https://phys.org/ en-us Phys.org internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. A large team of atmospheric specialists has found that when the Hunga-Tonga Hunga-Ha'apai volcano erupted last year, it took part of the ozone layer with it. Their findings are published in the journal Science. https://phys.org/news/2023-10-hunga-tonga-hunga-haapai-eruption-depleted-ozone.html Earth Sciences Environment Fri, 20 Oct 2023 11:30:01 EDT news617015778 A team of marine biologists with the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Alaska Fishery Science Center has solved the mystery of why approximately 10 billion snow crabs vanished from the Bering Sea back in 2018/2019—the water there was too warm for them. https://phys.org/news/2023-10-billion-crabs-starved-death-bering.html Plants & Animals Ecology Fri, 20 Oct 2023 10:16:05 EDT news617015762 A combined team of geochemists from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and California Institute of Technology has found evidence of high levels of helium-3 in rocks on Baffin Island—possible evidence that the Earth's core is leaking. In their paper published in the journal Nature, the group describes their study of helium-3 and helium-4 on the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. https://phys.org/news/2023-10-evidence-earth-core-leaking-baffin.html Earth Sciences Fri, 20 Oct 2023 09:18:38 EDT news617012313 Bulk acoustic resonators—stacked material structures inside which acoustic waves resonate—can be used to amplify sounds or filter out undesired noise. These resonators have found wide use in today's RF telecommunication, like Front-End Modules (FEM) in iPhones. They could also be valuable components for various cutting-edge scientific applications, including quantum technologies and imaging devices. https://phys.org/news/2023-10-strategy-spin-acoustic-silicon-vacancies-4h.html Condensed Matter Quantum Physics Fri, 20 Oct 2023 07:00:02 EDT news616933556 In an era plagued by malevolent sources flooding the internet with misrepresentations, distortions, manipulated imagery and flat-out lies, it should come as some comfort that in at least one arena there is an honor system set up to ensure honesty and integrity: the peer-review process for scholarly publications. https://phys.org/news/2023-10-large-language-peer-review.html Education Thu, 19 Oct 2023 13:04:12 EDT news616939438 An international team of biologists, public health specialists and infectious disease experts reports that the current near-global bird flu epidemic has its roots in Europe and Africa. In their study, published in the journal Nature, the group analyzed bird flu data from multiple animal health databases. https://phys.org/news/2023-10-current-bird-flu-epidemic-europe.html Evolution Molecular & Computational biology Thu, 19 Oct 2023 10:46:11 EDT news616931166 Using various spacecraft and ground-based observatories, an international team of astronomers has performed a multi-wavelength study of a cataclysmic variable system known as Swift J0503.7-2819. Results of the study, published October 11 on the pre-print server arXiv, deliver important insights into the nature of this system. https://phys.org/news/2023-10-cataclysmic-variable-swift-j05037-.html Astronomy Thu, 19 Oct 2023 10:30:01 EDT news616929620 An international team of biologists, animal management specialists, geneticists and forestry managers has discovered a new species of "dragon lizard" in Laos—one with very impressive camouflage capabilities. In their paper published in the journal Zoological Research, the group describes how the lizards were found and what they learned from two samples they captured. https://phys.org/news/2023-10-dragon-lizard-species-camouflage-capabilities.html Plants & Animals Ecology Thu, 19 Oct 2023 10:20:37 EDT news616929629 Noninvasive inspection of layered structures is challenging for time-resolved imaging methods, where the resolution and contrast can be compromised by prominent signal attenuation with interlayer reflections and dispersions. https://phys.org/news/2023-10-hidden-layered-terahertz-imaging.html Optics & Photonics Wed, 18 Oct 2023 11:20:01 EDT news616846040 A team of paleontologists from Naturkunde-Museum Bielefeld, Adenauerplatz, the Polish Academy of Sciences, Natural History Museum Luxembourg and The Museum of Evolution at Uppsala University has found through study of a Lorrainosaurus fossil residing at Luxembourg's National Museum of Natural History (MNHN) that the clade it belonged to, Plesiosauria, evolved earlier than previously thought. Their paper is published in the journal Scientific Reports. https://phys.org/news/2023-10-lorrainosaurus-museum-plesiosaurs-evolved-earlier.html Evolution Paleontology & Fossils Wed, 18 Oct 2023 11:10:01 EDT news616844176 A team of astronomers and astrophysicists