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 team of microbiologists and Earth scientists affiliated with several institutions in Germany reports that it was possible for methane to form in water on Earth before life began. In their study, reported in the journal Nature Communications, the group conducted experiments with early Earth simulations designed to show how methane could have formed. https://phys.org/news/2023-08-methane-formation-early-earth.html Earth Sciences Wed, 02 Aug 2023 09:30:01 EDT news610182262 Newly developed atomic engineering techniques have opened exciting opportunities for enabling ferroelectric behavior in high-k dielectrics, materials that have a high dielectric constant (i.e., kappa or k) compared to silicon. This could in turn inform the development of more advanced CMOS-based technology with a broader range of functions or properties. https://phys.org/news/2023-08-nanoelectromechanical-resonators-based-hafniazirconiaalumina-superlattices.html Nanophysics Nanomaterials Wed, 02 Aug 2023 09:30:01 EDT news610127970 Greenland's ice sheet has been melting at an accelerated rate over recent decades, which may have resulted in a 1.4 mm/year rise in sea level. It has three glaciers with a floating tongue (floating ice attached to a glacier emerging into the sea) remaining, with Nioghalvfjerdsbrae (located at 79 degrees latitude north so colloquially termed 79NG) being the focus of a new study reported in The Cryosphere regarding the effects of climate change on its decline. https://phys.org/news/2023-08-greenland-largest-glacial-ice-declined.html Earth Sciences Environment Wed, 02 Aug 2023 09:20:02 EDT news610182555 Using NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), European astronomers have discovered an eclipsing binary in the open cluster NGC 2232. The binary, designated TIC 43152097, is the first such system detected in this cluster. The finding is reported in a paper published July 26 on the preprint server arXiv. https://phys.org/news/2023-08-eclipsing-binary-cluster-ngc.html Astronomy Wed, 02 Aug 2023 09:10:02 EDT news610181507 A team of researchers with a wide variety of backgrounds from institutions in Poland, Sweden, the U.K., Czech Republic and Ukraine has learned more about the demographic history of people living in East-Central Europe during the Bronze Age by studying the genes of people living during that time. For their paper published in the journal Nature Communications, the group conducted genetic analyses of temporal bones and/or tooth remains of 91 people. https://phys.org/news/2023-08-dna-reveals-shift-bronze-age.html Archaeology Wed, 02 Aug 2023 08:41:26 EDT news610184482 A team of archaeologists and historians from multiple institutions in the U.K. and the U.S. has found evidence that an Iron Age warrior whose remains were found in a grave on the island of Bryher, off the coast of England, was likely female. In their study, reported in the Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, the group analyzed tooth enamel found in the grave. https://phys.org/news/2023-08-mystery-iron-age-warrior-small.html Archaeology Tue, 01 Aug 2023 10:30:01 EDT news610100829 An international team of physicists has found that deep-learning AI technology can accurately quantify the amount of entanglement in a given system—prior research has shown that the degree of "quantumness" of a given system can be described by a single number. In their paper, published in the journal Science Advances, the group describes their technique and how well it worked when tested in a real-world environment. https://phys.org/news/2023-08-ai-accurately-quantify-amount-entanglement.html Quantum Physics Tue, 01 Aug 2023 09:27:03 EDT news610100819 A large team of archaeologists affiliated with multiple institutions in China and the U.K. has found evidence of systematic coal use by Bronze Age people in what is now China. In their paper published in the journal Science Advances, the group describes their findings at a dig site called Jirentaigoukou in northwest China. https://phys.org/news/2023-08-systematic-coal-fuel-source-bronze.html Archaeology Tue, 01 Aug 2023 09:26:47 EDT news610100803 By analyzing the long-term, high-cadence continuous photometry from NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), astronomers have investigated UU Columbae and Swift J0939.7-3224—two intermediate polars. Results of the study, presented July 24 on the preprint server arXiv, yield important insights into the properties of these two systems. https://phys.org/news/2023-08-intermediate-polars-astronomers.html Astronomy Tue, 01 Aug 2023 09:26:31 EDT news610100788 Quantum memory that depends on quantum-band integration is a key building block used to develop quantum networks that are compatible with fiber communication infrastructures. Quantum engineers and IT specialists have yet to create such a network with large capacity to form an integrated multimode photonic quantum memory at telecom band. https://phys.org/news/2023-07-telecom-band-integrated-multimode-photonic-quantum-memory.html