Phys.org news
Phys.org / Heat-stable enzyme from deep-sea microbe turns nitrogen gas into ammonia
Microorganisms can do remarkable things—for example, nitrogen fixation, the conversion of nitrogen gas (N₂) into a form that organisms can use. Although nitrogen gas makes up around 78% of Earth's atmosphere, plants and animals ...
Phys.org / Greenhouse gas benefits of agricultural irrigation far outweigh emissions costs, study finds
Irrigating U.S. crops prevents higher greenhouse gas emissions by avoiding land conversion, new research by Colorado State University shows. Agricultural irrigation allows the United States to grow more food on less land. ...
Phys.org / Responsibilities in close social relationships explain Eastern–Western cultural differences
Do you think that a person who reorganizes their life so that their aging parents can live with them would be likely to push another out of the way on the subway? What about greeting strangers with a smile? The answers to ...
Phys.org / Laser altimeter BELA ready to explore Mercury's surface
Launched on Oct. 20, 2018, the joint ESA/JAXA BepiColombo mission has traveled for almost eight years, using a carefully planned but eventful sequence of planetary flybys and solar-electric propulsion to gradually approach ...
Phys.org / Weather forecasts are significantly less accurate in poorer countries, analysis finds
Weather forecasts inform countless everyday decisions—from farmers deciding when to sow crops and energy companies anticipating demand to public authorities preparing for heat waves. But how useful those forecasts are depends ...
Phys.org / Marine bacteria team up to break down one of the ocean's toughest carbon-storing molecules
Deep in the ocean, brown algae and diatoms produce a complex carbohydrate molecule called fucoidan, which helps form their protective outer layers. The fucoidan molecule is very difficult for microbes to break down because ...
Phys.org / Record-breaking levels of plastic found in seabirds, with almost 900 pieces found in one bird alone
For more than a decade, it was thought that the world's most plastic-polluted birds couldn't get any more contaminated by the man-made material. But then, from 2023–2026, the record was broken every single year.
Phys.org / How a pathogen turns flowers into leaves
Scientists have found how a protein produced by bacteria disrupts the mechanism that controls flower development in plants, turning reproductive organs into leaf-like structures. These findings shed light on a plant disease ...
Phys.org / Robots and AI uncover unexpected pathway in classic 135-year-old chemical reaction
Chemical reactions are often written as simple equations: Starting materials go in, and a product comes out. In reality, the same substrates can follow many different pathways depending on their concentrations, temperature, ...
Phys.org / Plans to artificially dim the sun have divided scientists—here's what they're actually arguing about
No, President Joe Biden did not engineer Hurricane Milton. No, the ice crystal contrails left behind by high-altitude aircraft are not "chemtrails" sprayed by governments to control the weather or manipulate populations. ...
Phys.org / Why most rivers don't respond to storms the same way twice
The same amount of rain falling on the same landscape at different times can send very different amounts of water into its rivers, according to a new study in Nature Water. The research offers a global picture of how catchments ...
Phys.org / Scientists create 'super ice' that is ten times stronger and far harder to shatter
Ice is cheap, abundant and surprisingly strong. But it has one major weakness: Cracks can race through it, causing it to shatter without warning. Now, scientists have developed a new material that could overcome that problem. ...
