Future electronic components to be printed like newspapers

A new manufacturing technique uses a process similar to newspaper printing to form smoother and more flexible metals for making ultrafast electronic devices. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 6 years ago

Traveling to the Sun: Why Won't Parker Solar Probe Melt?

This summer, NASA's Parker Solar Probe will launch to travel closer to the Sun, deeper into the solar atmosphere, than any mission before it. If Earth was at one end of a yard-stick and the Sun on the other, Parker Solar Probe will make it to within four inches of the solar surfa … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 6 years ago

X-ray data may be first evidence of a star devouring a planet

For nearly a century, astronomers have puzzled over the curious variability of young stars residing in the Taurus-Auriga constellation some 450 light years from Earth. One star in particular has drawn astronomers' attention. Every few decades, the star's light has faded briefly b … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 6 years ago

Scientists uncover mechanism that stabilizes fusion plasmas

Sawtooth swings—up-and-down ripples found in everything from stock prices on Wall Street to ocean waves—occur periodically in the temperature and density of the plasma that fuels fusion reactions in doughnut-shaped facilities called tokamaks. These swings can sometimes combine wi … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 6 years ago

Supersharp images from new VLT adaptive optics

ESO's Very Large Telescope (VLT) has achieved first light with a new adaptive optics mode called laser tomography—and has captured remarkably sharp test images of the planet Neptune and other objects. The MUSE instrument working with the GALACSI adaptive optics module, can now us … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 6 years ago

Researchers show how to directly observe quantum spin effects

With companies like Google, Microsoft and IBM all racing to create the world's first practical quantum computer, scientists worldwide are exploring the potential materials that could be used to build them. Now, Associate Professor Yang Hyunsoo and his team from the Department of … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 6 years ago

Genetically engineered eggplant improving lives in Bangladesh

Ansar Ali earned just 11,000 taka – about $130 U.S. dollars – from eggplant he grew last year in Bangladesh. This year, after planting Bt eggplant, he brought home more than double that amount, 27,000 taka. It's a life-changing improvement for a subsistence farmer like Ali. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 6 years ago

Jupiter's moon count reaches 79

Twelve new moons orbiting Jupiter have been found—11 "normal" outer moons, and one that they're calling an "oddball." This brings Jupiter's total number of known moons to a whopping 79—the most of any planet in our Solar System. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 6 years ago

Researchers couple artificial atom to acoustic resonator

Researchers from Russia and Britain have demonstrated an artificial quantum system in which a quantum bit interacts with an acoustic resonator in the quantum regime. This allows quantum optics principles to be applied in the study of acoustic waves and enables an alternative appr … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 6 years ago

Microscopic trampoline may help create networks of quantum computers

Take a bounce: A microscopic trampoline could help engineers to overcome a major hurdle for quantum computers, researchers from CU Boulder and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) report in a new study. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 6 years ago

Hybrid device harvests both mechanical and magnetic energy

A new hybrid energy-harvesting device may one day replace the need for batteries in certain low-power electronics devices. The new device collects ambient wasted energy from both mechanical vibrations and magnetic fields to generate sustainable electricity, which could potentiall … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 6 years ago

Scientists solve fish evolution mystery

A University of Wyoming researcher is part of an international team that has discovered how more than 700 species of fish have evolved in East Africa's Lake Victoria region over the past 150,000 years. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 6 years ago

Silicon Valley eyes Africa as new tech frontier

With its colourful hammocks and table tennis table, a new tech hub in the Lagos metropolis wouldn't look out of place among the start-ups on the other side of the world in Silicon Valley. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 6 years ago

Deep subterranean connection between two Japan volcanoes

Scientists have confirmed for the first time that radical changes of one volcano in southern Japan was the direct result of an erupting volcano 22 kilometers (13.7 miles) away. The observations from the two volcanos—Aira caldera and Kirishima—show that the two were connected thro … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 6 years ago

Archaeologists in Egypt discover mummification workshop

Archaeologists in Egypt stumbled upon a new discovery dating back to more than 2,500 years ago near Egypt's famed pyramids at an ancient necropolis south of Cairo. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 6 years ago

