Phys.org news

Phys.org / Little red dots may mark temporary black hole phase

Since their discovery by NASA's James Webb Space Telescope in 2022, little red dots (LRDs) have been the subject of great interest to astronomers. Understanding the nature of these extremely distant, compact red sources has ...

Jul 29, 2026
Phys.org / Most complete skeleton of 30 million-year-old dog discovered

For decades, a 30 million-year-old fossil sat entombed in rock in an Oregon museum collection. When it was first found, paleontologists thought it might be an early relative of sheep, camels and pigs, whose fossilized skeletons ...

Jul 29, 2026
Phys.org / Black hole 'blast' reaches 300,000 light-years

A team of researchers has discovered that winds generated by supermassive black holes are 100 times more powerful than previously thought, carrying energy across distances of approximately 300,000 light-years. The discovery ...

Jul 29, 2026
Phys.org / Gobi fossil reveals 6-inch 'Cretaceous rabbit' belonged to a different mammal branch

A remarkably preserved fossil from Mongolia's Gobi Desert is reshaping scientists' understanding of mammal evolution during the age of dinosaurs.

Jul 29, 2026
Phys.org / In biology of cells, octopus has another trick up its sleeve

The octopus is a biological oddity. It can use tools, open jars, and its complex nervous system supports as many neurons as a small primate. Now Harvard biologists have discovered a mysterious distinction in octopuses' core ...

Jul 29, 2026
Phys.org / A step closer to artificial organs: UV light shapes arteriole-scale hydrogel vessels

The creation of fully artificial organs is a sci-fi dream, and researchers in Japan may have brought it one step closer to reality by developing a new photofabrication technique (i.e., a light-controlled synthetic method) ...

Jul 29, 2026
Phys.org / Scientists discover 210-million-year-old dinosaur in Zimbabwe

A newly discovered dinosaur from Zimbabwe is offering fresh clues to how the animals diversified, suggesting they spread across distinct ecosystems in southern Africa, scientists said Wednesday.

Jul 29, 2026
Phys.org / Five-year study finds rewilded elephants develop successful coping mechanisms, with individual differences

Ex-captive elephants released into the wild adapt well to wild environments, according to a study published July 29, 2026, in the journal PLOS One by Tenisha Roos and Tamara Eggeling of the Elephant Reintegration Trust of ...

Jul 29, 2026
Phys.org / Unique fossil reveals the internal organs of a 245-million-year-old marine reptile

Scientists from China, Europe and the U.S., including Dr. Stephan Spiekman, a paleontologist at the State Museum of Natural History Stuttgart and the University of Hohenheim, have described a fossil of the long-necked marine ...

Jul 29, 2026
Phys.org / One of industry's toughest lignin byproducts could become feedstock for valuable chemicals

The pulp and paper industry, which manufactures everything from tissue paper to cardboard, also generates a significant yet often overlooked byproduct—a complex polymer called lignin. Around 100 million tons of lignin are ...

Jul 29, 2026
Phys.org / The cost of memory: How organisms balance thinking and sensing

Remembering the past can help living organisms make better decisions, but memory comes at a cost. Whether it is an animal searching for food or a single cell responding to its surroundings, storing and using information requires ...

Jul 29, 2026
Phys.org / Hydrothermal microbes shape seafloor minerals at newly found vents near Greek island

In August 2023, the German research vessel METEOR set sail on Expedition M192 to the Greek island of Milos with Dr. Solveig Bühring as chief scientist. The mission was to locate and investigate previously unknown hydrothermal ...

Jul 29, 2026