Phys.org news

Phys.org / Key driver of extreme winds on Venus identified

Imagine the catastrophic winds of a category 5 hurricane. Now, imagine even faster winds of more than 100 meters per second, encircling the planet and whipping clouds across the sky, with no end in sight. This scenario would ...

Nov 19, 2025 in Astronomy & Space
Phys.org / How a plant-parasitic nematode can infect a wide range of organisms

UC Davis nematologists, including Valerie Williamson, professor emerita in the Department of Plant Pathology, and associate professor Shahid Siddique, Department of Entomology and Nematology, have long wondered how a plant-parasitic ...

Nov 19, 2025 in Biology
Phys.org / Soil carbon decomposition varies vastly, holding implications for climate models

Soil stores more carbon than Earth's atmosphere and plants combined, which makes the speed of soil carbon's decomposition an important variable in models used to predict changes to our climate.

Nov 19, 2025 in Earth
Phys.org / Crucial protein recruits help to protect itself while it forms

Proteins are often called the building blocks of cells, but even those building blocks need to be built. One of the most important steps in the process of building proteins is glycosylation, when sugar molecules (glycans) ...

Nov 19, 2025 in Biology
Phys.org / Coaxing bilayer graphene into a single diamond-like layer for industrial applications

Graphene's enduring appeal lies in its remarkable combination of lightness, flexibility, and strength. Now, researchers have shown that under pressure, it can briefly take on the traits of one of its more glamorous carbon ...

Nov 19, 2025 in Nanotechnology
Phys.org / Microplastics detected in 100% of donkey feces: Study links plastic pollution to animal deaths and food risks

A study by the University of Portsmouth has revealed for the first time the extent of the devastating impact of plastic pollution on livestock, humans and the wider environment on the Kenyan island of Lamu.

Nov 19, 2025 in Earth
Phys.org / Pika research finds troubling signs for the iconic Rocky Mountain animal

A new study led by the University of Colorado Boulder carries a warning for one of the Rocky Mountains' most iconic animals—the American pika (Ochotona princeps), a small and fuzzy creature that often greets hikers in Colorado ...

Nov 19, 2025 in Biology
Phys.org / Emerald green degradation in masterpieces: Scientists identify the culprits

An international team of researchers have found what triggers degradation in one of the most popular pigments used by renowned 19th and 20th century painters. Using a multi-method approach, including advanced synchrotron ...

Nov 19, 2025 in Chemistry
Phys.org / JUNO experiment delivers first physics results two months after completion

The Institute of High Energy Physics (IHEP) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has successfully completed the Jiangmen Underground Neutrino Observatory (JUNO) and released its first physics results.

Nov 19, 2025 in Physics
Phys.org / Magnetic nanocultures: A tiny lens into the vast world of soil microbes

An estimated 1 trillion species of microorganisms reside on Earth, yet scientists have been able to study less than two percent of them. Because many microorganisms cannot be cultivated in laboratories, researchers at Carnegie ...

Nov 19, 2025 in Nanotechnology
Phys.org / Webb reveals Apep's four 'spiraling' dust shells shaped by Wolf-Rayet stars

NASA's James Webb Space Telescope has delivered a first of its kind: a crisp mid-infrared image of a system of four serpentine spirals of dust, one expanding beyond the next in precisely the same pattern. (The fourth is almost ...

Nov 19, 2025 in Astronomy & Space
Phys.org / Using 6,000-year-old data, scientists uncover why Europe may face 42 extra days of summer by 2100

New research led by Royal Holloway reveals for the first time why Europe could gain more than an extra month of summer days by 2100 using climate data from the last millennia.

Nov 19, 2025 in Earth