Phys.org news
Phys.org / Predictive tools can confuse rare mutations with dangerous ones
When a patient's DNA is read, it is compared with a reference version of the human genome. This allows geneticists and rare disease experts to look at a list of places where the patient's DNA differs. Most variations will ...
Phys.org / Underwater meadows sustain millions in extreme poverty
A study provides the first large-scale empirical evidence that seagrass meadows act as a critical safety net for millions of coastal people living in extreme poverty across the Indo-Pacific.
Phys.org / Heavy water's atmospheric fingerprints boost weather forecasts for up to five days
Weather forecasts rely on many different kinds of data, including temperature, humidity and wind. For the first time, researchers, including those at the University of Tokyo, have demonstrated that a long-theorized improvement ...
Phys.org / Wrinkled or smooth? Cell growth mechanics determine shape of plant organs
When inner and outer cell layers of sepals—the leaf-like plant organs that cover and protect the flower bud before it opens—all grow upward, the organs stay smooth and uniformly stiff, which is optimal for the plant, according ...
Phys.org / How stressed cells put the brakes on protein 'shipping'
Cells synthesize proteins in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), and these proteins are transported to the Golgi apparatus for distribution to their ultimate destinations inside and outside the cell. The structures that transport ...
Phys.org / Surf's up: How the seafloor shapes breaking waves
A new study led by surfing scientists at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego revealed the physical relationships underlying a pattern familiar to generations of surfers.
Phys.org / Pigment found in beets linked to plants' adaptation to harsh environments
The pigments that give beets their red color may have helped a major group of flowering plants repeatedly adapt to dry environments, setting the stage for the evolution of traits that allowed plants to adapt to some of the ...
Phys.org / Rising species numbers on Europe's mountaintops may mask increasing losses of high-elevation plant specialists
Decades of warming have relaxed cold-temperature constraints on mountain plant distribution and increased species numbers on mountaintops. An international research team led by scientists from the University of Vienna, together ...
Phys.org / Probiotic and postbiotic treatments revive heat-stressed corals in field experiment
Climate change continues to threaten the world's coral reefs, which support at least a quarter of all marine life. Though probiotics have been shown to rehabilitate corals in aquarium experiments, demonstrating the efficacy ...
Phys.org / Farewell black spruce? How climate change and pests are reshaping North America's forests
More than 80% of North American forests could face greater threats from pests and diseases by midcentury, a University of British Columbia-led study finds. If global emissions continue unchecked, rising temperatures and shifting ...
Phys.org / When panic freezes people: Virtual quake tests capture real-time fear and injury risk
Growing up, many of us were taught to drop, cover and hold on during an earthquake. The guidance is straightforward, but how people actually respond when the ground starts shaking can be far more complicated. Now, UC Berkeley ...
Phys.org / Metabolic networks provide clues about the earliest stages of enzyme evolution
The enzymes found in modern organisms are complex proteins, often with multiple folded substructures and specialized catalytic sites. Proteins are encoded by genes. Tracing the history of enzymes across all living organisms ...
