How a particle may stand still in rotating spacetime

When a massive astrophysical object, such as a boson star or black hole, rotates, it can cause the surrounding spacetime to rotate along with it due to the effect of frame dragging. In a new paper, physicists have shown that a particle with just the right properties may stand per … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 6 years ago

Could a particle accelerator using laser-driven implosion become a reality?

Laser pulse compression technology invented in the late 1980s resulted in high-power, short-pulse laser techniques, enhancing laser intensity 10 million-fold in a quarter of a century. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 6 years ago

Mars rocks may harbor signs of life from four billion years ago

Iron-rich rocks near ancient lake sites on Mars could hold vital clues that show life once existed there, research suggests. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 6 years ago

Bumblebees confused by iridescent colors

Iridescence is a form of structural colour which uses regular repeating nanostructures to reflect light at slightly different angles, causing a colour-change effect. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 6 years ago

New evidence for existence of Planet Nine

A large international team of researchers has found what they are describing as more evidence of the existence of Planet Nine. In their paper posted on the arXiv preprint server, the group describes the behavior of a newly discovered distant object as suggestive of an influence o … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 6 years ago

A simple mechanism could have been decisive for the development of life

The question of the origin of life remains one of the oldest unanswered scientific questions. A team at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) has now shown for the first time that phase separation is an extremely efficient way of controlling the selection of chemical building … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 6 years ago

How can you tell if a quantum memory is really quantum?

Quantum memories are devices that can store quantum information for a later time, which are usually implemented by storing and re-emitting photons with certain quantum states. But often it's difficult to tell whether a memory is storing quantum or merely classical information. In … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 6 years ago

Pairing AI with optical scanning for real-world product authentication

Today IBM Research is introducing IBM Crypto Anchor Verifier, a new technology that brings innovations in AI and optical imaging together to help prove the identity and authenticity of objects. We're rolling this technology out with one of our first clients, GIA (Gemological Inst … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 6 years ago

Tech 'Nobel' awarded to Finnish physicist for small smart devices

Finnish materials physicist Tuomo Suntola, who developed a groundbreaking technology to reduce the size of complex devices, on Tuesday won Finland's take on the Nobel science prizes. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 6 years ago

A hidden world of communication, chemical warfare, beneath the soil

The soil supporting a field of crops teems with life. Untold numbers of bacteria and fungi strive for space and food. Most are harmless. Many are vital to creating healthy soil. But farmers worry about a handful of species that cause devastating crop diseases, and they often turn … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 6 years ago

Nanoparticles derived from tea leaves destroy lung cancer cells

Nanoparticles derived from tea leaves inhibit the growth of lung cancer cells, destroying up to 80% of them, new research by a joint Swansea University and Indian team has shown. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 6 years ago

Oogle pushes artificial intelligence for upgraded news app

For its updated news application, Google is doubling down on the use of artificial intelligence as part of an effort to weed our disinformation and help users get viewpoints beyond their own "filter bubble." | Continue reading


@phys.org | 6 years ago

Giraffes surprise biologists yet again

New research from the University of Bristol has highlighted how little we know about giraffe behaviour and ecology. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 6 years ago

Platform for mobile networks would bring services up to speeds of 100 Gbps

Even though mobile internet link speeds might soon achieve 100 Gbps, this doesn't necessarily mean network carriers will be free of data-handling challenges that effectively slow down mobile data services, for everything from individual device users to billions of Internet-of-Thi … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 6 years ago

New catalyst upgrades greenhouse gas into renewable hydrocarbons

A new technology from U of T Engineering is taking a substantial step towards enabling manufacturers to create plastics out of two key ingredients: sunshine and pollution. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 6 years ago

New theory describes intricacies of a splashing droplet

As a single raindrop falls to the ground, it can splash back up in a crown-like sheet, spraying smaller droplets from its rim before sinking back to the surface—all in the blink of an eye. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 6 years ago

Astronomers find fastest-growing black hole known in space

Astronomers at ANU have found the fastest-growing black hole known in the Universe, describing it as a monster that devours a mass equivalent to our sun every two days. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 6 years ago

Measurement of pressure inside a Proton

Inside every proton in every atom in the universe is a pressure cooker environment that surpasses the atom-crushing heart of a neutron star. That's according to the first measurement of a mechanical property of subatomic particles, the pressure distribution inside the proton, whi … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 6 years ago

Google worker rebellion against military project grows

An internal petition calling for Google to stay out of "the business of war" was gaining support Tuesday, with some workers reportedly quitting to protest a collaboration with the US military. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 6 years ago

A pale blue dot, as seen by a CubeSat

NASA's Voyager 1 took a classic portrait of Earth from several billion miles away in 1990. Now a class of tiny, boxy spacecraft, known as CubeSats, have just taken their own version of a "pale blue dot" image, capturing Earth and its moon in one shot. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 6 years ago

Germany's Flixbus Takes on Greyhound with US Launch

German startup Flixbus on Wednesday brought its low-cost, long-distance bus service to the west coast of the United States, launching a direct challenge to America's iconic Greyhound Lines. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 6 years ago

Lack of 'happiness' hormone makes rice plants less attractive to insects

Inhibiting the production of the 'happiness' hormone – serotonin – in rice plants, increases their resistance to two of the world's most destructive and costly insect pests, new research has shown. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 6 years ago

New quantum probability rule offers novel perspective of wave function collapse

Quantum theory is based heavily on probabilities, since measuring a quantum system doesn't produce the same outcome every time, but instead yields one of many outcomes that each occur with a certain probability. Now in a new paper, physicists have presented a new quantum probabil … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 6 years ago

