Phys.org news
Phys.org / Why some AI ads fail while others succeed
Artificial intelligence can create realistic depictions of just about anything, but that does not mean advertisers should lean on the technology, according to a study led by University of Mississippi professors.
Phys.org / No smartphone, no problem: Plants have their own built-in 'Season-Meter'
You may check your phone before deciding what to wear tomorrow. Plants do something similar: they carry an internal gadget called a "Season-Meter" that tracks temperatures over the preceding weeks or months to help determine ...
Phys.org / Extraordinary immune gene diversity in Atlantic herring exceeds that of other vertebrates, including humans
Atlantic herring travel in massive schools that can contain hundreds of millions—and sometimes even billions—of fish. While this abundance is characteristic of one of the most successful vertebrates on Earth, it also creates ...
Phys.org / Protecting the peanut: Sensors help fend off fungus
Sweet, salty, crunchy or creamy—no matter how it's munched, the Virginia peanut has been a cash crop for the commonwealth for much of the past two centuries. But a fungal disease called Sclerotinia blight has decimated peanut ...
Phys.org / Beyond flood maps: Puerto Rico residents seek climate tools built around local needs
Resources such as sea level rise viewers, heat maps and flood prediction services are crucial tools in a changing climate. NASA Earth Observations (NASA EO) datasets provide important information on these and other natural ...
Phys.org / Why atmospheric nanoparticles grow at similar rates everywhere
Aerosols have a profound influence on air quality, human health, clouds and climate, but new particle formation in the atmosphere has remained a scientific conundrum. Large fractions of airborne fine particulate matter consist ...
Phys.org / Smoky off-flavors in cocoa aren't caused solely by smoke
Fermented cocoa occasionally exhibits off-flavors that can compromise the quality of chocolate and other cocoa products. But what causes these undesirable flavors? Researchers at the Leibniz Institute for Food Systems Biology ...
Phys.org / Earlier volcano warnings could mean more false alarms—but they could also save lives
Whakaari/White Island's sudden eruption in December 2019, which killed 22 people and severely injured 25 others, was New Zealand's deadliest volcanic disaster in recent history.
Phys.org / Low-power lasers create durable nano-patterns into sulfur-derived polymers
A new way to imprint complex surfaces on low-cost, sustainable polymers could be used in a wide range of industries, including water-repellent coatings, optical devices and data storage disks. The complex nano- and microscale ...
Phys.org / Human-driven fires have shaped the Amazonian forest for over 10,000 years
New research is dismantling the longstanding myth of the "pristine" Amazon. A reconstruction of 10,000 years of Amazonian pyrogeography, based on 1,361 radiocarbon (¹⁴C) dates across 303 sites—including soil charcoal and ...
Phys.org / Plant hormones may offer a way to balance crop yield and disease resistance
Growth or immune response? Higher organisms must constantly balance these two priorities. As in humans, hormones regulate this balance in plants. Researchers at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) have discovered a mechanism ...
Phys.org / Rocky Mountain find reveals new funnel-web spider far from its Northwest relatives
Researchers at the University of Idaho have identified a new species of spider in the mountains of northern Idaho and given it a name that pays tribute to the university itself: Hexura vandal. The spider belongs to a small ...