Phys.org news

Astronomers at Lund University in Sweden have found evidence of exocomets—comets in other solar systems—orbiting a young star similar to our sun. The observations point to a possible mechanism for how water might be transported ...

High above Earth, thin veils of metallic haze drift through the edge of space. Known as sporadic E layers, these high-altitude "clouds" form from the vaporized dust of burned-up meteors, earning their name from the unpredictable ...

Imagine a construction site where the bricks are individual molecules and the "cranes" are microscopic needles so sharp they can feel a single atom. For decades, building at this scale was a laborious, time-consuming task ...

As proteins are made in a cell, they are folded into the 3D structure that allows them to work, but sometimes this process can go wrong. When it does, the misfolded proteins lose some or all of their function and usually ...

Cultivated meat aims to produce meat from animal cells in the laboratory without needing to raise a living animal for meat production. It has been proposed as a potentially more sustainable alternative to conventional meat ...

Is a kiss just a kiss? Or is it a sign of love, affection, a biological urge, a contract or even an assault? Law, history, evolution and anthropology show that it can be all those things.

The United Nations considers well-developed and safe roads an important part of infrastructure in its Sustainable Development Goals. Until now, however, there has been no benchmark for the condition and state of road networks ...

A new study published in the journal Nature reveals that conifers planted outside their native range in the Southern Hemisphere not only grow up to four times faster than those in the Northern Hemisphere but also show greater ...

Global temperature rise is set to cross 1.5°C, likely within the next few years, pushing climate risks and impacts to increasingly dangerous heights. But it is still possible to bring temperatures down and achieve the global ...

Scientists believed there were only two species of hornerid bryozoans in Aotearoa New Zealand, but new research shows several more have been secretly evolving and thriving in the nation's southern waters.

A new study led by Francesca Storici, a professor in the School of Biological Sciences and faculty member of the Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience, has uncovered an unexpected feature of human DNA ...

The brain cells you see in the above image help an African fish decode electric signals to spot prey, scan its murky surroundings and communicate with its fellows. By rigorously mapping how these cells in the electrosensory ...