Phys.org news
Phys.org / Dinosaur snacked on seaweed washed up on North American coasts, fossil teeth suggest
Storms routinely wash marine material ashore, providing food for land animals and other organisms. This is known as marine subsidization (MS). Today, MS is particularly common in coastal ecosystems and is especially important ...
Phys.org / Astronomers link mysterious cosmic flashes to collisions of dead stars
For decades, astronomers have identified collisions between two neutron stars through bursts of gamma rays that can disappear in less than two seconds. But some of these violent encounters may also reveal themselves through ...
Phys.org / Zinc oxide quantum dots enable faster charge detection, laying groundwork for spin qubits
Researchers at Tohoku University, in collaboration with the National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS) and the University of Tokyo, have taken an important step toward semiconductor quantum computing using zinc oxide ...
Phys.org / Unlocking the cell's supply chain: How cholesterol keeps cellular recycling centers running
Mention cholesterol, and most people will think of clogged arteries or health warnings. But inside the microscopic universe of the human cell, cholesterol has a drastically different job description as an indispensable cellular ...
Phys.org / The north pole of Mars is less dusty than scientists thought
Although Mars may have once resembled Earth, the rocky red planet now appears far from hospitable. Still, certain details—such as ice-bound water—pique researchers' curiosity. As on Earth, ice on Mars contains valuable records ...
Phys.org / NASA satellite can monitor most of world's irrigation canals, study finds
Irrigation canals form a sort of circulatory system for global agriculture. Across the world, millions of kilometers of human-made canals carry water from lakes, rivers and reservoirs downhill to farmland. Canals are vitally ...
Phys.org / Crystal spacing predicts magnetic states in complex alloys better than electron count
In materials chemistry, identifying common parameters that can organize magnetic ground states across complex intermetallic compounds remains a central challenge. Researchers have long used chemically tunable parameters to ...
Phys.org / Butterflies use optical illusions to dodge predators
A bird attacking a butterfly will often find its beak snapping at thin air. According to new research, that split-second miss isn't just bad luck. It's caused by a visual illusion from the butterfly's wings.
Phys.org / Sugar found in meteorites may have helped secure its own survival on early Earth
Is there life elsewhere, or is Earth unique in the universe? This is one of humanity's great unanswered questions. One way to approach this mystery is to investigate how life began here on Earth. Our research explores the ...
Phys.org / Some threatened species may miss out as zoos try to balance conservation efforts with competing pressures
In the largest study of its kind, researchers at Nottingham Trent University analyzed more than 7,200 species across 613 zoos in 72 countries over a 30-year period. The team compared changes in zoo animal holdings with changes ...
Phys.org / 'Molecular movie' fills in blanks of how nonenveloped viruses infect cells
Viruses come in two major flavors—not chocolate and vanilla, quips Harvard Medical School structural biologist Stephen Harrison, but those enveloped in membranes, such as herpesvirus, influenza virus, HIV and SARS-CoV-2, ...
Phys.org / Insects are essential to vertebrate life—as food, shelter and medicine
While insects provide an essential food source for many vertebrate species, they're more than just a protein-laden snack. Chimpanzees use them to sterilize wounds, and herons use them as fishing bait. Sloths rely on moths ...
