Phys.org news

Phys.org / 'Energy efficiency' proves key to how mountain birds adapt to changing environmental conditions

Research led by the University of East Anglia (UEA) sheds new light on how mountain birds adapt to changes in climate. Scientists know that species diversity changes as you go up a mountain, but it is not clearly understood ...

6 hours ago in Biology
Phys.org / New 3D method maps Paleolithic engravings at submillimeter resolution

A team of archaeologists from the Universitat Jaume I, the University of Barcelona, and the Catalan Institution for Research and Advanced Studies (ICREA) has developed a new methodology that allows for a much more detailed, ...

7 hours ago in Other Sciences
Phys.org / Aerobic respiration began hundreds of millions of years earlier than previously thought, study suggests

Oxygen is a vital and constant presence on Earth today. But that hasn't always been the case. It wasn't until around 2.3 billion years ago that oxygen became a permanent fixture in the atmosphere, during a pivotal period ...

7 hours ago in Biology
Phys.org / The surprising power of a tiny, disordered protein in a mitochondrial supercomplex

For decades, scientists assumed that order drives efficiency. Yet in the bustling machinery of mitochondria—the organelles that crank out adenosine triphosphate (ATP), the universal "energy currency" of cells—one of the ...

7 hours ago in Biology
Phys.org / Study reveals microscopic origins of surface noise limiting diamond quantum sensors

A new theoretical study led by researchers at the University of Chicago and Argonne National Laboratory has identified the microscopic mechanisms by which diamond surfaces affect the quantum coherence of nitrogen-vacancy ...

7 hours ago in Physics
Phys.org / Watching a critical green-energy catalyst dissolve, atom by atom

Iridium oxide is one of the most important—and most problematic—materials in the global push toward clean energy. It is currently the most reliable catalyst used in the conversion of energy to chemicals by electrolysis, ...

7 hours ago in Chemistry
Phys.org / Artificial light is reshaping caracal behavior, limiting where the South African wild cat can hunt

Artificial light is one of the most ingrained features of modern life. For humans, light after dark offers convenience and a sense of safety. For wildlife, it's a growing environmental disturbance. "When humans introduce ...

7 hours ago in Biology
Phys.org / Scientists discover 'levitating' time crystals that you can hold in your hand

Time crystals, a collection of particles that "tick"—or move back and forth in repeating cycles—were first theorized and then discovered about a decade ago. While scientists have yet to create commercial or industrial ...

8 hours ago in Physics
Phys.org / Self-assembling 'bundlemers' could reshape next-generation protein-based materials

Proteins are the building blocks of life. These biomolecules comprise chains of amino acids that fold into precise shapes to perform specific jobs in nature. But these elegant structures form only under narrow pH and temperature ...

7 hours ago in Chemistry
Phys.org / When silicon fills the role of carbon: Debut of all-silicon cyclopentadienides

Carbon's unique chemical properties allow it to be an essential building block for life on Earth and many other molecules we rely on for day-to-day life—but what about carbon's neighbor? Silicon is located one row below ...

8 hours ago in Chemistry
Phys.org / Three-component catalyst boosts ammonia from nitrate electrolysis by more than 50%

A research team led by Dr. Dandan Gao from the Department of Chemistry at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) has developed a new method for the sustainable production of ammonia and formic acid. Ammonia is indispensable ...

8 hours ago in Chemistry
Phys.org / Simulation finds Grass2Gas biogas systems may reduce dairy emissions by over 20%

Implementing novel management practices in dairy farming, one of the commonwealth's major agricultural industries, could help alleviate a large source of both nutrient pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, according to ...

8 hours ago in Biology