Phys.org news
Phys.org / Chromosome model links one steady motor to shape shift needed for cell division
It's tricky to make an exact copy of yourself. Or at least it is for cells undergoing mitosis, where cells replicate everything inside of them, including their neatly packaged DNA, then split in half. Rice University professor ...
Phys.org / Are taxpayers being gaslighted by street lamp charm?
Gas streetlights might look quaint, but researchers at the University of Cincinnati say they are costly, wasteful and release toxic pollutants into the air. In two studies examining their use in Boston, Massachusetts, and ...
Phys.org / Plants hit the brakes on immunity to survive viral infections
When viruses invade a plant, you might expect an all-out immune war. But new research published in Science shows that, much like in humans, too strong an immune response can actually do more harm than good.
Phys.org / Freeze-dried reagents and hand-powered hardware bring biomanufacturing to remote labs
Researchers at the University of Toronto's Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy, working with collaborators around the world, have demonstrated the effectiveness of a suite of low-cost, portable biotechnology tools designed to ...
Phys.org / Predator-triggered orange tails may help tadpoles survive by redirecting deadly bites
Bright colors in animals are beautiful but often considered risky because they are more obvious to predators. However, conspicuous colors can also serve defensively, signaling toxicity or even luring predators away from more ...
Phys.org / Wildfire dark brown carbon has strong global warming effects, study finds
A new international study published in Nature Geoscience reveals that dark brown carbon from wildfires exerts a powerful warming effect on the global climate—potentially matching or even exceeding that of black carbon in ...
Phys.org / Megafire kills Joshua trees, but not fungi
When the Dome Fire tore through the Mojave Desert in 2020, it reduced 1 million Eastern Joshua trees to blackened skeletons. Scientists expected the underground ecosystem to be equally devastated. Instead, they found it thriving.
Phys.org / Humans reshape predator-prey rules across food webs, creating a challenging new world for wildlife
The relationship between predators and prey in the wild is underscored by an evolutionary arms race spanning millions of years, but new research has found modern human activity is reshaping the rules.
Phys.org / Forever chemical reaches fish before they even hatch, new study reveals
There is a forever chemical lurking in the world's oceans that could be fundamentally altering the biology of marine life before it even hatches. PFOS, a notorious member of the PFAS family of chemicals, is known for its ...
Phys.org / Green stones buried with Panama's ancient chiefs confirmed as Colombian emeralds
More than 1,000 years ago, Panama elites were buried together with translucent green stones long suspected to be emeralds. However, scientific analysis confirming the suspicion has never been conducted. Now, scientists have ...
Phys.org / Bare supercontinent may have tipped ancient Earth into 'Snowball' phase
About a billion years ago, Earth started to come into its own. It was past the awkwardness of its younger years full of growing pains and turmoil: comet strikes and slimy water, including the Great Oxidation Event that flipped ...
Phys.org / How bean plants call on wasps for help when hungry caterpillars attack
Some plants are not the sitting ducks they appear to be when they come under attack. If a hungry caterpillar starts to chomp on the succulent leaves of a common bean plant, a highly sophisticated defense system kicks into ...
