramatically. This paradoxical pattern is a well-known sign of humanity's climate impacts—but until now, the ...
Phys.org / Advanced construction techniques and domestic layouts discovered in Roman-Byzantine villages of Syria
Having weathered nearly 1,500 years of time and exposure, the remains of Roman-Byzantine villages in Syria have been the subject of recent architectural investigations, which reveal remarkable design features, local construction ...
