Phys.org news

Phys.org / Could a kid have painted that? Jackson Pollock's famous pour-painting has child-like characteristics, study shows

What makes art art? Is it the method or the creator? Does it need a color palette and oil paints, or a canvas laid flat on the floor and paint splattered across it? Does it require a critically acclaimed painter, or a toddler ...

1 hour ago in Physics
Phys.org / Scientist captures tiny particles for clues on what sparks lightning

Using lasers as tweezers to understand cloud electrification might sound like science fiction, but at the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) it is a reality. By trapping and charging micron-sized particles ...

7 hours ago in Physics
Phys.org / Discovery of rare protist reveals previously unknown branch of eukaryotic tree of life

A research team from the Faculty of Science, Charles University in Prague has discovered Solarion arienae, an extremely rare and morphologically unique unicellular eukaryote that sheds new light on early eukaryotic evolution.

11 hours ago in Biology
Phys.org / 'Chocolate-flavored' honey created using cocoa bean shells

A group of researchers from the State University of Campinas (UNICAMP) in the state of São Paulo, Brazil, developed a product made from native bee honey and cocoa bean shells that can be consumed directly or used as an ingredient ...

12 hours ago in Chemistry
Phys.org / Crucial protein recruits help to protect itself while it forms

Proteins are often called the building blocks of cells, but even those building blocks need to be built. One of the most important steps in the process of building proteins is glycosylation, when sugar molecules (glycans) ...

6 hours ago in Biology
Phys.org / A new space radiation shield: Flexible boron nitride nanotube film shows promise

High-energy cosmic radiation damages cells and DNA, causing cancer, and secondary neutrons—generated especially from the planetary surfaces—can be up to 20 times more harmful than other radiations. Aluminum, the most ...

8 hours ago in Nanotechnology
Phys.org / NASA releases detailed images of rare interstellar comet passing through solar system

NASA unveiled close-up pictures on Wednesday of the interstellar comet that's making a quick one-and-done tour of the solar system.

10 hours ago in Astronomy & Space
Phys.org / Physicists demonstrate the constancy of the speed of light with unprecedented accuracy

In 1887, one of the most important experiments in the history of physics took place. American scientists Michelson and Morley failed to measure the speed of Earth by comparing the speed of light in the direction of Earth's ...

13 hours ago in Physics
Phys.org / Soil carbon decomposition varies vastly, holding implications for climate models

Soil stores more carbon than Earth's atmosphere and plants combined, which makes the speed of soil carbon's decomposition an important variable in models used to predict changes to our climate.

9 hours ago in Earth
Phys.org / How a plant-parasitic nematode can infect a wide range of organisms

UC Davis nematologists, including Valerie Williamson, professor emerita in the Department of Plant Pathology, and associate professor Shahid Siddique, Department of Entomology and Nematology, have long wondered how a plant-parasitic ...

9 hours ago in Biology
Phys.org / New roles found for STIP1 and Maspin proteins in cell renewal and structure

Two recently published studies led by Brazilian scientists reveal the key roles of multifunctional proteins, STIP1 and Maspin, in vital cellular processes.

9 hours ago in Biology
Phys.org / Ancient bog growth reveals shifting Southern Hemisphere winds 15,000 years ago

Scientists have revealed that ancient bogs in the Southern Hemisphere hold clues to a major shift in Earth's climate thousands of years ago.

10 hours ago in Earth