Phys.org news
Phys.org / Fins, fingers and toes: A new take on repeating body parts and how they come to be
As biologists know, nature can take its sweet time explaining itself. Andrew Gillis, associate scientist at the Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL), has been investigating how the paired fins of fishes evolved for nearly 20 ...
Phys.org / Saturn's magnetic bubble is lopsided compared to Earth's, suggests new study
Saturn's magnetic shield is asymmetrical compared to Earth's, suggests a new study involving University College London (UCL) researchers, and this is likely a result of its fast rotation coupled with the heavy material it ...
Phys.org / Molecular system can distinguish and neutralize cancer cells, paving the way for 'smart' drugs
How can cancer cells be targeted without damaging healthy tissue? This is one of the major challenges facing oncology today. Using synthetic DNA strands, a team from the University of Geneva (UNIGE) has created a "smart" ...
Phys.org / Useful quantum computers could be built with as few as 10,000 qubits, team finds
Quantum computers of the future may be closer to reality thanks to new research from Caltech and Oratomic, a Caltech-linked start-up company. Theorists and experimentalists teamed up to develop a new approach for reducing ...
Phys.org / Helical liquid crystals can flip light's chirality under ultralow electric fields
The direction in which the electromagnetic field of circularly polarized light rotates can be easily reversed by applying a voltage, RIKEN researchers have demonstrated. This could enable a new generation of optical devices ...
Phys.org / New model shows how behavioral flexibility affects animal evolution
When the environment changes dramatically, animals from mollusks to crows can make big changes in their behavior that enable them to survive. For example, marmots and ground squirrels in California are spending more time ...
Phys.org / Hidden features in X-rays could radically change how we measure and understand them
Hidden features uncovered in X-ray signals are set to overturn a key scientific theory and fundamentally change how X-rays are interpreted across fields of physics, chemistry, biology and materials science, new research reveals. ...
Phys.org / New microporous aerogel uses van der Waals forces for flexible, moldable shaping
Porous materials are widely used for gas storage, separation, catalysis, and environmental purification. Their functionality arises from nanoscale pores that allow molecules to be selectively captured or transported. However, ...
Phys.org / Free software lets laptops simulate how aging evolves under selection
Why do some species live for only weeks while others survive for centuries? Researchers at the Leibniz Institute on Aging—Fritz Lipmann Institute (FLI) in Jena have developed AEGIS, a freely available software tool that enables ...
Phys.org / Can you trust a finding? A new project maps which studies replicate
Findings from the Systematizing Confidence in Open Research and Evidence (SCORE) program—a collaborative effort involving 865 researchers—have been published in Nature as a collection of three papers alongside a release of ...
Phys.org / Magicians' talk doesn't trick the eyes, Three-Card Monte experiment suggests
Magicians often talk while performing their acts, using a type of speech called "patter." This can include scripted dialog, storytelling, and interactions, and is often used to entertain and manage audiences, with many people—including ...
Phys.org / Accuracy test for protein language models shines light into AI 'black box'
AI language models, used to generate human-like text to power chatbots and create content, are also revolutionizing biology by treating complex biological data like a language. Language models are increasingly used, for example, ...
