Phys.org news
Phys.org / Charcoal records reveal 'unprecedented' wildfires in tropical peatlands during 20th century
A new study reveals an unprecedented increase in wildfires in tropical peatlands during the 20th century. "Unprecedented burning in tropical peatlands during the 20th century compared to the previous two millennia" is published ...
Phys.org / Dinos hatched eggs less efficiently than modern birds, researchers show
What do we really know about how oviraptors—bird-like but flightless dinosaurs—hatched their eggs? Did they use environmental heat, like crocodiles, or body heat from an adult, like birds? In a new Frontiers in Ecology ...
Phys.org / Ryugu asteroid samples contain all DNA and RNA building blocks, bolstering origin-of-life theories
All the essential ingredients to make the DNA and RNA underpinning life on Earth have been discovered in samples collected from the asteroid Ryugu, scientists said Monday.
Phys.org / Bull sharks form social relationships with specific 'friends,' research reveals
Sharks are often viewed as solitary, but a new study—carried out on the Shark Reef Marine Reserve in Fiji—has found that rather than mixing at random, bull sharks have "active social preferences" and choose their social ...
Phys.org / Extremely rare second-generation star discovered inside ancient relic dwarf galaxy
Discovered in the Pictor II dwarf galaxy, star PicII-503 has an extreme deficiency in iron—less than 1/40,000th of the sun. This signature makes it the clearest example of a star within a primordial system that preserves ...
Phys.org / Do political social media ads influence the outcome of elections?
Social media platforms, such as Facebook, Instagram and X, are accessed daily by millions of people worldwide. In the weeks or months leading up to elections, many political parties use social media platforms as part of their ...
Phys.org / ISS study identifies thresholds for muscle atrophy and fiber changes in reduced gravity
It's well known that spaceflight causes muscle atrophy and other biological changes in reduced gravity, and especially in near-zero gravity (microgravity) environments. However, the gravity threshold needed to maintain sufficient ...
Phys.org / A galaxy next door is transforming, and astronomers can see it happening
The Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) is one of the Milky Way's closest galactic neighbors—a small, gas-rich galaxy visible to the naked eye from the southern hemisphere, and bound to our galaxy by gravity, alongside its companion, ...
Phys.org / Why sugar breakdown matters beyond energy—new insights into how it makes cells move
It has long been known that our bodies derive energy from sugar. Researchers at RPTU University Kaiserslautern-Landau have now discovered that sugar breakdown produces an intermediate product that is also crucial for the ...
Phys.org / Amazonian chocolate: Combining cocoa clones with different post-harvest processes balances flavor and nutritional value
Chocolate produced in the Amazon is internationally recognized for its unique flavor. A study by researchers at São Paulo State University (UNESP) in Brazil has shown that it could be even more valuable. The analysis indicates ...
Phys.org / Turning mosquitoes into flying vaccine carriers to protect against bat-borne viruses
Bats are reservoirs for several zoonotic viruses, such as Ebola and coronaviruses. These pathogens can spread to humans through direct contact with the flying mammals or their bodily fluids, or indirectly through contaminated ...
Phys.org / High-resolution electron microscopy sheds light on the cellular responses to stress
An international team led by researchers from the University Medical Center Göttingen (UMG), Germany, has used advanced electron microscopy technologies to capture key cellular mechanisms of stress resistance with near-atomic ...