from INAF-Osservatorio Astronomico di Padova, Vicolo dell'Osservatorio 5, Universidad Diego Portales, the University of Exeter and Sorbonne Université has found evidence that gas giants may be more common than thought in some parts of the galaxy. In their study, reported in the journal Nature Communications, the group analyzed the mass and movement of 30 stars in the Beta Pictoris Moving Group. https://phys.org/news/2023-10-gas-giants-common-thought-galaxy.html Astronomy Planetary Sciences Wed, 18 Oct 2023 10:50:01 EDT news616844198 Using India's AstroSat spacecraft, astronomers have observed a magnetar known as SGR J1830–0645 during its recent bursting activity. Results of the observational campaign, published October 6 on the preprint server arXiv and accepted for publication in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, shed more light on the properties and behavior of this object. https://phys.org/news/2023-10-magnetar-sgr-j18300645-astrosat.html Astronomy Wed, 18 Oct 2023 10:40:01 EDT news616844167 A small team of political scientists and astronomers at the University of British Columbia has conducted a study of the number of filings to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) by entities wishing to send satellites into low orbit and has found the numbers growing so fast that soon there will not be room for new satellite deployments. In their paper is published in the journal Science. https://phys.org/news/2023-10-itu-tighten-orbit-satellites.html Space Exploration Wed, 18 Oct 2023 10:35:51 EDT news616844137 Astronomers report the discovery of a new ultrastripped supernova in the galaxy UGC 3855. The supernova was detected using the Half Meter Telescope (HMT) at the Xingming Observatory in China. The finding was detailed in a paper published October 7 on the pre-print server arXiv. https://phys.org/news/2023-10-astronomers-discovery-closest-ultrastripped-supernova.html Astronomy Tue, 17 Oct 2023 10:10:01 EDT news616755925 A team of organic chemists at the Max-Planck Institute for Solid-State Research, working with colleagues from the University of Tübingen and the University of Copenhagen, reports a way to take pictures of the sequences and locations of glycans (also known as polysaccharides) bound to several biomolecules at the single-molecule level. Their study is published in Science. https://phys.org/news/2023-10-imaging-sequences-glycans-bound-biomolecules.html Biochemistry Analytical Chemistry Tue, 17 Oct 2023 08:40:01 EDT news616750634 Conservation laws are central to our understanding of the universe, and now scientists have expanded our understanding of these laws in quantum mechanics. https://phys.org/news/2023-10-thought-laws-reevaluating-quantum-principles.html Quantum Physics Tue, 17 Oct 2023 06:50:01 EDT news616693014 A team of physicists at the Technical University of Denmark has found the reason a spinning magnet can cause a secondary magnet to levitate without the need for stabilization. In their paper published in the journal Physical Review Applied, the group describes experiments they conducted to learn more about the phenomenon and what they learned from them. https://phys.org/news/2023-10-magnet-levitate.html General Physics Condensed Matter Mon, 16 Oct 2023 09:50:01 EDT news616668486 Using the MeerKAT radio telescope, an international team of astronomers has observed a Galactic globular cluster known as NGC 6522. As a result, they have discovered two new isolated pulsars in this cluster. The finding is reported in a paper published October 5 on the pre-print server arXiv. https://phys.org/news/2023-10-pulsars-globular-cluster-ngc.html Astronomy Mon, 16 Oct 2023 09:01:51 EDT news616665709 Superconductivity is the ability of some materials to conduct a direct electrical current (DC) with almost no resistance. This property is highly sought after and favorable for various technological applications, as it could boost the performance of different electronic and energy devices. https://phys.org/news/2023-10-strategy-light-driven-superconductivity-kc.html Condensed Matter Superconductivity Sun, 15 Oct 2023 09:10:01 EDT news616406799 This week, researchers proved empirically that life isn't fair. Also, you'll notice that, in a superhuman display of restraint, I managed to write a paragraph about the simulated universe hypothesis without once referencing "The Matrix." (Except for this reference.) https://phys.org/news/2023-10-saturday-citations-gravitational-simulated-universe.html Other Sat, 14 Oct 2023 09:40:01 EDT news616419448 A team of atmospheric scientists, chemists and infectious disease specialists at the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry, working with colleagues from the Max Planck Institute for Dynamical Systems, the University of Denver, Georg August University and St. Petersburg State