Phys.org news

Phys.org / Fewer insects, fewer nutritious crops: Pollinator decline puts human health at risk

Biodiversity loss is directly threatening human health and welfare, according to new research led by the University of Bristol. The study, published in Nature reveals, for the first time, how the decline of insect pollinators ...

56 minutes ago
Phys.org / 'Not just hot water': Marine heat waves can create toxic relationship between seagrasses and microbes

Heat stress from marine heat waves can create a toxic relationship between seagrasses and a hidden ecosystem of bacteria, transforming a previously beneficial co-existence between marine plants and microbes into a harmful ...

36 minutes ago
Phys.org / Federal grant terminations disproportionately impact minority scientists, study finds

Researchers from University of California San Diego Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health and Human Longevity Science have found that recent federal grant terminations targeting research on health equity and gender identity ...

16 minutes ago
Phys.org / A persistent quantum computing error finally explained

Scientists have discovered the cause of a persistent glitch that continues to disrupt superconducting quantum computers, even when they have built-in defenses. For all their advanced hardware, superconducting quantum computers ...

4 hours ago
Phys.org / Webb and Hubble find massive star clusters emerge faster

Astronomers using the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope together with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope have looked deeply at thousands of young star clusters in four nearby galaxies, studying clusters at different ...

1 hour ago
Phys.org / A new kind of CRISPR could treat viral infection and cancer by shredding sick cells' DNA

A new kind of CRISPR that destroys cells rather than gene editing them has shown potential for killing sick cells while leaving healthy cells untouched. The technology has largely been tested in cells in a dish, but if it ...

1 hour ago
Phys.org / Dark proteome yields 1,785 new microproteins that could reshape disease research

Scientists have uncovered more than 1,700 new proteins that could have implications for human diseases, including cancer. Mostly very small, these proteins were found in what's called the "dark proteome," which covers gene ...

1 hour ago
Phys.org / Deforestation may push Amazon degradation threshold below 2°C warming

Around two-thirds of the Amazon rainforest could shift into degraded forest or savanna-like ecosystems at 1.5–1.9°C of global warming if deforestation increases to roughly 22–28% of the Amazon, according to a new study from ...

1 hour ago
Phys.org / What can singing mice say about human speech?

Speech is a crowning achievement of human evolution, the skill that separates us from every other animal. So, it would stand to reason that evolving this capability required some enormous leap in brain complexity. A study ...

1 hour ago
Phys.org / A tale as old as time: Young, attractive femme fatale lore appears in nearly every culture

From James Bond movies to water spirits in mythology, the tales of attractive, dangerous female forms that distract the hero from his path or lure men to their deaths have been around for quite some time. A recent study revisits ...

2 hours ago
Phys.org / The lost koala: New fossil species was hiding in plain sight for 100 years

In 2024, the Western Australian Museum received a donation. It was a koala skull collected from Moondyne Cave in Margaret River by Lindsay Hatcher, an avid caver. There was something a bit odd about this skull, and we were ...

1 hour ago
Phys.org / Landsat 9 captures Russia's restless Shiveluch volcano mid-eruption

Near-constant activity continues on the volcano in Russia. Shivelyuch (also called Shiveluch), the most northerly active volcano on the Kamchatka Peninsula, is one of the most active volcanoes in the world. On a near-daily ...

2 hours ago