NASA Juno data indicate another possible volcano on Jupiter moon Io

Data collected by NASA's Juno spacecraft using its Jovian InfraRed Auroral Mapper (JIRAM) instrument point to a new heat source close to the south pole of Io that could indicate a previously undiscovered volcano on the small moon of Jupiter. The infrared data were collected on De … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 6 years ago

Boeing, SpaceX unlikely to make manned flights to ISS in 2019

Boeing and SpaceX are unlikely to be able to send astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS) next year, according to a US government audit report, resulting in a possible gap in the US presence on the spacecraft. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 6 years ago

Brain function partly replicated by nanomaterials

The brain requires surprisingly little energy to adapt to the environment to learn, make ambiguous recognitions, have high recognition ability and intelligence, and perform complex information processing. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 6 years ago

Bioengineers create pathway to personalized medicine

Engineering cellular biology, minus the actual cell, is a growing area of interest in biotechnology and synthetic biology. It's known as cell-free protein synthesis, or CFPS, and it has potential to provide sustainable ways to make chemicals, medicines and biomaterials. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 6 years ago

Smallest-ever magnetic vortexes mark step toward new digital memory

By twisting magnetism into record-small spirals, University of Nebraska-Lincoln physicists are speeding efforts to turn the digital equivalent of memory lane into a memory racetrack that could save energy and space in next-generation electronics. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 6 years ago

Could gravitational waves reveal how fast our universe is expanding?

Since it first exploded into existence 13.8 billion years ago, the universe has been expanding, dragging along with it hundreds of billions of galaxies and stars, much like raisins in a rapidly rising dough. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 6 years ago

Deep in the fly brain

For lovers throughout the animal kingdom, finding a suitable mate requires the right chemistry. Now, scientists at The Rockefeller University have been able to map an unexpected path in which evolution arranged for animals to choose the correct partner. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 6 years ago

Ancient bones reveal two whale species lost from the Mediterranean Sea

Two thousand years ago the Mediterranean Sea was a haven for two species of whale which have since virtually disappeared from the North Atlantic, a new study analysing ancient bones suggests. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 6 years ago

Qubits as valves: Controlling quantum heat engines

Researchers from Aalto University are designing nano-sized quantum heat engines to explore whether they may be able to outperform classical heat engines in terms of power and efficiency. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 6 years ago

A step closer to single-atom data storage

Despite the rise of solid-state drives, magnetic storage devices such as conventional hard drives and magnetic tapes are still very common. But as our data-storage needs are increasing at a rate of almost 15 million gigabytes per day, scientists are turning to alternative storage … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 6 years ago

Capacitor-based architecture for AI hardware accelerators

IBM is reaching beyond digital technologies with a capacitor-based cross-point array for analog neural networks, exhibiting potential orders of magnitude improvements in deep learning computations. Analog computing architectures exploit the storage capability and physical attribu … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 6 years ago

How to get culture right when embedding it into AI

If, like Rip Van Winkle, you've been asleep for the last decade and have just woken up, that flip phone you have has become super-popular among retro technologists and survivalists alike, and, oh yeah, Artificial Intelligence (AI) is either going to kill you or save you. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 6 years ago

How Apple's app store changed our world

A decade ago, Apple opened a store peddling iPhone apps, unlocking the creativity of software developers and letting users truly make their mobile devices their own. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 6 years ago

Scientists discover the world's oldest colors

Scientists from The Australian National University (ANU) and overseas have discovered the oldest colours in the geological record, 1.1 billion-year-old bright pink pigments extracted from rocks deep beneath the Sahara desert in Africa. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 6 years ago

A new semiconductor with record-high thermal conductivity

Scientists at UCLA, for the first time, experimentally realized a new compound single crystal, boron arsenide (BAs) and explored its thermal conductivity limit when crystals are free of defects. They observed the highest isotropic thermal conductivity, 1300 W/mK, beyond all commo … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 6 years ago

Plasma-spewing quasar shines light on universe's youth

Carnegie's Eduardo Bañados led a team that found a quasar with the brightest radio emission ever observed in the early universe, due to it spewing out a jet of extremely fast-moving material. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 6 years ago

