Phys.org news
Phys.org / Silver vine or catnip? When cats can choose, silver vine wins
What plant do cats love most? In Europe and North America, many people would probably answer "catnip." In Japan, the answer would more likely be silver vine (matatabi in Japanese). Both plants are famous for triggering the ...
Phys.org / Quantum-scale simulations and AI uncover promising 2D perovskites for future energy tech
Researchers at Clarkson University are advancing the use of artificial intelligence and computational physics to accelerate discovery of next-generation materials for quantum technologies, optoelectronics, and renewable energy ...
Phys.org / Urban life makes animals bolder, more aggressive across 133 species, analysis finds
A global analysis has found that urban animals are bolder and more aggressive, exploratory and active than their rural counterparts. The findings are published in the Journal of Animal Ecology.
Phys.org / This German dialect leaves AI baffled, exposing a digital language blind spot
How well do language models understand Meenzerisch, the dialect spoken in the German city of Mainz? A research team led by Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) has now investigated this question for the first time. Meenzerisch ...
Phys.org / Scientists solve 200-year-old puzzle of how tobacco plants make nicotine
Scientists have uncovered how tobacco plants naturally make nicotine, solving a mystery that has puzzled researchers for nearly two centuries. The discovery, published in Nature Communications, could lead to safer production ...
Phys.org / Extreme weather events are accelerating tidal wetland loss, satellite data show
Tidal wetlands are critical, yet vulnerable ecosystems. Tidal marshes, mangrove forests, and tidal flats support biodiversity, protect against flooding and storm surges, sequester carbon, and improve water quality. Due to ...
Phys.org / Migrating charges unlock hard-to-reach C-H bond edits in organic molecules
A team at the University of Vienna, led by chemist Nuno Maulide, has developed a new method for controlling chemical reactions in a more targeted and efficient manner. At the heart of this is the concept of "cation sampling": ...
Phys.org / Field-ready tool identifies rare and zoonotic parasitic worms missed by standard tests
Parasitic nematodes (commonly known as roundworms) are a large, diverse and poorly studied group of disease-causing organisms that severely impact the health of humans and animals. They infect almost one-quarter of the global ...
Phys.org / Overlooked 'history force' may skew particle motion by up to 60% in shaken fluids
Physicists at the University of Bayreuth have investigated the so-called Basset–Boussinesq history force acting on particles in fluids. Due to the difficulty of calculating it, this force is often neglected—a fact that Bayreuth ...
Phys.org / DNA floating in seawater is now enough to let scientists monitor the health of America's dolphin populations
DNA is everywhere in the world's oceans—not only packaged inside cells from skin, scales, mucus, feces, and blood, but also floating freely. Sequencing such "environmental DNA" (eDNA) from open water has long been used as ...
Phys.org / New shell helps gold nanoparticles keep shape under laser heat longer
Gold nanoparticles, which are about one-thousandth the width of a human hair, can convert light they receive from a laser into heat. This capacity, known in medicine as photothermal therapy, is effective at destroying cancer ...
Phys.org / TriPcides target MRSA, suppress infection and kill dormant bacteria to open a new front against antibiotic resistance
In a new study, researchers show how so‑called TriPcides can target the bacterium Staphylococcus aureus, including antibiotic‑resistant strains such as MRSA. The compounds disrupt the bacteria's ability to cause infection ...
