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Genes Have Harnessed Physics to Help Grow Living Things

October 10, 2025

The same pulling force that causes “tears” in a glass of wine also shapes embryos. It’s another example of how genes exploit mechanical forces for growth and development.

A Thermometer for Measuring Quantumness

October 1, 2025

“Anomalous” heat flow, which at first appears to violate the second law of thermodynamics, gives physicists a way to detect quantum entanglement without destroying it.

The Quantum Mechanics of Greenhouse Gases

September 15, 2025

Earth’s radiation can send some molecules spinning or vibrating, which is what makes them greenhouse gases. This infographic explains how relatively few heat-trapping molecules can have a planetary effect.

How Climate Scientists Saw the Future Before It Arrived

September 15, 2025

Over the past 60 years, scientists have largely succeeded in building a computer model of Earth to see what the future holds. One of the most ambitious projects humankind has ever undertaken has now reached a critical moment.

A model of Earth if it had the same attributes as Venus

Why Is Venus Hell and Earth an Eden?

A team of scientists has investigated how Earth’s twin became so inhospitable, and whether the same will happen to our planet.

How Humanity Amplified Life’s Quest for Energy

September 15, 2025

A planetary perspective on the relationship between life and energy, and the emergence of a life form whose influence extends across the entire biosphere — presenting us with an awesome opportunity.

A Single, ‘Naked’ Black Hole Rewrites the History of the Universe

September 12, 2025

The James Webb Space Telescope has found a lonely black hole in the early universe that’s as heavy as 50 million suns. A major discovery, the object confounds theories of the young cosmos.

Analog vs. Digital: The Race Is On To Simulate Our Quantum Universe

September 5, 2025

Recent progress on both analog and digital simulations of quantum fields foreshadows a future in which quantum computers could illuminate phenomena that are far too complex for even the most powerful supercomputers.

Astrophysicists Find No ‘Hair’ on Black Holes

August 27, 2025

According to Einstein’s theory of gravity, black holes have only a small handful of distinguishing characteristics. Quantum theory implies they may have more. Now an experimental search finds that any of this extra ‘hair’ has to be pretty short.

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