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 ...

12 hours ago in Biology
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 ...

12 hours ago in Biology
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 ...

14 hours ago in Biology
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, ...

12 hours ago in Chemistry
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. ...

13 hours ago in Earth
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 ...

13 hours ago in Biology
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 ...

12 hours ago in Nanotechnology
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, ...

12 hours ago in Nanotechnology
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 ...

13 hours ago in Chemistry
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.

13 hours ago in Biology
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 ...

13 hours ago in Nanotechnology
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 ...

16 hours ago in Biology