Phys.org news
Phys.org / Paternal mitochondria in plants can rescue defective maternal DNA, study reveals
In most plants and animals, including humans, mitochondria are inherited exclusively, or nearly exclusively, from the mother. By contrast, paternal transmission is observed only occasionally, and the mechanisms behind this ...
Phys.org / A fanged frog long thought to be one species is revealing itself to be several
When a new species is discovered, it's tempting to imagine an adventure novel, said Chan Kin Onn of Michigan State University. "Most people have this image of an intrepid explorer braving an isolated mountain or some other ...
Phys.org / How an underground fungal map of the world's oldest, slowest-growing rainforest trees can boost Earth's resilience
The temperate rainforests of the Chilean Coast Range are home to a spectacular array of life: iridescent blue lizards, tiny wild cats called kodkods, and curly vines of waxy red bellflowers. Towering over this biodiversity ...
Phys.org / Hard-to-make diastereomers: How a cage-like allyl reagent changes the outcome
Diastereomers are structurally identical molecules that are not mirror images of each other. Diastereomers can have different biological activities, potencies or toxicities, which means they can influence biological systems, ...
Dialog / The wetland puzzle that stumped hydrology for decades—how physics and AI joined forces to predict unmeasured regions
For years, the Prairie Pothole Region has bothered me in a very specific way. On a map, it looks like a normal landscape: fields, gentle slopes, small streams. But hydrologically, it behaves like something else entirely. ...
Phys.org / Discovery of natural mechanism behind ferroptosis solves longstanding puzzle in cell biology
After more than a decade of research, scientists have discovered the natural mechanism behind a novel form of cell death called ferroptosis. The work, described in the current issue of Cell, points toward an entirely new ...
Phys.org / Intermediate phases unlock faster nanoparticle crystallization
Crystalline nanomaterials are valuable because their highly ordered structures give them useful properties for technologies such as data storage and optical devices. But forming nanoparticles from those orderly crystals is ...
Phys.org / From hyperbolic in-plane anisotropy to an optical chirality: A new route to nanoscale circular polarizers
In recent years, van der Waals crystals have evolved from scientific curiosities into a versatile platform for exploring novel quantum phases and unconventional nanophotonic phenomena. Their layered nature allows stacking, ...
Phys.org / BaSi₂-supported nickel catalyst boosts low-temperature hydrogen production
A new catalyst strategy developed at Institute of Science Tokyo uses BaSi2 as a support for nickel and cobalt to decompose ammonia at lower temperatures. By forming unique ternary transition metal–nitrogen–barium intermediates ...
Phys.org / Late scientist's notebooks help finish study of rare 55-million-year-old tarpon fossil
Recently-revealed notebooks belonging to a late paleontologist contain the missing information needed to help researchers finish their study of a remarkable fossil discovered nearly three decades ago.
Phys.org / Tiny flows, big insights: Microfluidics system boosts super-resolution microscopy
Understanding how cells are organized and how their molecular components interact in a coordinated and cooperative manner is a central goal of modern life sciences. To answer these questions, researchers need to observe many ...
Phys.org / Wildlife imaging shows that AI models aren't as smart as we think
Using AI to identify wildlife reveals a potential "transferability crisis," researchers say. Marketing for AI imaging systems often suggests that models can easily tackle novel scenarios across ecosystems and settings, much ...