Phys.org news
Phys.org / Temperature affects the quality of male frogs' mating calls: Females can hear the difference
A study from the University of California, Davis, found that temperature affects the sound and quality of male frogs' mating calls. In the colder, early weeks of spring, their songs start off sluggishly. In warmer weather, ...
Phys.org / New perspectives on how physical instabilities drive embryonic development
Multicellularity is one of the most profound phenomena in biology, and relies on the ability of a single cell to reorganize itself into a complex organism. It underpins the diversity in the animal kingdom, from insects to ...
Phys.org / Drones with low-cost air quality sensors can improve air quality monitoring
A drone equipped with low-cost air quality sensors has revealed unexpectedly high concentrations of particulate matter at around 100 meters above ground level in Delhi. These new vertical insights could play an important ...
Phys.org / A DNA 'on-off' switch? Light and redox cues reversibly link strands for nanotech
DNA, the blueprint of life, is best known for its fundamental role as genetic material—storing and transmitting biological information through the precise sequence of its bases. For decades, this information-storage function ...
Phys.org / How plants balance woody xylem and fleshy tissues: Thermospermine targets methylated ribosomes
Scientists have identified a crucial mechanism that allows plants to shape their vascular systems, determining whether they grow soft edible storage organs or develop the rigid woody tissue characteristic of trees. Published ...
Phys.org / Predator stress makes road salt far deadlier for freshwater snails, study finds
Freshwater streams, ponds and lakes across the United States are becoming saltier, and new research from the University of Missouri shows the damage may be greater than scientists once thought. Scientists at Mizzou's College ...
Phys.org / Bio-based coating reveals harmful UV exposure by shifting color
Researchers at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) have developed a coating using proteins and bacteria that could enable the development of T-shirts that warn of excessive sun exposure or labels that reveal damage to ...
Phys.org / Captured on camera for the first time: How tiny marsupials crawl to their mother's pouch
For the first time, scientists have recorded how baby dunnarts, tiny carnivorous marsupials from Australia, reach their mother's pouch not long after being born. While much is known about how many other marsupial babies go ...
Phys.org / Only humans have chins: Study shows it's an evolutionary accident
Dashiell Hammett mentioned Sam Spade's jutting chin in the opening sentence of his novel, "The Maltese Falcon." Spade's chin was among the facial features Hammett used to describe his fictional detective's appearance, but ...
Phys.org / New experiments suggest Earth's core contains up to 45 oceans' worth of hydrogen
Scientists have long known that Earth's core is mostly made of iron, but the density is not high enough for it to be pure iron, meaning lighter elements exist in the core, as well. In particular, it's suspected to be a major ...
Phys.org / Electronic friction can be tuned and switched off
Researchers in China have isolated the effects of electronic friction, showing for the first time how the subtle drag force it imparts at sliding interfaces can be controlled. They demonstrate that it can be tuned by applying ...
Phys.org / How a tiny shrimp could hold the clue to better armor
Modern armor systems do not do a good enough job of protecting humans from blast-induced neurotrauma (brain and eye damage). To improve them, we may have to look to nature. In particular, a tiny shrimp that is able to protect ...
