Phys.org news
Phys.org / Materials scientists learn how to make liquid crystal shape-shift
A new 3-D-printing method will make it easier to manufacture and control the shape of soft robots, artificial muscles and wearable devices. Researchers at UC San Diego show that by controlling the printing temperature of ...
Phys.org / First measurements of radiation levels on the moon
In the coming years and decades, several nations are planning to send astronauts to the moon. But on the lunar surface, space radiation poses a significant risk. The Apollo astronauts carried so-called dosimeters with them, ...
Phys.org / Back to Venus: Upstart company wants to beat NASA in search for life
Can a small American aerospace company get to Venus before NASA returns to our superheated planetary neighbor?
Phys.org / New method allows precise gene control by light
A novel optical switch makes it possible to precisely control the lifespan of genetic copies. These are used by the cell as building instructions for the production of proteins. The method was developed by researchers from ...
Phys.org / Diagnostic tool for coronavirus makes significant step forward
Scientists at the University of Warwick have demonstrated that a potential diagnostic tool for detecting COVID-19 using sugars will work with a virus rather than just its proteins, a significant step in making it a viable ...
Phys.org / The realization of active microscale Marangoni surfers
Marangoni surfers are small particles that self-propel while straddling a fluid-fluid interface in a way similar to that in which a surfer moves on the surface of a wave. In recent years, self-propelling particles have become ...
Phys.org / Machine learning takes on synthetic biology: algorithms can bioengineer cells for you
If you've eaten vegan burgers that taste like meat or used synthetic collagen in your beauty routine—both products that are "grown" in the lab—then you've benefited from synthetic biology. It's a field rife with potential, ...
Phys.org / Wolves have been caring for the pack for at least 1.3 million years
Wolves today live and hunt in packs, which helps them take down large prey. But when did this group behavior evolve? An international research team has reported specimens of an ancestral wolf, Canis chihliensis, from the ...
Phys.org / Researchers show conscious processes in birds' brains for the first time
By measuring brain signals, a neuroscience research group at the University of Tübingen has demonstrated for the first time that corvid songbirds possess subjective experiences. Simultaneously recording behavior and brain ...
Phys.org / Marine heatwaves are human-made
Heatwaves in the world's oceans have become over 20 times more frequent due to human influence. This is what researchers from the Oeschger Center for Climate Research at the University of Bern are now able to prove. Marine ...
Phys.org / Potential drug target for dangerous E. coli infections identified
Escherichia coli, known as E. coli, are bacteria which many people associate with causing mild food poisoning, but some types of E. coli can be fatal.
Phys.org / High-performance single-atom catalysts for high-temperature fuel cells
Unlike secondary batteries that need to be recharged, fuel cells are a type of eco-friendly power generation system that produce electricity directly from electrochemical reactions using hydrogen as fuel and oxygen as oxidant. ...