Phys.org news

Phys.org / 40 years of tree-tracking records reveal how global change is impacting Amazon and Andean Forest diversity

New research published in Nature Ecology and Evolution reveals significant recent shifts in tree diversity among the tropical forests of the Andes and Amazon, driven by global change.

3 hours ago in Biology
Phys.org / Whales may divide resources to co-exist under pressures from climate change

The North Atlantic Ocean is warming up. Higher temperatures and increased human activity in the region can trigger abrupt changes in marine ecosystems, for example, how species are distributed and what they eat.

8 hours ago in Biology
Phys.org / Discovery of PITTs shows platelets can switch from clotting to driving vessel inflammation

A team from Würzburg has fundamentally changed our understanding of platelet biology. The researchers demonstrate that the surface protein integrin αIIbβ3 is not only a key molecule in blood clotting, but can also act ...

4 hours ago in Biology
Phys.org / Scientists may have discovered a new extinct form of life

Prototaxites are something of a prehistoric mystery. They were the first giant organisms on land, towering over ancient landscapes at heights of up to 8 meters. They had smooth trunk-like pillars and no branches, leaves or ...

22 hours ago in Biology
Phys.org / Scientists solve 66 million-year-old mystery of how Earth's greenhouse age ended

A 66 million-year-old mystery behind how our planet transformed from a tropical greenhouse to the ice-capped world of today has been unraveled by scientists. Their new study has revealed that Earth's massive drop in temperature ...

22 hours ago in Earth
Phys.org / Four-eyed Cambrian fish fossils hint at origins of vertebrate pineal complex

New fossil evidence from China suggests that some of our vertebrate ancestors had four eyes. The study, published in Nature, takes a closer look at a structure found in multiple 518 million-year-old fossils, which appears ...

20 hours ago in Biology
Phys.org / Dark energy survey scientists release analysis of all six years of survey data

The Dark Energy Survey Collaboration collected information on hundreds of millions of galaxies across the universe using the U.S. Department of Energy-fabricated Dark Energy Camera, mounted on the U.S. National Science Foundation ...

19 hours ago in Astronomy & Space
Phys.org / Crouzon syndrome diagnosed in a knight from the Order of Calatrava, killed in battle over 600 years ago

For the ArchaeoSpain research team, it was a day just like any other on their dig at the castle of Zorita de los Canes (Guadalajara). They were working at the Corral de los Condes, where some knights from the Order of Calatrava ...

18 hours ago in Biology
Phys.org / Hubble uncovers the secret of blue straggler stars that defy aging

Some stars appear to defy time itself. Nestled within ancient star clusters, they shine bluer and brighter than their neighbors, looking far younger than their true age. Known as blue straggler stars, these stellar oddities ...

15 hours ago in Astronomy & Space
Phys.org / Cells that are not our own may unlock secrets about our health

During pregnancy, maternal and fetal cells migrate back and forth across the placenta, with fetal cells entering the mother's bloodstream and tissues. They can settle in maternal organs such as the thyroid, liver, lungs, ...

14 hours ago in Biology
Phys.org / New code connects microscopic insights to the macroscopic world

In inertial confinement fusion, a capsule of fuel begins at temperatures near zero and pressures close to vacuum. When lasers compress that fuel to trigger fusion, the material heats up to millions of degrees and reaches ...

15 hours ago in Physics
Phys.org / Biofilm streamers harden under flow, making bacterial infections harder to treat

Whether in the human body or on surfaces, bacteria protect themselves from outside attackers using biofilms. Physicist Eleonora Secchi is researching how these slime-like protective films are formed, with the aim of making ...

15 hours ago in Biology