Phys.org news
Phys.org / Measuring titanium in Apollo rock to uncover moon's early chemistry
Earth and the moon may look very different today, but they formed under similar conditions in space. In fact, a dominant hypothesis says that the early Earth was hit by a Mars-sized object, and it was this giant impact that ...
Phys.org / Two organs, one brain area: How fish orient themselves in the water
Using zebrafish, researchers from Osaka Metropolitan University (OMU) have identified the tegmentum region in the fish midbrain as the area where light input from both the fish's eyes and the pineal organ—the "third eye"—is ...
Phys.org / Finding the 'quantum needle' in a haystack: New filtering method can isolate photons
In quantum technologies, everything depends on the ability to detect the properties carried by a single photon. But in the real world, that photon of interest is often buried in a sea of unwanted light—a true "needle in a ...
Phys.org / Soil bacteria break down toxic chemicals in the environment
Many aromatic compounds, such as phenols, cresols and styrenes, are toxic to organisms and harmful to the environment. They can accumulate as a result of industrial processes and harm ecosystems. Soil bacteria can help to ...
Phys.org / Limits of protein evolution could reshape ideas about early life
The number of known proteins is infinitely small in comparison to the universe of possible proteins, which could in theory be realized. Yet these known proteins are the only major training ground for future protein design. ...
Phys.org / Cells under stress: How a chemotherapy drug damages RNA
The integrity of DNA and RNA is essential for every cell. DNA contains the genetic information for proteins, while RNA serves as a working copy of individual genes and is required for the synthesis of proteins. Unlike DNA ...
Phys.org / High-rise living: How weaver ants build leaf nests using living 'zippers' and 'weights'
The rainforests of northern Australia are home to extraordinary ant colonies. Instead of dwelling in underground burrows, these ants inhabit canopies of trees, dozens of meters above the ground, inside hollow spheres they ...
Phys.org / Copper-loaded starch nanoparticles can target bacteria in microbial communities
Bacteria are a major cause of infections and death in hospital settings, due—in part—to the rising incidence of antibiotic resistance. In the United States, antibiotic-resistant bacteria are involved in more than 2 million ...
Phys.org / Tropical volcanic eruptions trigger atmospheric changes that drive droughts in Asia
Volcanoes are both captivating and disastrous. Most are likely familiar with the common short-term dangers associated with them: explosive forces, lava, and even atmospheric particles disrupting air traffic. But researchers ...
Phys.org / Location matters: How one fat molecule can help trigger both cell limbo and cell death
When cells experience enough chronic stress, they can stop dividing permanently. In this state of cellular limbo, known as replicative senescence, cells remain alive but no longer proliferate. Pinpointing the stressors that ...
Phys.org / No dyes, less cell stress: How mid-infrared ultrasound imaging tracks lipids live
A team at Helmholtz Munich and the Technical University of Munich (TUM) has developed a new microscopy technique that can distinguish lipid species in living cells—in particular cholesterol and sphingomyelin—and map them ...
Phys.org / Quadratic gravity theory reshapes quantum view of Big Bang
Waterloo scientists have developed a new way to understand how the universe began, and it could change what we know about the Big Bang and the earliest moments of cosmic history. Their work suggests that the universe's rapid ...
