All News
Phys.org / Fossil plankton shells reveal reduced nitrogen fixation in warmer oceans 3 million years ago
Nitrogen is a key nutrient because it fuels the growth of plankton, which forms the basis of the marine food web. Two opposing processes determine the global nitrogen cycle: nitrogen fixation and denitrification.
Phys.org / Plasma and electricity convert CO₂ into methanol, butane and other useful chemicals
Carbon dioxide (CO₂) can be harmful to the environment in large amounts but can be used in the production of fuels and other useful chemicals. Doing so isn't easy, though. Now, Yale researchers have developed a new way to ...
Phys.org / Without bacteria or chemicals: How methanol and formaldehyde form abiotically in nature
The biopolymer lignin—one of the most important carbon reservoirs in plants and soils—not only decays through fungi or bacteria but can also be chemically attacked by iron linked to reactive oxygen species, without the involvement ...
Medical Xpress / Ultrasound may offer a noninvasive way to manage deep muscle stiffness
Muscle strain injuries are a common problem in sports, and injuries to the triceps surae, the calf muscle group that includes the gastrocnemius and soleus, can significantly affect athletic performance and return to play. ...
Phys.org / A world 20 light-years away reveals surprisingly organized, Jupiter-like weather
Scientists from Trinity College Dublin have developed a way to unravel changing weather patterns on distant worlds. Using this approach, they discovered that the weather on a well-studied brown dwarf, SIMP 0136, previously ...
Phys.org / Are bots changing how people talk? Language in the age of AI
A Facebook post about your trip to Peru. An Amazon review of a new toaster oven. An email to the super about the inflatable reindeer blocking the hallway. You phrase and rephrase things all day without thinking that anyone—or ...
Phys.org / Ubiquitin marks abnormal glycogen for destruction to protect the brain, study finds
Researchers at the University of Cambridge and the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology have discovered a previously unknown cellular defense system that protects the brain from abnormal glycogen accumulation, which is linked ...
Phys.org / First-of-its-kind preventive phage therapy provides promising results against Salmonella
The mammalian gut microbiome teems with a delicate balance of bacteria and the viruses that keep them in check, called bacteriophages, or phages. Each bacterial species usually has its own set of phage partners.
Phys.org / Henry VIII's dissolution enforcer stashed Catholic manuscript—its lost pages have just been rediscovered
Sir John Gage, a key figure in Henry VIII's dissolution of the monasteries, saved a dangerous Catholic book from likely destruction, a new study suggests. The identification of six lost pages of a medieval bestseller—illicitly ...
Phys.org / Thinking outside the binding site: Drug molecule makes a square peg fit a round hole
A square peg doesn't fit a round hole. But what if the peg could change the shape of the hole? A newly developed drug molecule can do something surprisingly similar when binding to its target protein, according to a University ...
Phys.org / A finely tuned mess—how disorder can make networks more stable
Perfection is overrated—at least when it comes to complex systems like the power grid, food webs and advanced materials. For decades, scientists generally assumed that networks function most reliably when their individual ...
Phys.org / Newfound fungal nutrient-sensing mechanism could advance biofuels and disease control
Scientists have taken a step toward a better understanding of how fungi sense and respond to nutrients in the environment, which is critical for engineering fungi for green technologies and combating fungal pathogens and ...
