Articles by Bob Yirka
Tech Xplore / Plastic crystals could replace greenhouse gases used in refrigerators
A team of chemical engineers at Deakin University, working with colleagues from the University of Western Australia, the University of Sydney and Monash University, all in Australia, has found that a type of plastic crystal ...
Phys.org / Nanoparticle technique gauges bite force in tiny C. elegans worms
A team of materials scientists, physicists, mechanical engineers, and molecular physiologists at Stanford University have developed a nanoparticle technique that can be used to measure force dynamics inside a living creature, ...
Phys.org / Yellowstone's volcanic activity is shifting to the northeast, geologists find
A team of geologists at the US Geological Survey, working with a trio of colleagues from Oregon State University, and another from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, has found evidence of rhyolitic volcanism in Yellowstone ...
Medical Xpress / Smoking just one cigarette can reduce lifespan by about 20 minutes
A team of behavioral scientists at University College London has found that for long-term smokers, just one cigarette reduces lifespan by approximately 20 minutes. They have published an editorial in the journal Addiction ...
Medical Xpress / Harmful fungus in bat feces used to fertilize marijuana plants found to have killed two growers
A team of medical professionals and infectious disease researchers at the University of Rochester, in New York, has found that two men who were growing their own marijuana plants died after contracting fungal lung infections ...
Phys.org / The science behind your Christmas sweater: How friction shapes the form of knitted fabrics
A trio of physicists from the University of Rennes, Aoyama Gakuin University, and the University of Lyon have discovered, through experimentation, that it is friction between fibers that allows knitted fabrics to take on ...
Phys.org / Convergent evolution: stick and leaf insects share 20 body features
A team of biologists in Montana and Germany has found that, regardless of type, those insects that express a protective stick- or leaf-like appearance all evolved the same basic body parts. In their study, published in the ...
Phys.org / Study of chimps cracking nuts shows some are much better at it than others
A team of anthropologists at the University of Oxford's School of Anthropology and Museum Ethnography, working with a colleague from Chubu Gakuin University, in Japan, has found that some chimpanzees are better at cracking ...
Phys.org / Archaeologists uncover maize's significance to Casarabe people—and their ducks
A team of archaeologists affiliated with several institutions in Germany, working with a colleague from the U.K. and another from Brazil, has found new evidence of the importance of maize to precolonial people living in the ...
Phys.org / Middle children grow up to be more honest and cooperative than only children, study suggests
A pair of psychologists, one with Brock University, the other with the University of Calgary, both in Canada, has found evidence suggesting that middle children who grow up with multiple siblings tend to be more honest and ...
Phys.org / Borneo's mountains reveal a new species of orangutan-colored giant pitcher plant
A team of botanists at Malaysia's Sabah Forestry Department's Forest Research Centre, working with a pair of colleagues from Australia, has identified a new species of giant pitcher plant growing on the ultramafic mountains ...
Phys.org / Potential-based goals may hold key to struggling college students' academic success
A quantitative economist at Maastricht University in the Netherlands has attempted to test what he describes as the underappreciated role of potential-based goals in college students. In his study, published in the British ...
Phys.org / Number of cats and dogs exposed to cocaine has increased significantly since 2019, study finds
A pair of animal health researchers, one with the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the other the Pet Poison Helpline/SafetyCall International LLC, located in Bloomington, Minnesota, has found that the number of ...
Phys.org / 'Living' ceramics utilize bacteria for gas sensing and carbon capture
A team of materials scientists and chemists at ETH Zürich has developed a way to make "living" ceramics that can detect small amounts of formaldehyde and capture carbon dioxide from the air. In their project, reported in ...
Phys.org / Dual-comb method achieves first precise absolute distance measurement over 100 km
A team of physicists and engineers at China's Hefei National Laboratory has succeeded in conducting the first instance of precise absolute distance measurement over a path exceeding 100 km. The group has written a paper describing ...
