Phys.org news

Phys.org / Descriptions of mollusks in the Global South are still, for the most part, the result of 'parachute science'

Between the 16th and 19th centuries, when colonialism was the prevailing order, it is not surprising that scientific expeditions, specimen deposits in natural history museums, and descriptions of species from European colonies ...

Dec 10, 2025 in Biology
Phys.org / New study reveals Industrial Revolution's uneven health impacts across England

An interdisciplinary team of scientists has uncovered new evidence showing that the health impacts of the Industrial Revolution varied more widely across England than previously believed.

Dec 10, 2025 in Other Sciences
Phys.org / More yield through heterosis: Researchers decode gene interaction behind hybrid vigor

When two homozygous plant lines with different characteristics are crossed, the resulting offspring are often more robust and productive than their parents. This phenomenon is called heterosis. It can be caused by positive ...

Dec 10, 2025 in Biology
Phys.org / Fossils reveal sea cows have engineered Arabian Gulf's seagrass ecosystems for over 20 million years

Today, the Arabian Gulf is home to manatee-like marine mammals called dugongs that shape the seafloor as they graze on seagrasses. A newly described fossil site in Qatar reveals that ancient sea cows engineered aquatic ecosystems ...

Dec 10, 2025 in Biology
Phys.org / ALICE solves mystery of light-nuclei survival

Observations of the formation of light-nuclei from high-energy collisions may help in the hunt for dark matter.

Dec 10, 2025 in Physics
Phys.org / An old jeweler's trick could unlock next-generation nuclear clocks

In 2008, a team of UCLA-led scientists proposed a scheme to use a laser to excite the nucleus of thorium atoms to realize extremely accurate, portable clocks. Last year, they realized this longstanding goal by bombarding ...

Dec 10, 2025 in Physics
Phys.org / Study suggests Earth's inner core may have onion-like layered structure

An international research team may have found an explanation for seismic anomalies, the noticeable deviations in the behavior of earthquake waves, in Earth's inner core.

Dec 10, 2025 in Earth
Phys.org / Wildfire smoke lofted into atmosphere could affect Earth's climate

Some wildfires are so intense, they create their own weather—thunderstorms driven by heat that hurtle smoke as high as 10 miles into the sky like giant chimneys.

Dec 10, 2025 in Earth
Phys.org / Biobanking opens new windows into human evolution

More than a decade after the first Neanderthal genome was sequenced, scientists are still working to understand how human-specific DNA changes shaped human evolution.

Dec 10, 2025 in Biology
Phys.org / Magnetic ordering induces Jahn-Teller effect in spinel-type compounds

The Jahn-Teller effect, proposed by Jahn and Teller in 1937, describes how molecules or crystals with degenerate electronic orbitals can lower their total energy by distorting their structure. This distortion lifts the degeneracy, ...

Dec 10, 2025 in Physics
Phys.org / Viruses found in carbon-storing wetlands play an active role in shaping ecosystem health

Viruses in wetland soil play a more important role than previously understood and could even be indicators of ecosystem health, according to a new study by researchers from the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Recently ...

Dec 10, 2025 in Biology
Phys.org / A new framework addresses fair distribution of emissions

Ten years ago, on 12 December 2015, the Paris Climate Agreement was signed at the UN Climate Conference. In order to limit global warming to well below two degrees, only a certain amount of CO2 may be emitted worldwide. While ...

Dec 10, 2025 in Earth