Phys.org news
Phys.org / Precise polymer 'knots' uncover hidden slack for designing ultra-tough and responsive smart materials
From household plastic packaging to the flexible frameworks that support wearable electronics, polymer materials form the invisible backbone of modern life. At a microscopic level, polymers consist of long, ribbon-like molecular ...
Phys.org / Microbes turn biodiesel byproduct into three nylon building blocks, opening greener route
Nylon is a representative plastic material used throughout our daily lives, from clothing to automobiles. However, most of its raw materials have been produced through petrochemical processes, resulting in large carbon emissions. ...
Phys.org / Understanding how things connect helps people invent, 1,200-player experiment suggests
Our capacity for innovation, rather than being the work of random variation, is based on an intrinsic understanding of how the world works, claim Karolinska Institutet and Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam researchers in a new ...
Phys.org / Fifty-year protein mystery breaks open as acid-driven water loss comes into view
Proteins systematically lose their protective hydration shell when their environment becomes more acidic. Until recently, this was just a theory. State-of-the-art imaging techniques have helped researchers at Martin Luther ...
Phys.org / Atmospheric wave theory falls short in explaining rising extreme weather, study suggests
Across much of the northern hemisphere, extreme weather events like heat waves and heavy precipitation have increased in frequency and severity over the last several decades. A new study from the Harvard John A. Paulson School ...
Phys.org / How drought rewires roots, cutting iron uptake across major food crops
New research by scientists at the University of Calgary has found that plants, ranging from canola to rice to tomatoes, actively shut down their own ability to take up iron when they experience drought. It's a finding that ...
Phys.org / Living brain gene activity revealed noninvasively through programmable blood test
Cell function is determined by how DNA is expressed into proteins. That process includes two main steps—transcription, when messenger RNA (mRNA) makes copies of active genes; and translation, when mRNA guides protein assembly.
Phys.org / Cold-grown plankton shells sharpen Arctic climate reconstructions
Researchers at iC3 have found a way to improve records of past high latitude ocean change using tiny plankton shells called foraminifera. By growing these foraminifera under controlled cold-water conditions, the team has ...
Dialog / Bridged or not? Scientists uncover a key step in hydrogenase assembly
How does nature build one of the most sophisticated catalytic metal centers found in biology? An international team of researchers has now resolved a long-standing debate surrounding the assembly of the active site of [FeFe]-hydrogenases—enzymes ...
Phys.org / Low-cost workflow creates 100,000 uniform cell capsules with standard lab tools
Cells are typically studied outside the body under controlled laboratory conditions. However, conventional flat cell culture methods do not fully reproduce the complex three-dimensional environments that cells experience ...
Phys.org / Famous wildlife coexistence scheme is slipping due to frozen funding
A celebrated scheme for human-wildlife coexistence is now at risk of failing due to lack of long-term government investment, new research has found.
Phys.org / Box jellyfish reveal secret life cycle with implications for coastal safety
Box jellyfish are often feared as dangerous animals, with some species capable of causing severe or even fatal stings. However, box jellyfish nematocysts—organelles responsible for this toxic sting—are theorized to also play ...
