Phys.org news
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 / 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 / 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 / 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 / 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 / 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 ...
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 / 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 / Flexible nanopores shed new light on Parkinson's and ALS
In a promising milestone for nanotechnology, Constructor University has contributed to a study demonstrating self-assembling nanopores capable of detecting disease proteins associated with illnesses like Parkinson's and ALS.
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 / AI streamlines search for new ceramics that generate electricity
A tedious process of trial and error is normally required to discover ceramic materials that generate electricity under mechanical stress. Known as piezoelectric ceramics, these valuable next-generation materials can replace ...