Optics & Photonics Quantum Physics Mon, 31 Jul 2023 13:10:54 EDT news610027848 A team of microbiologists and bioengineers at the University of Pennsylvania has tested the possibility of bringing back extinct molecules to fight modern bacteria. In their study, reported in Cell Host & Microbe, Jacqueline Maasch, Marcelo Torres, Marcelo Melo and Cesar de la Fuente-Nunez used an AI application to bring back extinct molecules for testing against modern bacteria. https://phys.org/news/2023-07-extinct-molecules-modern-bacteria.html Cell & Microbiology Biotechnology Mon, 31 Jul 2023 09:50:02 EDT news610014932 Using the Caucasian Mountain Observatory (CMO), Russian astronomers have observed a peculiar infrared source designated IRAS 07253-2001. Results of the observational campaign, published July 20 on the preprint server arXiv, reveal insights into the properties of this source, shedding more light on its nature. https://phys.org/news/2023-07-explore-nature-infrared-source-iras.html Astronomy Mon, 31 Jul 2023 09:40:01 EDT news610014867 An international team of geologists and historians has found that an arrowhead housed at the Bern History Museum was made using meteoritic iron. In their paper published in Journal of Archaeological Science, the group describes the attributes of the arrowhead and where they believe the material it was made of came from. https://phys.org/news/2023-07-arrowhead-housed-bern-history-museum.html Archaeology Mon, 31 Jul 2023 09:40:01 EDT news610014834 Merons, topological structures based on in-plane magnetized magnetic materials, could have numerous valuable applications, particularly for carrying information or storing magnetic charge. Most past realizations of these structures, however, were limited in size and thermal stability or had impractical requirements, such as the application of external magnetic fields. https://phys.org/news/2023-07-millimeter-scale-meron-lattices-injectors.html Condensed Matter Mon, 31 Jul 2023 09:29:08 EDT news610014541 A long-standing challenge in the field of quantum physics is the efficient synchronization of individual and independently generated photons (i.e., light particles). Realizing this would have crucial implications for quantum information processing that relies on interactions between multiple photons. https://phys.org/news/2023-07-team-synchronizes-photons-atomic-quantum.html Optics & Photonics Quantum Physics Sun, 30 Jul 2023 09:10:01 EDT news609674506 A multi-institutional team of paleontologists has identified a new dinosaur species dug up in Thailand in 2012. In their paper published in the journal Diversity, the group describes where the fossil was found, its characteristics and its condition. https://phys.org/news/2023-07-dinosaur-species-thailand.html Paleontology & Fossils Fri, 28 Jul 2023 09:50:01 EDT news609752582 The Colorado River Basin provides freshwater to more than 40 million people within the semi-arid southwestern United States, including major cities such as Las Vegas and Los Angeles. However, between 2000 and 2021 the basin experienced a megadrought (a severe drought lasting multiple decades), which researchers have suggested likely would not have occurred if it were not for anthropogenic climate change. In particular, during 2020 and 2021, the river basin recorded the driest 20-month period since 1895 and the lowest river flow since 1906. https://phys.org/news/2023-07-colorado-river-basin-megadrought-massive.html Earth Sciences Environment Fri, 28 Jul 2023 09:30:01 EDT news609674061 Saharan dust has made headlines in recent years for traveling across the globe, turning our skies picturesque hues of orange while coating our cities in thin layers of wind-blown dust. This has implications for our infrastructure (for example, reducing solar energy production) and global activities (such as impacting visibility for flights), as well as human health (notably causing respiratory issues) and the natural environment (increasing cloud formation, but reducing temperatures as solar radiation is reflected back out to space). https://phys.org/news/2023-07-sahara-remote-european-resorts.html Environment Fri, 28 Jul 2023 09:14:08 EDT news609754437 Carbon nanotubes, large cylindrical molecules composed of hybridized carbon atoms arranged in a hexagonal structure, recently attracted significant attention among electronics engineers. Due to their geometric configuration and advantageous electronic properties, these unique molecules could be used to create smaller field-effect transistors (FETs) that exhibit high energy efficiencies. https://phys.org/news/2023-07-scaling-aligned-carbon-nanotube-transistors.html Nanomaterials Thu, 27 Jul 2023 11:40:01 EDT news609674556 By conducting radial velocity (RV) follow-up observations of the GJ 367 planetary system with the High Accuracy Radial velocity Planet Searcher (HARPS), an international team of astronomers has detected two additional alien worlds, at least four times as massive as the Earth. The finding was reported July 18 on the pre-print server