The Best of Phys.org
10+ most popular Phys.org articles, as voted by our community.
Science news, Technology news. Physics, Space, Biology, Chemistry, Engineering, Math, Electronics, Nanotechnology, Materials, Computers, Health, Earth Science.
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Huge 2,000-year-old Mayan civilization discovered in northern Guatemala
A team of researchers affiliated with multiple institutions in the U.S., working with a colleague from France and another from Guatemala, has discovered a very large 2,000-year-old Mayan civilization…
Phys.org on Aging
Consortium to map senescent cells and their effect on aging and human health
Multiple researchers at the Jackson Laboratory (JAX) are taking part in an ambitious research program spanning several top research institutions to study senescent cells. Senescent cells stop dividing…
Phys.org on Gamification
How 'gamification' could revolutionize creative thinking in the workplace
Coming up with a good creative idea is hard. We do not fully understand how this process works, but there are certain techniques that have proved successful in fostering creativity, such as mind…
Phys.org on Genetics
Biological scientists identify pathways that extend lifespan by 500%
Scientists at the MDI Biological Laboratory, in collaboration with scientists from the Buck Institute for Research on Aging in Novato, Calif., and Nanjing University in China, have identified…
Phys.org on Nature
Why some feces float and others sink
A team of researchers at the Mayo Clinic has solved the mystery of why some people find their bowel movements floating while others find theirs sinking to the bottom of the toilet bowl. In their paper…
Why rivers matter for the global carbon cycle
In a new journal article, EPFL professor Tom Battin reviews our current understanding of carbon fluxes in the world's river networks. He demonstrates their central role in the global carbon cycle and…
Phys.org on Physics
Complex quantum teleportation achieved for the first time
Austrian and Chinese scientists have succeeded in teleporting three-dimensional quantum states for the first time. High-dimensional teleportation could play an important role in future quantum…
Phys.org on Science
Plastic-eating enzyme could eliminate billions of tons of landfill waste
An enzyme variant created by engineers and scientists at The University of Texas at Austin can break down environment-throttling plastics that typically take centuries to degrade in just a matter of…
One particle on two paths: Quantum physics is right
The double-slit experiment is the most famous and probably the most important experiment in quantum physics: individual particles are shot at a wall with two openings, behind which a detector measures…
Phys.org on Space
The Earth has been spinning faster lately
Scientists around the world have noted that the Earth has been spinning on its axis faster lately—the fastest ever recorded. Several scientists have spoken to the press about the unusual phenomenon,…
Astrophysicists make observations consistent with the predictions of an alternative theory of gravity
An international team of astrophysicists has made a puzzling discovery while analyzing certain star clusters. The finding challenges Newton's laws of gravity, the researchers write in their…
Phys.org on Weather
Simulations show increased jet stream waviness due to asymmetric rise in global temperatures
A quartet of researchers, two with the Nordic Institute for Theoretical Physics and two with Pukyong National University, has created a group of simulations of changes to the jet stream under global…
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Long-hypothesized 'next generation wonder material' created for first time
For over a decade, scientists have attempted to synthesize a new form of carbon called graphyne with limited success. That endeavor is now at an end, though, thanks to new research from the University…
How the universe got its magnetic field
When we look out into space, all of the astrophysical objects that we see are embedded in magnetic fields. This is true not only in the neighborhood of stars and planets, but also in the deep space…
Electrons in a crystal found to exhibit linked and knotted quantum twists
As physicists delve deeper into the quantum realm, they are discovering an infinitesimally small world composed of a strange and surprising array of links, knots and winding. Some quantum materials…
Strange new phase of matter created in quantum computer acts like it has two time dimensions
By shining a laser pulse sequence inspired by the Fibonacci numbers at atoms inside a quantum computer, physicists have created a remarkable, never-before-seen phase of matter. The phase has the…
AI better than humans at detecting blue whale calls
Whale scientists could soon do themselves out of a job—or at least a tiring and repetitive one—by applying artificial intelligence (AI) to their research.
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