Phys.org news
Phys.org / In a South Carolina swamp, researchers uncover secrets of firefly synchrony
In the middle of the old-growth forests of Congaree National Park in South Carolina, fireflies put on an otherworldly display every May. Thousands of male insects belonging to the species Photuris frontalis flash together ...
Phys.org / Real-time protein quality control keeps cells healthy
Scientists from the National University of Singapore (NUS) have developed a biochemical technique that captures fleeting "handshakes" between newly made proteins and the cellular helpers. These short interactions are important ...
Phys.org / From plastics to pharmaceuticals, a new discovery sparks chain reactions
After years of research, international experts have confirmed the discovery of a new chemical reaction, launching new opportunities for rapid advances in a range of fields—from recycled plastics to pharmaceuticals. In the ...
Phys.org / New DNA tools outperform traditional methods for detecting genetic risk in wildlife
Wildlife populations that become small and isolated, often due to habitat loss, inevitably experience inbreeding which can lead to the loss of fitness and eventual extinction. One solution is to perform a genetic rescue: ...
Phys.org / From guesswork to guidance: How machine learning speeds dopant design for water-splitting photocatalysts
MLIP calculations successfully identify suitable dopants for a novel photocatalytic material, report researchers from the Institute of Science Tokyo. As demonstrated in their study, published in the Journal of the American ...
Phys.org / Safer space travel: Scientists create a cosmic ray simulator
Cosmic rays are one of the greatest challenges for space travel and pose a considerable risk to humans and materials. For the first time on European soil, an international research team in collaboration with the European ...
Phys.org / Fish stocks are on the line: Climate change impacts global fishing yields
As the saying goes, there are plenty more fish in the sea—but climate change is rapidly challenging that notion, with fish stocks around the world under threat. New modeling from Monash University predicts how climate change ...
Phys.org / Inside the light: How invisible electric fields drive device luminescence
Fleeting electron-hole pairs are giving scientists a new window into optimizing light-emitting devices (LEDs). Using quantum magnetic resonance, Osaka Metropolitan University researchers have discovered how shifting internal ...
Phys.org / Quantum handshake: How orbital overlap dictates molecular conductance
By placing single-atom-thick adlayers of p-block metals on commonly employed gold electrodes (d-block), a research team at National Taiwan University has successfully quantified the "interfacial hopping integral" between ...
Phys.org / How flexible protein regions retain their function via motifs and chemical context
A new LMU study shows how proteins function reliably even without a stable 3D structure—and the crucial importance not only of short sequence motifs, but also of chemical characteristics.
Phys.org / Female birds more likely to sing when their extended family helps with childcare
Most of us have heard the phrase "it takes a village" when it comes to childcare. This age-old saying holds true for some songbirds, and a new study has found that this "village" has evolutionary consequences for their songs.
Phys.org / Leopard gecko study clarifies how temperature shapes sex development
In reptiles, a simple temperature change can determine whether an egg develops into a male or female. This process is formally known as temperature-dependent sex determination (TSD), in which the sex of an embryo is determined ...