NASA plans to send mini-helicopter to Mars

The US space agency said Friday it plans to launch the first-ever helicopter to Mars in 2020, a miniature, unmanned drone-like chopper that could boost our understanding of the Red Planet. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 6 years ago

A giant 'singing' cloud in space

We know that the birthplaces of stars are large molecular clouds of gas and dust found in space. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 6 years ago

Profiling extreme beams – Scientist device next gen Particle Accelerators

The world's cutting-edge particle accelerators are pushing the extremes in high-brightness beams and ultrashort pulses to explore matter in new ways. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 6 years ago

SpaceX to launch next-gen reuseable Falcon 9 rocket

SpaceX on Thursday prepared to launch its new Falcon 9 Block 5 rocket, which the California-based company promises to be more powerful and easier to re-use. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 6 years ago

Reconnection tames the turbulent magnetic fields around Earth

When the solar wind - which is really a driving rain of charged particles from the sun - strikes Earth's protective magnetic field, the shock generates roiling, turbulent magnetic fields that enshroud the planet and stretch for hundreds of thousands of miles. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 6 years ago

Tiny fossils unlock clues to Earth's climate half a billion years ago

An international collaboration of scientists, led by the University of Leicester, has investigated Earth's climate over half a billion years ago by combining climate models and chemical analyses of fossil shells about 1mm long. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 6 years ago

Atmospheric seasons could signal alien life

Dozens of potentially habitable planets have been discovered outside our solar system, and many more are awaiting detection. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 6 years ago

Uber shows off its vision for future 'flying taxi

It's not a bird, nor a plane. But Uber's new prototype vehicle unveiled Tuesday shows off its vision of the future of transportation—a "flying taxi" that aims to alleviate urban congestion. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 6 years ago

The apparent inner calm of quantum materials

Researchers from the University of Geneva (UNIGE) and multi-institutional collaborators have been studying BACOVO—a one-dimensional quantum material. They report that the material exhibits a novel topological phase transition governed by two types of topological excitation. In ad … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 6 years ago

What will happen when our sun dies?

Scientists agree the sun will die in approximately 10 billion years, but they weren't sure what would happen next... until now. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 6 years ago

Deep learning comes full circle

For years, the people developing artificial intelligence drew inspiration from what was known about the human brain, and it has enjoyed a lot of success as a result. Now, AI is starting to return the favor. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 6 years ago

Scientists reveal the genetic roadmap to build an organism from a single cell

Whether a worm, a human or a blue whale, all multicellular life begins as a single-celled egg. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 6 years ago

Search for life on Mars could get water-enhanced boost

A new experiment designed to detect amino acids on Mars, in spite of the reactive perchlorate in the Martian soil that typically breaks organic compounds down, could fly on a future mission to Mars to help in the search for life there. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 6 years ago

Researchers subtract a single quantum of light from a laser beam

In a collaboration between Aarhus University and the University of Southern Denmark, researchers have discovered a way to subtract a single quantum of light from a laser beam. This work has recently been published in Physical Review Letters. The method paves the way toward future … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 6 years ago

A new model for communication in plant cells

Plant cells share a strange and surprising kinship with animal neurons: many plant cells have proteins that closely resemble glutamate receptors, which help to relay nerve signals from one neuron to another. While plants lack a true nervous system, previous studies have shown tha … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 6 years ago

No sperm or egg required: mouse proto-embryo made in the lab

Scientists have for the first time created embryo-like structures in the lab from stem cells, without recourse to eggs or sperm, they reported Wednesday. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 6 years ago

'Game changing' space-mission power system passes tests with flying colors

A new nuclear power system that could enable long-duration crewed missions to the Moon, Mars and destinations beyond recently passed an extensive operating test in the Nevada desert, performing well under a variety of challenging conditions. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 6 years ago

Novel reaction could spark alternate approach to ammonia production

The search for a more energy efficient and environmentally friendly method of ammonia production for fertilizer has led to the discovery of a new type of catalytic reaction. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 6 years ago

Physicists find signs of a time crystal

Yale physicists have uncovered hints of a time crystal—a form of matter that "ticks" when exposed to an electromagnetic pulse—in the last place they expected: a crystal you might find in a child's toy. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 6 years ago

Extreme mobility of mantis shrimp eyes

New research, led by biologists from the University of Bristol, has uncovered fresh findings about the most mobile eyes in the animal kingdom - the eyes of the mantis shrimp. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 6 years ago

Neuro-parasitology“s insights into the neurological basis for behavior

Imagine a parasite that makes an animal change its habits, guard the parasite's offspring or even commit suicide. While mind-control may sound like something out of a science fiction movie, the phenomenon is very real—and has spawned a new field, neuro-parasitology. As outlined i … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 6 years ago

Scientists teach neural network to identify a writer's gender

A team of researchers from the National Research Nuclear University MEPhI, the National Research Center Kurchatov Institute and the Voronezh State University has developed a new learning algorithm that allows a neural network to identify a writer's gender by the written text on a … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 6 years ago

Earth's magnetic field is not about to reverse, study finds

A study of the most recent near-reversals of the Earth's magnetic field by an international team of researchers, including the University of Liverpool, has found it is unlikely that such an event will take place anytime soon. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 6 years ago

Scientists shocked as NASA cuts only moon rover

In a move that shocked lunar scientists, NASA has cancelled the only robotic vehicle under development to explore the surface of the Moon, despite President Donald Trump's vow to return people there. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 6 years ago

Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen paradox observed in many-particle system

Physicists from the University of Basel have observed the quantum mechanical Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen paradox in a system of several hundred interacting atoms for the first time. The phenomenon dates back to a famous thought experiment from 1935. It allows measurement results to b … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 6 years ago