arXiv. https://phys.org/news/2023-07-additional-exoplanets-nearby-planetary.html Planetary Sciences Thu, 27 Jul 2023 11:10:01 EDT news609672853 A team of physicists affiliated with several institutions in South Korea is claiming to have created the elusive room-temperature/ambient-pressure superconducting material. Their work has not yet been peer reviewed. They have posted two papers on the arXiv preprint server. https://phys.org/news/2023-07-korean-team-room-temperature-ambient-pressure-superconductor.html Superconductivity Thu, 27 Jul 2023 10:48:54 EDT news609673728 A team of plant and molecular biologists from the University of Kelaniya and the University of Peradeniya, both in Sri Lanka, reports that many types of fungi that break down hardwood trees can also break down polyethylene, a common kind of plastic. In their study, reported in PLOS ONE, the group tested 21 species of hardwood-decaying fungi in their lab. https://phys.org/news/2023-07-fungi-hardwood-trees-plastic.html Biochemistry Polymers Thu, 27 Jul 2023 10:27:57 EDT news609672470 Earth's oceans are a complex system of interconnected transport highways for heat, nutrients and the transfer of carbon dioxide between the atmosphere and sea. Meridional overturning circulation is the process by which these key components move from the tropics poleward to the subtropics. Research has found that an increase in this circulation pattern can be beneficial as it results in the ocean storing more heat and therefore draws down global temperature. https://phys.org/news/2023-07-corals-reveal-year-history-pacific.html Earth Sciences Environment Thu, 27 Jul 2023 09:30:01 EDT news609587556 A team of archaeologists from Tel Aviv University, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the Israel Antiquities Authority has found a way to reconstruct a fire in a single building in Jerusalem burned by the Babylonians in 586 BCE. In their study, reported in Journal of Archaeological Science, the group analyzed magnetic signals in shards of pottery recovered from the site to learn more about a fire in a single building. https://phys.org/news/2023-07-ancient-pottery-shards-reveals-siege.html Archaeology Wed, 26 Jul 2023 11:30:01 EDT news609587543 A team of biologists and aquatic researchers from Suffolk University, Arctic Aquatic Research Division, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, and the Greenland Institute of Natural Resources has found evidence suggesting that female bowhead whales may be pregnant for as long as 23 months. In their project, reported in the journal Royal Society Open Science, the group studied hormones produced by whales killed by Inuit hunters over a 13-year period. https://phys.org/news/2023-07-bowhead-whales-pregnant-months.html Plants & Animals Molecular & Computational biology Wed, 26 Jul 2023 10:30:02 EDT news609584331 Using the Gran Telescopio Canarias (GTC), astronomers have performed optical imaging observations of an isolated ultra-thin galaxy known as UGC 11859. Results of the observational campaign, published July 12 in The Astrophysical Journal, deliver important insights about the structure and properties of this galaxy. https://phys.org/news/2023-07-ultra-thin-galaxy-ugc.html Astronomy Wed, 26 Jul 2023 10:00:01 EDT news609584269 Cyprus' beaches are at risk due to climate change as increased sea levels and wave action erode the sandy shores. This has prompted a dire warning from researchers at the University of the Aegean, Greece, that up to 72% of the island's beaches could disappear by 2100. Cyprus is the third largest island in the Mediterranean, with a coastline spanning 740 km. https://phys.org/news/2023-07-cyprus-beaches-due-climate.html Earth Sciences Environment Wed, 26 Jul 2023 09:58:16 EDT news609584290 A team of space scientists from several institutions in The Netherlands, two in the U.S. and one in Sweden, has found evidence of multiple microsecond-length fast radio bursts (FRBs) by analyzing data from the Green Bank Telescope, in West Virginia. The group has posted their study on the arXiv preprint server. https://phys.org/news/2023-07-astronomers-multiple-microsecond-length-fast-radio.html Astronomy Wed, 26 Jul 2023 09:57:45 EDT news609584258 By analyzing the data from the JWST Advanced Deep Extragalactic Survey (JADES), an international team of astronomers has discovered a new quiescent galaxy. The newfound system, designated JADES-GS+53.12365-27.80454, turns out to be the least massive quiescent galaxy detected so far at a high redshift. The discovery was detailed in a paper published July 17 on the preprint server arXiv. https://phys.org/news/2023-07-low-mass-quiescent-galaxy.html Astronomy Tue, 25 Jul 2023 09:10:01 EDT news609494373 Researchers at the Fundación Conjunto Paleontológico de Teruel-Dinópolis/ Museo Aragonés de Paleontología, Spain, have released the description of a new upper Jurassic dinosaur based on fossil remains found in Spain. https://phys.org/news/2023-07-discovery-ornithopod-mystery-unidentified-large.html Paleontology & Fossils Mon, 24 Jul 2023 10:33:32 EDT news609413606