Phys.org news

Phys.org / Bacteria are weaving forever chemicals directly into their cell membranes, study finds

University of Tennessee Knoxville professor and Goodrich Chair of Excellence in Civil Engineering Frank Loeffler and his co-authors published new research on the environmental impacts of "forever chemicals" in Nature Microbiology. ...

58 minutes ago
Phys.org / More dives, fewer reef sharks: Caribbean study links tourism pressure to shark sightings

Reef sharks are observed less frequently on Caribbean reefs that have high levels of diving activity and greater coastal development, according to new research published in the Journal of Applied Ecology. Even recreational ...

18 minutes ago
Phys.org / Stitching precise patterns—with lasers

Just as embroiderers, with needle and thread, can transform plain fabric into an intricate pattern, engineers can use lasers and polymers to create flexible, complex structures that could transform life-saving sensing technology. ...

8 minutes ago
Phys.org / Parasitic tapeworm—a risk to domestic dogs and humans—found in Washington coyotes

New evidence suggests that a disease-causing tapeworm that has been spreading across the United States and Canada has arrived in the Pacific Northwest. The tapeworm, called Echinococcus multilocularis, lives as a parasite ...

38 minutes ago
Phys.org / Mechanical inputs boost diamond quantum sensor states as Q factor tops one million

Most people think of diamonds as high-end adornments. Not Ania Bleszynski Jayich. The UC Santa Barbara physicist sees diamonds, which she grows in the UC Quantum Foundry, as a potentially powerful foundation for quantum sensors. ...

48 minutes ago
Phys.org / Body size, lifespan and mobility can help predict which species are most threatened as planet changes

How can we predict species' responses to always-arising changes in our world? A long-term ecological study from Yokohama National University researchers suggests the answer may lie in a few small simple biological traits. ...

28 minutes ago
Phys.org / Analysis finds geometric thinking may come from wandering, not a human-only math module

Debates over how geometry is understood and learned date back at least to the days of Plato, with more recent scholars concluding that only humans possess the foundations of this understanding. However, a new analysis by ...

1 hour ago
Phys.org / How to eat an elephant: Fossil find in Tanzania shows oldest signs of butchering these giant mammals

Imagine a creature nearly twice the size of a modern African elephant, which can weigh up to 6,000 kg. This was Elephas (Paleoxodon) recki, a prehistoric titan that roamed the landscape of what is now Tanzania nearly two ...

1 hour ago
Phys.org / Three Himalayan predators coexist by partitioning prey, reducing direct competition

Snow leopards, leopards, and Himalayan wolves all share similar stomping grounds in Nepal's Lapchi Valley in the Himalayas. A recent study, published in PLOS One, has taken a closer look at how these apex predators have found ...

3 hours ago
Phys.org / Spring cold snaps harm nesting tree swallows, but some show resilience

Warming temperatures from climate change cause tree swallows to nest up to two weeks earlier than they did in the 1970s, but early spring cold snaps can hinder nestlings' growth and survival, according to a new study that ...

1 hour ago
Phys.org / Rating community resilience with a deep learning framework

An understanding of community resilience and risk analysis is vital when it comes to protecting civilians and infrastructure from natural hazards, such as hurricanes or earthquakes. Artificial intelligence is an efficient ...

1 hour ago
Phys.org / Origins of Earth's most powerful ocean current revealed

It transports far more than 100 times as much water as all of the Earth's rivers combined: The Antarctic Circumpolar Current rushes around the southern continent unhindered by land masses and is therefore a fundamental component ...

2 hours ago