How octopuses, squid, and cuttlefish defy genetics' 'central dogma'

Octopuses, squid, and cuttlefish often do not follow the genetic instructions in their DNA to the letter. Instead, they use enzymes to pluck out specific adenosine RNA bases (some of As, out of the As, Ts, Gs, and Us of RNA) that codes for proteins and replace them with a differe … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 6 years ago

As facial recognition use grows, so do privacy fears

The unique features of your face can allow you to unlock your new iPhone, access your bank account or even "smile to pay" for some goods and services. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 6 years ago

Einstein gets it right again

Einstein's understanding of gravity, as outlined in his general theory of relativity, predicts that all objects fall at the same rate, regardless of their mass or composition. This theory has passed test after test here on Earth, but does it still hold true for some of the most m … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 6 years ago

Bacterial survival in salty antifreeze

New research by a trans-Atlantic team of scientists suggests that bacteria could survive in briny chemicals that exist on Mars, Enceladus, Europa, Pluto and possibly elsewhere. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 6 years ago

Swimming bacteria work together to go with the flow

Swimming bacteria can reduce the viscosity of ordinary liquids like water and make them flow more easily, sometimes down to the point where the viscosity becomes zero: the flow is then frictionless. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 6 years ago

Human ancestors walked on two feet but their children still had a backup plan

More than 3 million years ago, our ancient human ancestors, including their toddler-aged children, were standing on two feet and walking upright, according to a new study published in Science Advances. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 6 years ago

Moths with larger hindwings and longer tails are best at deflecting bats

Each night, dramatic aerial battles are waged above our heads, complete with barrel rolls, razor-sharp turns, sonar jamming, cloaking devices and life-or-death consequences. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 6 years ago

Scientists create embryos, hope to save near-extinct rhino

Months after the death of Sudan, the world's last male northern white rhino, scientists said Wednesday they have grown embryos containing DNA of his kind, hoping to save the subspecies from extinction. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 6 years ago

Einstein's theory of gravity holds – even in extreme conditions

Drop a marble and a cannon ball off the Leaning Tower of Pisa at the same time and they will hit the ground at the same time. That fact is explained by Albert Einstein's theory of gravity—general relativity—which predicts that all objects fall in the same way, regardless of their … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 6 years ago

Molecular oxygen in comet's atmosphere not created on its surface

Scientists have found that molecular oxygen around comet 67P is not produced on its surface, as some suggested, but may be from its body. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 6 years ago

Neuroscientists uncover secret to intelligence in parrots

University of Alberta neuroscientists have identified the neural circuit that may underlay intelligence in birds, according to a new study. The discovery is an example of convergent evolution between the brains of birds and primates, with the potential to provide insight into the … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 6 years ago

Water compresses under a high gradient electric field

Modern civilization relies on water's incompressibility—it's something we take for granted. Hydraulic systems harness the virtual non-compressibility of fluids like water or oil to multiply mechanical force. Bulldozers, cranes, and other heavy machinery exploit the physics of hyd … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 6 years ago

Host plants tell insects when to grow longer wings and migrate

Scientists at Washington State University and China Jiliang University have discovered that the quality of the host rice plant determines whether the brown planthopper, a major pest on rice in Asia, grows short wings or long wings. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 6 years ago

Climate change is making night-shining clouds more visible

Increased water vapor in Earth's atmosphere due to human activities is making shimmering high-altitude clouds more visible, a new study finds. The results suggest these strange but increasingly common clouds seen only on summer nights are an indicator of human-caused climate chan … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 6 years ago

Game changing invention to revolutionise cybersecurity

Cyberattacks may become impossible with the creation of the first practical quantum random number generator. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 6 years ago

First confirmed image of newborn planet caught with ESO's VLT

Astronomers led by a group at the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy in Heidelberg, Germany have captured a spectacular snapshot of planetary formation around the young dwarf star PDS 70. By using the SPHERE instrument on ESO's Very Large Telescope (VLT)—one of the most powerful … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 6 years ago

At any point in life, people spend their time in 25 places

At any given time, people regularly return to a maximum of 25 places. This is the finding of a scientific study that reveals entirely new aspects of human behavior. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 6 years ago