Phys.org news
Phys.org / From algae to biofuel: Study opens doors to cheaper, cleaner fuel sources
A researcher's keen eye and spirit of curiosity led to the discovery of a new method for cell engineering—a finding that opens doors to more sustainable sources for everything from fuel to vitamin supplements.
Phys.org / Reading the enemy: How genome science is reshaping the fight against wheat stem rust
In 2013, farmers in the highlands of Ethiopia began to notice something unsettling: a familiar variety of wheat was failing in an unfamiliar way. Stems weakened, plants collapsed, and fields that had once held firm against ...
Phys.org / How the echolocation of bats has shaped their skulls
Bats are some of the most highly specialized mammals to have ever evolved. This includes not only the evolution of active flight, but also their echolocation. This ability requires the bats to produce high frequency noises ...
Phys.org / Courtship is complicated, even in fruit flies
Love is in the air for the vinegar fly. Drosophila melanogaster has long been a model for understanding how brains translate sensory information into courtship behavior. Male flies perform a multitude of romantic actions—orienting, ...
Phys.org / Stretchy plastics conduct electricity via tiny, whisker-like fibers
A stretchy, conductive type of plastic could help power the next generation of implantable biomedical devices, like longer-lasting pacemakers or glucose monitors, according to Enrique Gomez, professor of chemical engineering ...
Phys.org / Why laws named after tragedies win public support
When lawmakers name bills after victims of tragedy—such as Megan's Law or the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act of 1993—public support surges, but this emotional boost may come at the expense of sound policymaking, ...
Phys.org / Language barriers slow down the international diffusion of knowledge, study finds
Rapid technological and scientific advances have fueled a huge wave of innovation over the past decades. The speed of global innovation is known to be dependent on the exchange of knowledge and skills between different nations ...
Phys.org / Extreme heat waves trigger unexpected nanoparticle formation in air
Tiny aerosol particles in the air play a big role in regulating how much sunlight our planet absorbs or reflects, and how clouds form above us. In a recent study, researchers found that extreme heat waves can trigger new ...
Phys.org / 5,000-year-old bureaucracy: Over 7,000 prehistoric seal impressions uncovered in western Iran
In the journal Antiquity, Dr. Shokouh Khosravi published preliminary findings of the largest known corpus of prehistoric seal impressions in the entire ancient world. The corpus, made up of over 7,000 seal impressions, more ...
Phys.org / Sunray-like ripples emerge on a frozen reaction front
Researchers in Belgium have unveiled a striking chemical reaction in which ripples along a frozen reaction front resemble the rays of a shining star. Publishing their results in Physical Review Letters, Anne De Wit and colleagues ...
Phys.org / How to improve the performance of qubits: Super-fast fluctuation detection achieved
Using commercially available technology and innovative methods, researchers at NBI have pushed the limits of how fast you can detect changes in the sensitive quantum states in the qubit. Their work allows researchers to follow ...
Phys.org / In sea urchin and salmon sperm, pH value regulates whether they remain immotile or swim
A study by the Max Planck Institute for Multidisciplinary Sciences and the University of Bonn has shown that pH value is crucial for sperm motility in sea urchins and salmon. An increase in pH activates the enzyme adenylyl ...
