VIDEO: 5,000 robots merge to map the universe in 3-D

How do you create the largest 3-D map of the universe? It's as easy as teaching 5,000 robots how to "dance." DESI, the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument, is an experiment that will target millions of distant galaxies by automatically swiveling fiber-optic positioners (the robo … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 6 years ago

A Bose-Einstein condensate has been produced in space for the first time

An international team of researchers has successfully produced a Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) in space for the first time. In their paper published in the journal Nature, the group describes creating a small experimental device that was carried on a rocket into space and the ex … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 6 years ago

Uncovering secret structure to safer explosives

A team of scientists at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) has shown that the structure of microscopic pores in high explosive materials can significantly impact performance and safety. These findings —  published recently as the cover article in the journal Propellant … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 6 years ago

Elucidating cuttlefish camouflage

The unique ability of cuttlefish, squid and octopuses to hide by imitating the colors and texture of their environment has fascinated natural scientists since the time of Aristotle. Uniquely among all animals, these mollusks control their appearance by the direct action of neuron … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 6 years ago

Mission control ready for Mercury

Teams responsible for flying the bold BepiColombo mission to Mercury today completed the last major step in preparation for Saturday's liftoff—the final pre-launch 'dress rehearsal' at ESA's ESOC control centre in Darmstadt, Germany. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 6 years ago

Biodiversity can also destabilize ecosystems

Ecosystems have a variety of benefits to humans, including food, water and other resources, as well as recreational space. It is therefore important that these systems remain functional and stable—especially in view of climate change and environmental pollution. Ecologists at the … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 6 years ago

Bursting the clouds for better communication

We live in an age of long-range information transmitted either by underground optical fibre or by radio satellites. But the throughput today is so great that radio frequency is no longer enough in itself. Research is turning toward the use of lasers which, although technically co … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 6 years ago

Plant hormone makes space farming a possibility

With scarce nutrients and weak gravity, growing potatoes on the moon or on other planets seems unimaginable. But the plant hormone strigolactone could make it possible, plant biologists from the University of Zurich have shown. The hormone supports the symbiosis between fungi and … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 6 years ago

Electrical enhancement: Engineers speed up electrons in semiconductors

Researchers from the Graduate School of Bio-Applications and Systems Engineering at Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology (TUAT) have sped up the movement of electrons in organic semiconductor films by two to three orders of magnitude. The speedier electronics could lead … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 6 years ago

Hurricanes remind us sand is not a renewable resource

Beachside communities beginning to rebuild after two catastrophic hurricane impacts on the United States, they should ask whether beach nourishment offers enough protection from erosion and flooding. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 6 years ago

Hong Kong mega bridge launch announcement sparks backlash

An opening ceremony has finally been announced for the world's longest sea bridge connecting Hong Kong, Macau and mainland China, but critics hit back Thursday over the secrecy surrounding the launch. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 6 years ago

Peru in danger of losing its national cinchona tree

Pre-Columbian people used its bark as a medicine while South American liberator Simon Bolivar adopted it in Peru's coat of arms, but the cinchona tree is facing a battle for survival as vast swathes of forest are chopped down to make way for plantations. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 6 years ago

'Bad news': CO2 emissions to rise in 2018, says IEA chief

Energy sector carbon emissions will rise in 2018 after hitting record levels the year before, dimming prospects for meeting Paris climate treaty goals, the head of the International Energy Agency (IEA) said Wednesday. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 6 years ago

Global trade wars risk 'millions of jobs': WTO chief

Escalating trade wars "pose real risks" to the global economy, potentially threatening millions of jobs, head of the World Trade Organization (WTO) Roberto Azevedo warned in a London speech on Wednesday. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 6 years ago

China not manipulating currency but lacks transparency, US says

Washington on Wednesday again declined to call China a currency manipulator but said the yuan's fall and Beijing's exchange practices were of "particular concern." | Continue reading


@phys.org | 6 years ago

West Coast quake warning system now operational, with limits

Automated alerts from the fledgling West Coast earthquake early warning system are ready to be used broadly by businesses, utilities, schools and other entities but not for mass public notification, officials said Wednesday. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 6 years ago

Mass tourism sparks battle for Montmartre's soul

Inside a dark, low-ceilinged room once frequented by Picasso and Modigliani when they were still struggling artists, a group of tourists from Russia, Canada and Australia are listening to traditional French songs. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 6 years ago

Eliminating emissions in India and China could add years to people's lives

The 2.7 billion people who live in China and India—more than a third of the world's population—regularly breath some of the dirtiest air on the planet. Air pollution is one of the largest contributors to death in both countries, ranked 4th in China and 5th in India, and harmful e … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 6 years ago

