Phys.org news
Phys.org / How a single radioactive cloud caused Fukushima particle contamination
A new study shows that a single radioactive cloud was responsible for a large share of the nuclear fallout during the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster on 11 March 2011. The work is published in the Journal of Hazardous ...
Phys.org / New quantum protocol breaks distance and speed barriers in fiber networks
Scientists at the University of Science and Technology of China have successfully deployed a multi-mode quantum relay network, achieving matter–matter entanglement over 14.5 kilometers, according to media reports.
Phys.org / The fog is alive: Droplets host bacteria that clear toxins from our air
What if fog isn't just misty air, but a living ecosystem? This question hung over cloud researcher Thi Thuong Thuong Cao. As a Ph.D. student at Arizona State University, her curiosity led her from knocking on the doors of ...
Dialog / Novel technique measures polymer degradation during cathodic overprotection
Oil and natural gas are vital constituents of our energy ecosystem that need to be transported across long distances. Although steel pipelines are the infrastructure used for this purpose, thereby serving as the lifeline ...
Phys.org / How winds above Tibet quietly replenish water for nearly 2 billion people
The "Asian Water Towers" (AWTs), a high-altitude region with a mean elevation exceeding 4,000 meters, serve as the primary freshwater source for nearly 2 billion people. While the Indian summer monsoon is well known for shaping ...
Phys.org / Scientists dispute hypothesis that climate change will unleash massive agricultural pest populations
The widespread hypothesis that climate warming will result in unprecedented agricultural pest populations and cause food insecurity worldwide is oversimplified, according to a new study by a team led by Mia Lippey, an entomologist ...
Phys.org / Old newspapers track porpoise populations across the Baltic Sea
Harbor porpoises were once found across a much wider area of the Baltic Sea than they are today, including regions where they are now rare or absent. This is shown in a new study that uses centuries-old Swedish newspapers ...
Phys.org / The shoal remembers: How signs of a collective memory shape a predator-prey arms race
Beneath the tropical trees of southern Mexico, enormous shoals of sulfur mollies blanket the water surface of toxic sulfur springs, where survival depends on collective defense against relentless attacks from predatory birds. ...
Phys.org / Swapping molecular building blocks one by one reveals how receptors tell adrenaline from dopamine
Different receptors respond to different neurotransmitters or hormones, such as adrenaline involved in the fight-or-flight response, or dopamine linked to reward and motivation. Both the receptors themselves and the substances ...
Phys.org / 'Nature's algorithm' found in Chinese money plants
Look up at the clouds. What do you see? A sailboat? A seahorse? Your great-aunt Rosemary? As humans, we're prone to seeing patterns where they don't actually exist. This behavior is so common there's a name for it: apophenia. ...
Phys.org / Scientists use AI to interpret the sun's acoustic heartbeat
A new AI-based approach that can "hear" inside the sun could give vital signs of the solar disturbances that have significant effects in near-Earth space and on human activities. The solar cycle is an approximate 11-year ...
Phys.org / Giving X-ray vision a sense of direction
Whether in tooth enamel or in nanomaterials made of silicon, the orientation of tiny internal structures often determines the properties of a material. A new X-ray method can even make this nano-order visible when the structures ...
