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Krystal Kasal

Krystal Kasal

Author

Krystal is a freelance science and technical writer with a Master's degree in physics from Washington State University. She has been doing freelance work for the last five years, with experience in clinical research and writing educational physics content. She enjoys writing about science, nature, health, and anything a little bit out of the ordinary.

Articles by Krystal Kasal

Medical Xpress / New antibody cocktail shows promise for treating multiple strains of flu

While vaccines can be very effective for preventing viruses, like the influenza A virus (IAV), they are often strain-specific and prone to viral escape mutations. IAV alone is responsible for around 500,000 deaths worldwide ...

Sep 11, 2025
Phys.org / Scientists find quasi-moon orbiting the Earth for the last 60 years—and it's not the first one

Everyone who has ever lived on Earth has been well-aware of the moon, but it turns out Earth also has some frequent temporary companions. These "quasi-moons" are small asteroids that enter into a kind of resonance with Earth's ...

Sep 10, 2025
Phys.org / Soil runoff from logged forests releases more reactive carbon, undermining climate mitigation efforts

The global demand for wood-based products is constantly increasing, creating a challenge for the logging industry. In an attempt to keep up in a sustainable manner, the industry replaces logged areas with tree farms and nurseries ...

Sep 9, 2025
Tech Xplore / Can Microsoft's analog optical computer be the answer to more energy-efficient AI and optimization tasks?

The constant scaling of AI applications and other digital technologies across industries is beginning to tax the energy grid due to its intensive energy consumption. Digital computing's energy and latency demands will likely ...

Sep 8, 2025
Phys.org / Physics-based indicator predicts tipping point for collapse of Atlantic current system in next 50 years

The Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) is an enormous loop of ocean current in the Atlantic Ocean that carries warmer waters north and colder waters south, helping to regulate the climate in many regions. ...

Sep 5, 2025
Phys.org / Iberian harvester ant queens are cloning different species to produce hybrid workers

Worker ants perform important tasks like gathering food, taking care of eggs and larvae and nest building. However, some species of ants cannot produce workers through reproductive means with their own species. Eggs fertilized ...

Sep 4, 2025
Phys.org / New modeling indicates 100-year-old geological theory on the Himalayas may have been wrong all along

For the last century, Émile Argand's theory on the formation and geological support system of the massive Himalayan mountain range has remained the predominant explanation widely accepted among geologists. This theory states ...

Sep 3, 2025
Phys.org / Novel hollow-core optical fiber transmits data 45% faster with record low loss

Despite the modern world relying heavily on digital optical communication, there has not been a significant improvement in the minimum attenuation—a measure of the loss of optical power per kilometer traveled—of optical fibers ...

Sep 2, 2025
Phys.org / Rare oceanic plate delamination may explain Portugal's mysterious earthquakes

One of the worst earthquakes in European history ripped through Portugal in 1755, causing a tsunami, fires and shaking that killed tens of thousands of people and caused widespread destruction. Another less well-documented ...

Sep 1, 2025
Phys.org / Mammoth DNA from Mexico reveals a divergent lineage

Long before the construction of the Felipe Ángeles International Airport, which lies northeast of Mexico City, the area was home to the former Lake Xaltocan and inhabited by a rich ecosystem of prehistoric animals. Eons later, ...

Aug 30, 2025
Phys.org / Mapping out France's 'Great Fear of 1789' shows how misinformation spreads like a virus

Since the rise of the internet and social media, society has become well-acquainted with the idea of "virality" as the rapid spread of ideas and information (or misinformation). The relatively recent COVID-19 pandemic also ...

Aug 28, 2025
Phys.org / Tasmanian tiger extinction may have been facilitated by ancestral gene loss

The thylacine, also known as the Tasmanian tiger or Tasmanian wolf, roamed the Australian mainland, Tasmania and New Guinea for millions of years, up until the last one died in Tasmania in 1936. Despite the names, the thylacine ...

Aug 27, 2025
Phys.org / Parked cars are heating up cities by significantly contributing to urban heat island effect—especially darker cars

The urban heat island effect describes the way urban areas get significantly warmer than the surrounding rural or suburban areas. There are a number of reasons why this occurs, although it can mostly be boiled down to the ...

Aug 26, 2025
Medical Xpress / Wearable sweat sensor can detect responses to physical, emotional and pharmacological stress

Most people are well aware of the effects of chronic stress in the modern world. While some stress can be a good thing, like the type of stress your body feels during an intense workout, prolonged or chronic stress can lead ...

Aug 25, 2025
Medical Xpress / Rare bone disorder traced to deficiency of an 'enzyme-rescue metabolite' in new study

Living cells contain a world of complex parts, which are constantly in motion. Many functions of these parts are still not fully understood, but likely harbor answers to many of our questions about how diseases work and how ...

Aug 25, 2025