Phys.org news
Phys.org / Data reveal a significant acceleration of global warming since 2015
Global warming has accelerated since 2015, according to a new study by the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK). After accounting for known natural influences on global temperature, the research team detected ...
Phys.org / A new 'molecular switch' for inborn immunity identified
Innate immune sensors—known as pattern recognition receptors (PRRs)—detect specific molecular components of bacterial or viral intruders. The PRRs forward the signals which results in the production of interferons, which ...
Phys.org / The 'Great Texas Freeze' killed thousands of purple martins: Biologists worry recovery could take decades
Thousands of birds, including beloved purple martins, died in "The Great Texas Freeze" of 2021. A study published in Nature Ecology & Evolution led by biologists at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, reveals not only ...
Phys.org / Light-guided 'optovolution' evolves proteins that switch states on schedule
EPFL researchers have developed a light-based method that can produce proteins that switch states, respond to signals, and even compute, using light and the cell cycle.
Phys.org / Recreating the forms and sounds of historical musical instruments
What if there were a way to create accurate replicas of ancient and historical instruments that could be played and heard?In late 2024, senior MIT postdoc Benjamin Sabatini wrote MIT Professor Eran Egozy to ask just that, ...
Phys.org / Carbon emissions now more than double the planetary boundary, analysis finds
Earth is not infinite. Pollution beyond certain levels threatens the climate and ecosystems. To prevent this, scientists have proposed planetary boundaries, defining the safe operating limits of the Earth system. A KAIST ...
Phys.org / Meet 'Tous'—an entirely new genus of mammal
Mammals are not especially diverse. Roughly 6,800 mammal species are known to exist, compared with about 8,800 species of amphibian, 11,000 species of bird and 12,500 of reptile. Yet when most people picture biodiversity, ...
Phys.org / X-raying rocks reveals their carbon-storing capacity
To avoid the worst effects of climate change, many billions of metric tons of industrially generated carbon dioxide will have to be captured and stored away by the end of this century. One place to store such an enormous ...
Phys.org / Researchers create a never-before-seen molecule and prove its exotic nature with quantum computing
An international team of scientists from IBM, The University of Manchester, Oxford University, ETH Zurich, EPFL and the University of Regensburg have created and characterized a molecule unlike any previously known—one ...
Phys.org / Toward practical laser-driven light sails using photonic crystals
Most space missions rely on chemical rockets for propulsion. Rockets must carry fuel, which increases spacecraft mass and limits their speed and travel distance. For decades, researchers have explored light sails as an alternative. ...
Phys.org / Missing technosignatures? Turbulent plasma may blur ultra-narrow signals before they leave their home star systems
A new study by researchers at the SETI Institute suggests that stellar "space weather" could make radio signals from extraterrestrial intelligence harder to detect. Stellar activity and plasma turbulence near a transmitting ...
Phys.org / Engineers improve infrared devices using century-old materials
After decades of intense research, surprises in the realm of semiconductors—materials used in microchips to control electrical currents—are few and far between. But with a pair of published papers, materials engineers ...
