Phys.org news
Phys.org / Fungal age remains elusive as underground networks continually grow, split and recycle
Some of Earth's oldest living organisms may be right beneath our feet: not ancient trees or coral reefs but fungi. Yet despite their ubiquity and importance, scientists still don't know how long most fungi can live—or even ...
Phys.org / A magnetic path to lower-power computing
From smartphones to data centers, modern electronics rely on billions of tiny switches that consume electricity every time they turn on or off. As global demand for computing continues to grow, so does the energy required ...
Phys.org / How a mystery kept in London led to the discovery of a new Ecuadorian frog
Scientists from the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador officially described Pristimantis milpe, an abundant and widely distributed species that had been confused with another species for more than a century. To solve ...
Phys.org / What a dry meteorite tells us about water on Mars
Detecting water where none remains today: Neutron and X-ray tomography make it possible. In an international study conducted with the participation of the Paul Scherrer Institute PSI, researchers have brought to light macroscopic ...
Phys.org / Magnetic mystery in thorium clusters resolved by new study
Scientists from the University of Manchester's Department of Chemistry, Centre for Radiochemistry Research and Photon Science Institute, led by Professor Steve Liddle, have uncovered why a rare class of metal clusters appears ...
Phys.org / Does your city match your relationship status? New study exposes the hidden costs of urban living
Kids, marriage and commute: A study co-authored by Dr. Mariana Macedo of Constructor University provides new insights into how major life transitions alter how individuals navigate and experience urban environments. Published ...
Phys.org / Satellite data reveal tropical forests respond differently to climate across continents
Satellite images can be used to estimate how much carbon forests store as aboveground biomass (AGB) and how biomass varies in different forests. In a study published in the journal Nature, a team of researchers affiliated ...
Phys.org / Tracer exchange reveals ions can speed up or slow down inside battery solids
Understanding how ions diffuse in solid materials is essential for technologies including batteries, electronics and chemical catalysts, but it has been hard for a simple reason: the materials are solids.
Phys.org / Beyond the algorithm, online negativity takes on a life of its own as users try to stand out
It doesn't take a scientist to figure out that social media can trend toward the negative. But it might take one to figure out why. In a new paper in PNAS, professor of psychology Joshua Conrad Jackson and colleagues show ...
Phys.org / Understanding nature's 'dimmer switch': Study sheds new light on how algae regulate photosynthesis with pH
A new joint study from Constructor University and Princeton University in the Journal of the American Chemical Society focuses on PC645, a protein complex that contributes to cryptophyte algae's ability to photosynthesize ...
Phys.org / One in four cocoa farm audits contain data manipulated to meet sustainability targets, researchers find
ETH researchers have used a sustainability program for cocoa cultivation in Côte d'Ivoire to demonstrate that, in one in four cases, data was manipulated to meet the program's requirements. If the auditor were aware of the ...
Phys.org / Soft-bodied sea slug reconfigures anatomy to simplify feeding control
Made entirely of muscle, with no rigid skeleton, muscular hydrostats like octopus arms, elephant trunks and human tongues can move in ways traditional mechanical systems cannot. Between crawling across the seafloor, picking ...