Arctic greening thaws permafrost, boosts runoff

A new collaborative study has investigated Arctic shrub-snow interactions to obtain a better understanding of the far north's tundra and vast permafrost system. Incorporating extensive in situ observations, Los Alamos National Laboratory scientists tested their theories with a no … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 6 years ago

Toward unhackable communication

Hacker attacks on everything from social media accounts to government files could be largely prevented by the advent of quantum communication, which would use particles of light called "photons" to secure information rather than a crackable code. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 6 years ago

Mexico's vaquita porpoise gets new chance; 6 sighted

Experts want to enclose a small area of the Gulf of California where the critically endangered vaquita porpoise remains after they sighted about a half dozen of the elusive creatures in September. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 6 years ago

Broadcaster urges football authorities not to leave market 'to criminals'

Broadcaster Eleven Sports says it will no longer show matches during the Saturday afternoon football blackout in the UK but has urged authorities not to leave the market "in the hands of criminals". | Continue reading


@phys.org | 6 years ago

Newly published files confirm plan to move Assange to Russia

Julian Assange: Hacker. Journalist. Diplomat? Newly released Ecuadorean government documents have laid bare an unorthodox attempt to extricate the WikiLeaks founder from his embassy hideaway in London by naming him as a political counselor to the country's embassy in Moscow. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 6 years ago

Scientists find stem cell proliferation is controlled directly by nervous system

Somatic stem cells are microscopic workhorses, constantly regenerating cells throughout the body: skin and the lining of the intestine, for example. And to University of Illinois neuroscientists, they represent untapped potential. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 6 years ago

Life on the floor of the Arctic Ocean, with rigor and in detail

In an extensive and rigorous study of animal life on the Central Arctic Ocean floor, researchers have shown that water depth and food availability influence the species composition, density, and biomass of benthic communities, according to a study published October 17, 2018 in th … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 6 years ago

First comprehensive assessment of Pando reveals critical threats

Utah State University researchers Paul Rogers and Darren McAvoy have conducted the first complete assessment of the Pando aspen clone and the results show continuing deterioration of this 'forest of one tree.' While a portion of the famed grove is recovery nicely as a result of p … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 6 years ago

NASA catches the scattered remains of former Tropical Storm Tara

NASA's Aqua satellite captured an infrared image of the remnants of former Tropical Storm Tara after it dissipated near the coast of western Mexico's Jalisco state. Jalisco is a western Mexican state along the Eastern Pacific Ocean. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 6 years ago

US tops WEF competitiveness ranking but obesity weighs on score

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@phys.org | 6 years ago

Twitter releases 10 million tweets from foreign influence efforts

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@phys.org | 6 years ago

NASA's Fermi mission energizes the sky with gamma-ray constellations

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@phys.org | 6 years ago

Attending the 'best' high school may yield benefits and risks for students

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@phys.org | 6 years ago

Study uncovers new link between neonicotinoid pesticide exposure and bumblebee decline

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@phys.org | 6 years ago

Evidence of earliest life on Earth disputed

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@phys.org | 6 years ago

Public investment funds join call for independent Facebook chair

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@phys.org | 6 years ago

EPA puts off final decision on science transparency rule

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@phys.org | 6 years ago

Glitzy 'Science Oscars' to make stars of researchers

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@phys.org | 6 years ago

Was life on the early Earth purple?

Early life forms on Earth may have been able to generate metabolic energy from sunlight using a purple-pigmented molecule called retinal that possibly predates the evolution of chlorophyll and photosynthesis. If retinal has evolved on other worlds, it could create a a distinctive … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 6 years ago

Substantial changes in air pollution across China during 2015 to 2017

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@phys.org | 6 years ago

Near-atomic resolution model of Ebola virus protein brings clearer understanding of the viral mechanics

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@phys.org | 6 years ago

Startup plans to launch small satellites from Virginia coast

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@phys.org | 6 years ago

Pupil's brain recognizes the perfect teacher

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@phys.org | 6 years ago

Study supports Standard Model of particle physics, excludes alternative models

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@phys.org | 6 years ago

Dandelion seeds reveal newly discovered form of natural flight

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@phys.org | 6 years ago

Probiotics and antibiotics create a killer combination

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@phys.org | 6 years ago

Researchers find bacterioplankton rely on environmental vitamin B1 rather than making their own

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@phys.org | 6 years ago

Social media buffers depression among older adults with pain

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@phys.org | 6 years ago

New study supports survival of microbes and organic compounds in space

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@phys.org | 6 years ago

Evidence of dogs accompanying humans to Europe during Neolithic

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@phys.org | 6 years ago