Phys.org news

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 / Lunar soil analyses reveal how space weathering shapes the moon's ultraviolet reflectance

Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) scientists are collaborating with researchers at UT San Antonio to study how space weathering can alter the lunar surface materials to help interpret regional and global far-ultraviolet ...

Dec 10, 2025 in Astronomy & Space
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 / 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 / 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 / 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 / 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 / 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 / Painting galaxy clusters by numbers (and physics)

Galaxy clusters are the most massive objects in the universe held together by gravity, containing up to several thousand individual galaxies and huge reservoirs of superheated, X-ray-emitting gas. The mass of this hot gas ...

Dec 10, 2025 in Astronomy & Space
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 / Ultra-thin nanomembrane device forms soft, seamless interface with living tissue

Researchers have developed a new class of ultra-thin, flexible bioelectronic material that can seamlessly interface with living tissues. They introduced a novel device called THIN (transformable and imperceptible hydrogel-elastomer ...

Dec 10, 2025 in Nanotechnology
Phys.org / Westerlund 1: First evidence of particle outflow from a young massive star cluster

Star clusters are of great importance in any galaxy: they are the birthplace of new stars, often containing massive stars of 10 solar masses or more. Such massive stars often drive powerful winds; the combined action of all ...

Dec 10, 2025 in Astronomy & Space