Chris Packham

1 month ago | phys.org | Chris Packham

This week, we reported on the difficulty humans experience trying to read their dogs' emotions. Researchers reported that male blue-lined octopuses paralyze females before mating with them to avoid being eaten. And physicists demonstrated quantum advantage with a simple cooperation game. Additionally, galaxies prefer to spin clockwise, apparently; researchers found the oldest face bones of an early human; and a play intervention reduces stress markers in both humans and dogs.

1 month ago | phys.org | Chris Packham

This week, based on a genetic study, researchers issued a recommendation that bison in Yellowstone National Park should be treated as one large, interbreeding herd. Physicists proposed a new framework that derives gravity from quantum relative entropy, with implications for the past and future evolution of the universe. And a new fossil indicates that an early human relative walked upright, similarly to modern humans.

1 month ago | phys.org | Chris Packham

Look, all somewhat positive climate news has to be placed in the context of the ongoing global climate crisis, but this week, researchers did report a new simulation suggesting that the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation is unlikely to shut down within this century. Engineers developed a new flat telescope lens that captures color while detecting light from distant stars, minimizing some of the tradeoffs inherent to traditional lenses.

2 months ago | phys.org | Chris Packham

This week, University of Ferrerra researchers reported on the evolution of European skin, eye and hair pigmentation over the last 45,000 years. A re-examination of Galileo space probe data strongly suggests that Callisto has a subsurface ocean. And a two-dimensional carbon material is reportedly tougher than graphene and resists cracking.

2 months ago | phys.org | Chris Packham

How's your weekend? Have you read about the muscular neutrino? It's so great. This week, we also reported on male stick insects losing their reproductive function. Researchers are seeking cheaper approaches to creating a technology described by Scotty in "Star Trek IV." And physicists explored the creation of a singularity-free black hole through pure gravity.