University, has embarked on an effort to collate publicly available information on droplet properties, such as the way they are distributed by size, their composition, and the ways they are emitted, as a means of helping to develop mitigation strategies for fighting infectious agents. https://phys.org/news/2023-10-collating-droplet-properties-localize-sources.html General Physics Fri, 13 Oct 2023 13:37:55 EDT news616423068 An international team of geoscientists, archaeologists and anthropologists has found evidence that strongly suggests an infant jawbone found in the Ethiopian highlands came from a Homo erectus child. In their study, reported in the journal Science, the group conducted multiple tests to learn the true nature of the fossil. https://phys.org/news/2023-10-reexamination-ancient-jawbone-ethiopia-homo.html Archaeology Fri, 13 Oct 2023 08:50:50 EDT news616405845 A team of paleontologists at Universidad Nacional de La Pampa, working with a colleague from LA. TE. Andes S.A, has found the first known well-preserved Phorusrhacidae footprints at a site in Argentina. In their paper published in the journal Scientific Reports, the team describes the site where the prints were found, their condition and what they have learned from them. https://phys.org/news/2023-10-well-preserved-terror-bird-footprints-argentina.html Paleontology & Fossils Fri, 13 Oct 2023 08:50:41 EDT news616405837 A trio of astrophysicists, two from Carnegie Mellon University and the third from Bahamas Advanced Study Institute and Conferences, is proposing a new theory to explain the unique lensing seen with Abell 3827—a galaxy cluster approximately 1.3 billion light-years away. In their paper published in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Joyce Lin, Richard Griffiths and Jenny Wagner, describe their new theory and explain how it might help better understand the nature of dark matter. https://phys.org/news/2023-10-theory-abell-hazy-askew-gravitationally.html Astronomy Thu, 12 Oct 2023 11:22:04 EDT news616328522 A pair of mathematicians, Kevin Course and Prasanth Nair at the University of Toronto's Institute for Aerospace Studies, has developed a new state-estimation method to create efficient forecasts without the need for the details of an underlying model. https://phys.org/news/2023-10-state-estimation-method-efficient-underlying.html Mathematics Thu, 12 Oct 2023 11:21:57 EDT news616328514 In a new Science Advances study, scientists from the University of Science and Technology of China have developed a dynamic network structure using laser-controlled conducting filaments for neuromorphic computing. https://phys.org/news/2023-10-elevating-neuromorphic-laser-controlled-filaments-vanadium.html Condensed Matter Quantum Physics Thu, 12 Oct 2023 09:27:03 EDT news616321617 Using ESA's XMM-Newton satellite and the Low-Frequency Array (LOFAR), a team of European astronomers has explored a galaxy cluster known as PSZ2G113.91-37.01 (or G113 for short). Results of the observational campaign, presented in a paper published October 5 on the pre-print server arXiv, shed more light on the properties and nature of this cluster. https://phys.org/news/2023-10-european-astronomers-explore-galaxy-cluster.html Astronomy Thu, 12 Oct 2023 09:24:17 EDT news616321455 Earth's atmosphere contains fine particles suspended in the air, known as aerosols, occurring from natural sources, such as dust from deserts, volcanic ash, smoke from forest fires, sea salt from ocean spray and organic compounds from vegetation. While these occur at background levels, aerosol release is being exacerbated by anthropogenic activities. https://phys.org/news/2023-10-anthropogenic-aerosols-delay-monsoon-precipitation.html Earth Sciences Environment Thu, 12 Oct 2023 09:24:08 EDT news616321444 A large team of researchers affiliated with multiple institutions across Europe, has found evidence backing up work by Persi Diaconis in 2007 in which he suggested tossed coins are more likely to land on the same side they started on, rather than on the reverse. The team conducted experiments designed to test the randomness of coin flipping and posted their results on the arXiv preprint server. https://phys.org/news/2023-10-flipped-coins-fair-thought.html Mathematics Wed, 11 Oct 2023 12:10:01 EDT news616244808 A team of Earth scientists affiliated with several institutions in France, working with a colleague from Norway, has developed a model to help explain the advent of the Great Ordovician Biodiversification—the largest surge in marine biology in Earth's history. In their paper published in the journal Nature Communications, the group describes the factors that went into their model. https://phys.org/news/2023-10-fall-ancient-sea-surface-temperatures.html Evolution Paleontology & Fossils Wed, 11 Oct 2023 11:20:01 EDT news616239868