Phys.org news

Phys.org / Designer enzyme enables yeast to produce custom fatty acids, reducing need for palm oil

Whether they are laundry detergents, mascara, or Christmas chocolate, many everyday products contain fatty acids from palm oil or coconut oil. However, the extraction of these raw materials is associated with massive environmental ...

10 hours ago in Biology
Phys.org / Fruit flies' embryonic stage reveals that climate adaptation begins early

As the climate changes, scientists are concerned about how well plants and animals will adapt to rapid warming. A new University of Vermont study has explored the early embryonic life stage of a globally common fruit fly, ...

10 hours ago in Biology
Phys.org / Fungal mechanism reveals how powdery mildew overcomes wheat immune defenses

Cereals have natural resistance to pathogenic fungi, but powdery mildew, for example, can overcome this resistance. A team at the University of Zurich has now discovered a new mechanism that enables powdery mildew to outsmart ...

10 hours ago in Biology
Phys.org / How E. coli exploit fluid flow and channel shape to swim upstream and cause infections

"The UN estimates that by 2050, common bacterial infections could kill more people than cancer," says Arnold Mathijssen, a biophysicist at the University of Pennsylvania who studies how active particles like bacteria move ...

10 hours ago in Biology
Phys.org / Open-source model more accurately measures greenhouse gas emissions from natural gas

McGill engineering researchers have introduced an open-source model that makes it easier for experts and non-experts alike to evaluate greenhouse gas emissions from U.S. natural gas supply chains and yields more accurate ...

11 hours ago in Earth
Phys.org / An AI-driven strategy to accelerate microbial gene function discovery

We know the genes, but not their functions—to resolve this long-standing bottleneck in microbial research, a joint research team has proposed a cutting-edge research strategy that leverages artificial intelligence (AI) ...

11 hours ago in Biology
Phys.org / Scientists reveal what drives homosexual behavior in primates

Homosexual behavior in primates has a deep evolutionary basis and is more likely to occur in species that live in harsh environments, are hunted by predators or live in more complex societies, scientists said Monday.

14 hours ago in Biology
Phys.org / Surface ceramics reveal self-sufficient rural economy in Ancient Samos

An international team of researchers has uncovered hidden clues about life in the hills of ancient southwest Samos, Greece.

12 hours ago in Other Sciences
Phys.org / A new valve for quantum matter: Steering chiral fermions by geometry alone

A collaboration between Stuart Parkin's group at the Max Planck Institute of Microstructure Physics in Halle (Saale) and Claudia Felser's group at the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Physics of Solids in Dresden has realized ...

12 hours ago in Physics
Phys.org / How hidden factors beneath Istanbul shape earthquake risk

The fault beneath Istanbul doesn't behave the way scientists once thought.

12 hours ago in Earth
Phys.org / Mars was once a 'blue planet': Ancient river deltas point to vast ocean

Using images from cameras on Mars orbiters, an international research team has discovered structures on Mars that are very similar to classic river deltas on Earth. These are traces of rivers that have deposited their sediments ...

14 hours ago in Astronomy & Space
Phys.org / How marine viruses help fuel underwater oxygen-rich zones

Newly published interdisciplinary research led by the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and University of Maryland shows that viral infection of blue-green algae in the ocean stimulates productivity in the ecosystem and ...

11 hours ago in Biology