All News

Dialog / Bringing quantum ideas to the messy world of disordered proteins

Imagine trying to design a key for a lock that is constantly changing its shape. That is the exact challenge we face in modern drug discovery when dealing with intrinsically disordered proteins.

15 hours ago in Biology
Phys.org / Staple crops are a major contributor to global deforestation, says study

Rice, maize, and cassava crops cumulatively account for approximately 11% of total global deforestation—exceeding that of cocoa, coffee, and rubber—according to an analysis between 2001 and 2022, published in Nature Food. ...

9 hours ago in Earth
Medical Xpress / Genetics helps explain who gets the 'telltale tingle' from music, art and literature

Why do some people feel chills when listening to music, reading poetry, or viewing a powerful work of art, while others do not? New research by Giacomo Bignardi and his colleagues from Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics ...

15 hours ago in Genetics
Phys.org / Courtship is complicated, even in fruit flies

Love is in the air for the vinegar fly. Drosophila melanogaster has long been a model for understanding how brains translate sensory information into courtship behavior. Male flies perform a multitude of romantic actions—orienting, ...

15 hours ago in Biology
Phys.org / Plant hormone therapy could improve global food security by balancing growth with immunity

Plants have an immune system, like people, and when it is triggered by threats like disease or pests, a plant's defenses are activated. But there's a downside to this protective mechanism: the plant's growth is suppressed ...

16 hours ago in Biology
Tech Xplore / Engineers discover new physics principle to break sound absorption barriers in ventilated spaces

In everyday life, designing spaces that both let air flow and absorb sound can be a tricky balancing act. Usually, materials that allow air to pass through—like vents—also let sound escape, making it hard to reduce noise ...

17 hours ago in Engineering
Medical Xpress / Dry powder inhalers can improve patient outcomes and lower environmental impact

New research from UCLA Health suggests that certain inhalers used to treat chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are not only less harmful to the environment but can also lead to slightly better patient outcomes. Inhalers ...

9 hours ago in Inflammatory disorders
Medical Xpress / Oxytocin-sensitive brain circuit may keep social bonds active under stress

The neuropeptide oxytocin is a special messenger substance that nerve cells use to communicate with each other. It is acting as both a neurotransmitter and a hormone and is best known for promoting social behavior. However, ...

9 hours ago in Psychology & Psychiatry
Phys.org / Reading the enemy: How genome science is reshaping the fight against wheat stem rust

In 2013, farmers in the highlands of Ethiopia began to notice something unsettling: a familiar variety of wheat was failing in an unfamiliar way. Stems weakened, plants collapsed, and fields that had once held firm against ...

16 hours ago in Biology
Phys.org / Multinational companies could drive climate action better than governments

With the current U.S. federal administration abandoning its leadership role in the fight against climate change, international efforts by governments to mitigate global warming appear to have stalled, at least for now. But ...

10 hours ago in Earth
Medical Xpress / When influencers raise a glass, young viewers want to join them

An attractive influencer couple chats in a kitchen as they prepare dinner. A wine bottle sits on the counter. Someone takes a sip. It looks less like an ad than a slice of ordinary life, the kind of moment that can pass unnoticed ...

16 hours ago in Addiction
Phys.org / Stretchy plastics conduct electricity via tiny, whisker-like fibers

A stretchy, conductive type of plastic could help power the next generation of implantable biomedical devices, like longer-lasting pacemakers or glucose monitors, according to Enrique Gomez, professor of chemical engineering ...

17 hours ago in Nanotechnology