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Phys.org / From deer to chickadees: How fewer social encounters could raise extinction risk

Imagine an asteroid striking Earth and wiping out most of the human population. Even if some lucky people survived the impact, Homo sapiens might still face extinction, because the social networks humans rely on would collapse.

14 hours ago in Biology
Phys.org / Light-driven probe enables sensitive detection of epigenetic intermediates

Epigenetic modifications such as DNA methylation play a key role in regulating gene expression. Emerging evidence suggests that intermediates generated during DNA demethylation may have distinct biological roles. However, ...

8 hours ago in Chemistry
Phys.org / A new comet was just discovered. Will it be visible in broad daylight?

A newly discovered comet has astronomers excited, with the potential to be a spectacular sight in early April. C/2026 A1 (MAPS) was spotted by a team of four amateur astronomers with a remotely operated telescope in the Atacama ...

17 hours ago in Astronomy & Space
Medical Xpress / Frozen on the ice: The brain science behind perfect Olympic timing

Olympic skiers, bobsledders and speed skaters all have to master one critical moment: when to start. As athletes prepare for the upcoming Winter Olympics, that split second is in the spotlight because when everyone is fast, ...

14 hours ago in Neuroscience
Phys.org / Listening to polymers collapse: 'Water bridges' pull the strings

It is not easy to follow the interactions of large molecules with water in real time. But this can be easier to hear than to see. This is how an international team deciphered the role of water in the collapse of PNIPAM.

14 hours ago in Chemistry
Phys.org / Ancient bird routes mapped via plant diversity

It's not what they intended to do or expected to find. They're not even all that interested in birds. When Andre Naranjo and his colleagues began work on a new study published in the Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society, ...

15 hours ago in Biology
Phys.org / Faster enzyme screening could cut biocatalysis bottlenecks in drug development

A team of biochemists at the University of California, Santa Cruz, has developed a faster way to identify molecules in the lab that could lead to more effective pharmaceuticals. The discovery advances the rapidly growing ...

14 hours ago in Chemistry
Phys.org / 2018 Kīlauea earthquake may have stalled fault's slow slip for decades

The magnitude 6.9 earthquake that took place in 2018 on the south flank of Kīlauea on the Island of Hawaiʻi may have stalled episodes of periodic slow slip along a major fault underlying the volcano, according to a new ...

15 hours ago in Earth
Tech Xplore / GeSn alloys emerge as a new semiconductor class that could reshape optoelectronics

Scientists have created a new type of material that could enable common electronic devices to work faster and use less energy, a study suggests. The findings indicate the material, which was until now thought near-impossible ...

15 hours ago in Engineering
Phys.org / Seeds 'listen' to mom: Study finds mother plants send ABA hormone signals that set seed dormancy

Whatever challenges life throws, mothers often know best as they guide offspring through the risky stages of early development. This scenario, familiar when applied to humans, turns out to be true for plants too, according ...

15 hours ago in Biology
Phys.org / CRISPR screen maps 250 genes essential for human muscle fiber formation

Muscles make up nearly 40% of the human body and power every move we make, from a child's first steps to recovery after injury. For some, however, muscle development goes awry, leading to weakness, delayed motor milestones ...

14 hours ago in Biology
Phys.org / Global map catalogs 459 rare continental mantle earthquakes since 1990

Stanford researchers have created the first-ever global map of a rare earthquake type that occurs not in Earth's crust but in our planet's mantle, the layer sandwiched between the thin crust and Earth's molten core. The new ...

16 hours ago in Earth