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Phys.org / DNA floating in seawater is now enough to let scientists monitor the health of America's dolphin populations
DNA is everywhere in the world's oceans—not only packaged inside cells from skin, scales, mucus, feces, and blood, but also floating freely. Sequencing such "environmental DNA" (eDNA) from open water has long been used as ...
Phys.org / How much worse could western wildfires get? New modeling changes projections
Across the western United States, wildfires are increasing in size and intensity. As the climate continues to warm, more extreme wildfires will reshape landscapes and pose a growing risk to human health and natural ecosystems ...
Phys.org / The structure of water: Entropy determines whether ions stick
Water molecules do not simply swirl around in complete disorder; they can form certain preferred structures. This scientific fact is often presented in entirely unscientific ways. For example, when people speak of an alleged ...
Phys.org / Sea levels rising dramatically in some areas due to land subsidence
Densely populated coastal regions in many parts of the world are particularly vulnerable to flooding. The sinking of land masses exacerbates the impacts of rising sea levels in these areas, according to a study by researchers ...
Phys.org / Neanderthals gathered shellfish using the same strategies as modern humans, study finds
Neanderthal populations in southern Europe collected shellfish throughout the year, with a marked preference for the colder months, according to a new international study led by researchers from the Institute of Environmental ...
Phys.org / Mars reveals first Zwan-Wolf effect deep in its atmosphere during a solar storm
In December 2023, scientists looking at Mars data stumbled across something completely unexpected—observations of an atmospheric effect never before seen in the Red Planet's atmosphere. Using instruments aboard NASA's MAVEN ...
Phys.org / Nondestructive DNA sampling reveals 1,300 years of secrets in historic parchments
Researchers have demonstrated a nondestructive way to collect cellular material from historical parchment manuscripts, allowing them to conduct genetic analyses that offer new insights into everything from trade routes to ...
Phys.org / Findings reconsider the existence of Europa's vapor plumes
Looking back at 14 years of Hubble telescope data for Jupiter's moon Europa has given Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) scientists a better understanding of its tenuous atmosphere. The findings have cast doubt on previous ...
Phys.org / Kenya's new poaching problem: Smuggling Giant Harvester Ants
Kenyan ant expert Dino Martins gushes over the red and black insects that have become the center of an international smuggling trade.
Phys.org / Neutrino flavor flips could be key to triggering supernovae
Despite being so elusive, neutrinos are produced in abundance in some of the most violent events in the universe. One of their strangest properties is that they can spontaneously switch between three types, or "flavors": ...
Phys.org / eROSITA discovers a 'changing-look' Seyfert galaxy
Astronomers have tracked a dramatic "changing-look" active galactic nucleus (AGN) whose central supermassive black hole appeared to switch off and then rapidly reignite. The galaxy, HE 1237−2252, dimmed in X-rays by a factor ...
Phys.org / Galactic collision may have reset Milky Way disk 11 billion years ago
A new study led by researchers at the Institute of Cosmos Sciences of the University of Barcelona (ICCUB) and the Institute of Space Studies of Catalonia (IEEC) reveals how the disks of galaxies like the Milky Way are affected ...
