Phys.org news
Phys.org / Thundering footsteps warn caterpillars of lethal ladybeetle attacks
Diminutive warty birch caterpillars (Falcaria bilineata), less than 1.5mm long, ardently defend their leaf tip homes from invading caterpillars by scraping and pounding the leaf to warn off potential invaders. But how might ...
Phys.org / A new capability to detect chemical weapons involves two existing methods
In the aftermath of suspected chemical attacks, investigators from the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) step in to collect chemical, environmental, and biomedical samples. Thorough forensic laboratory ...
Phys.org / Temperature gaps help sneeze clouds stay denser and travel farther, experiments show
When a person coughs or sneezes, they expel a cloud of microscopic particles capable of carrying viruses and bacteria that act as vectors for respiratory diseases such as flu, COVID-19 or tuberculosis. Understanding how these ...
Phys.org / Dynamic nanogates let longer molecules pass faster through flexible pores
A research team led by Professor Shuichi Hiraoka at the University of Tokyo and Professor Masanori Tachikawa at Yokohama City University has quantitatively analyzed how molecules pass through dynamic nanoscale pores using ...
Dialog / Research could pave the way for more resilient winter cereals in warmer climates
The arrival of winter marks not only a change in weather, temperature, and day length, but also a change in our activity and behavior. The social outdoor events and trips to the beach over summer soon become a distant memory, ...
Phys.org / Taimering mammoth was likely butchered by hunters and gatherers
The wooly mammoth from Taimering (Bavaria, Germany), discovered in 2020, was buried in a former Ice Age pond after its death. Pollen findings and radiocarbon dating confirm that the mammoth lived and died during the harsh ...
Phys.org / Organized microbial guilds keep Earth's underground biosphere running, research reveals
By studying life deep inside a former gold mine, a Northwestern University-led team of scientists has uncovered evidence that Earth's hidden biosphere operates less like a random collection of microbes and more like an organized ...
Phys.org / New route to tailor-made diamond nanoparticles holds promise for quantum applications
Nanodiamonds are tiny diamond particles only a few nanometers in size. Because they are chemically highly stable and can host so-called color centers, optically active defects in the crystal lattice, they are considered promising ...
Phys.org / Water-wave tweezers steer tiny 'surfers' without touching them
Summer brings with it the sight of surfers moving seamlessly across wave crests, with ocean waters carrying them along coastlines. A team of scientists has now created a similar phenomenon—with small objects rather than surfers—that ...
Phys.org / Programmable chemistry unlocks drugs only in target cells, aiming to cut side effects
Potent drugs like chemotherapy can be life-saving, but often with life-threatening side effects. Notably, they can be indiscriminate, killing both cancer cells and healthy cells in one swoop. Increasing a drug's on-target ...
Phys.org / Integrating citizen science with experimental data uncovers how switchgrass adapts flowering by region
In its native habitat, switchgrass flowered earlier when growing farther north. In experiments with diverse genetic samples, it flowered earlier in the south.
Phys.org / Ancient cave lion genomes reveal a distinct lineage
A new study on multiple genomes from the extinct cave lion has discovered that it represented a highly distinct evolutionary lineage, which separated from modern lions more than a million years ago. The results also show ...