Phys.org news

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 ...

12 hours ago
Phys.org / Vast botanical data help solve Darwin's puzzle of why some exotic plants become pests

There's a conundrum that has perplexed biologists since Charles Darwin himself. Why do some exotic species take off as invasive pests while others don't?

12 hours ago
Phys.org / Webb reveals black hole that formed before its galaxy

Which comes first, the galaxy or the black hole? We don't know, but scientists have long thought it could be the galaxy: Large stars within an existing galaxy consume their fuel and collapse to form black holes, which can ...

14 hours ago
Phys.org / Elephant declines could trigger wider ecosystem losses in African savannas, 15-year test shows

For decades, ecologists have theorized that the extinction of one important species could set off a chain reaction of losses throughout an ecosystem. Now, new research offers some of the clearest real-world evidence that ...

13 hours ago
Phys.org / Orangutans breastfeed for six and a half years, the longest among mammals

Orangutans have one of the slowest life histories among mammals, and a new study now shows just how long orangutan mothers continue to breastfeed their offspring. An international team has demonstrated that wild orangutan ...

15 hours ago
Phys.org / Rare male red pipefish carrying eggs on its trunk spotted in Sydney

The red pipefish (Notiocampus ruber) is a rare relative of seahorses and seadragons found only in Australia.

14 hours ago
Phys.org / Last-of-its-kind tree clinging to cliffside finds new hope at botanic gardens

Conservationists are in a race against time to prevent one of the world's rarest island plants from disappearing forever, after seeds collected from the only surviving wild Dendroseris neriifolia tree arrived at the Millennium ...

20 hours ago
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 ...

14 hours ago
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 ...

15 hours ago
Phys.org / 'Bio-stickers' speed up plastic breakdown in marine environments

Plastic waste poses an urgent problem for the planet's ecosystems, especially in waterways. Millions of tons of plastic waste enter Earth's oceans every year, and plastic has been found in every part of the ocean, including ...

16 hours ago
Phys.org / A climate fix with a hidden catch: Cutting methane reshapes ozone layer's comeback in unexpected ways

Reducing methane emissions will slow climate change but could also slow the recovery of the stratospheric ozone layer, new research from the University of Reading shows.

17 hours ago
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.

16 hours ago