Phys.org news

Phys.org / The surprising culprit limiting the abundance of Earth's largest land animals

Humans live in a world abundant in salt, but this everyday seasoning is a luxury for wild herbivores, and it's far from clear how these animals get enough.

Dec 9, 2025 in Biology
Phys.org / Pompeii offers insights into ancient Roman building technology

Concrete was the foundation of the ancient Roman empire. It enabled Rome's storied architectural revolution as well as the construction of buildings, bridges, and aqueducts, many of which are still used some 2,000 years after ...

Dec 9, 2025 in Other Sciences
Phys.org / Geomorphological approach evaluates Galápagos watersheds

Galápagos is a living laboratory where every environmental decision matters. On Santa Cruz, the most populated island of the archipelago, freshwater is a limited and increasingly vulnerable resource due to urban growth, ...

Dec 9, 2025 in Earth
Phys.org / Black hole ejects matter at 20% light speed in sun-like magnetic event

An international team of astronomers, led by SRON, has observed a sudden outburst of matter near the supermassive black hole NGC 3783 at speeds reaching up to 20% of the speed of light. During a 10-day observation, mainly ...

Dec 9, 2025 in Astronomy & Space
Phys.org / From light to logic: Ultrafast quantum switching in 2D materials

Scientists from the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay have found a way to use light to control and read tiny quantum states inside atom-thin materials. The simple technique could pave the way for computers that are dramatically ...

Dec 9, 2025 in Physics
Phys.org / Limitations of AI-based material prediction: Crystallographic disorder represents a stumbling block

Computer simulations and artificial intelligence often make significant errors when predicting the properties of new, high-performance materials, according to a new international study led by the University of Bayreuth. In ...

Dec 9, 2025 in Chemistry
Phys.org / Sensational Viking Age grave newly uncovered

Researchers are now investigating a Viking Age grave with preserved skeletal remains and jewelry. The grave was found at Val in Bjugn, in Trøndelag County. A discovery by a metal detectorist alerted researchers to the find.

Dec 9, 2025 in Other Sciences
Phys.org / Decoding the chemistry of life: Maximum entropy reveals how mutations alter enzymes and drive drug resistance

For decades, Arieh Warshel, USC Distinguished Professor of Chemistry and a 2013 Nobel laureate, has used computer simulations to understand how enzymes—fundamental to nearly every biological process in living organisms—carry ...

Dec 9, 2025 in Chemistry
Phys.org / World's rarest marsupial: What new research reveals about its survival needs

Researchers from Edith Cowan University (ECU) along with the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions (DBCA) have been working together to help protect the world's rarest marsupial by better understanding ...

Dec 9, 2025 in Biology
Phys.org / Mini-vortices in nanopores accelerate ion transport for faster supercapacitor charging

Tiny cavities in energy storage devices form small vortices that help with charging, according to a research team led by TU Darmstadt. This previously unknown phenomenon could advance the development of faster storage devices.

Dec 9, 2025 in Nanotechnology
Phys.org / Laser draws made-to-order magnetic landscapes

Researchers at the Paul Scherrer Institute PSI, in collaboration with the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in Boulder, Colorado, have for the first time succeeded in using existing laser technology to ...

Dec 9, 2025 in Physics
Phys.org / Male bonobos track females' reproductive cycle to maximize mating success

Male bonobos can decipher females' unreliable fertility signals, allowing them to focus their efforts on matings with the highest chance of conception, according to a study by Heungjin Ryu at Kyoto University, Japan, and ...

Dec 9, 2025 in Biology