Phys.org news
Phys.org / Pacific cloud brightening could weaken El Nino, but models reveal risks for Europe and Asia
A brewing "super" El Nino cycle is poised to unleash heat waves, floods and drought worldwide, with the effects amplified by long-term human-caused climate change.
Phys.org / A new genetic tool helps researchers uncover the logic of gene regulation
The human genome contains more than 20,000 genes. However, at any given time and in a given cell, only a fraction are active. Researchers from EMBL Heidelberg's Krebs Group have developed an innovative experimental approach ...
Phys.org / Laying odds on the potential for Martian water near future landing zones
We know Mars has water ice in its polar regions, but astronauts (and their solar-powered equipment!) would much rather experience life closer to Mars' equator. As NASA looks toward landing humans on the red planet, the Planetary ...
Phys.org / Moonquakes could reveal ice buried beneath lunar south polar craters
Finding water on the moon may only be a matter of detecting the right vibrations.
Phys.org / Newly discovered mechanism protects DNA during cell division
Every time a cell divides, it must accurately copy and distribute its DNA between two new cells. However, in some cases, chromosomes do not fully separate, leaving behind thin strands of DNA known as DNA bridges that connect ...
Phys.org / Homing in on the X-ray sky with eROSITA's second data release
The German eROSITA consortium (eROSITA-DE), which includes the University of Bonn and is led by the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics (MPE), has released its second major public data set, the "eROSITA Data ...
Phys.org / Lichen-like life 600 million years ago may push back origins of fungal-algal partnerships
Two organisms inhabiting a common environment can sometimes mutually influence each other, either benefiting or, in some cases, damaging one another. This mutually beneficial or ambivalent biological relationship is known ...
Phys.org / Diego Rivera claimed his mural Creation was half wax, but chemical forensics says otherwise
Adorning the walls of San Ildefonso College in Mexico City is artist Diego Rivera's masterpiece, rendered in fresco and gold leaf, The Creation, or La Creacioń. It depicts a man standing with his arms outstretched beneath ...
Phys.org / Ancient Rome's food shortages were shaped more by logistics than climate
Ancient Rome's greatest threat to food security wasn't the weather but the challenge of getting grain to the capital, according to a new study. By comparing hundreds of years of historical records with reconstructions of ...
Phys.org / New photonic platform offers a four-lane highway for light
Topological photonics can force propagating light to travel in a single direction—allowing researchers to route optical signals around corners and past defects without any of it scattering backward. So far, however, this ...
Phys.org / Less-explored form of quantum code could be more powerful—and more stable—than its alternative in error correction
In mathematics and getting dressed, some processes are commutative, while others are noncommutative. Commutative means the order doesn't matter (3 + 2 is the same as 2 + 3, and it doesn't matter which sock goes on first). ...
Phys.org / Two independent studies push semiconductor qubits towards practical scales
Semiconductor spin qubits are one of the most promising building blocks for future quantum computers, but turning them into a working, large-scale quantum computer has so far proven difficult. For now, two big questions remain ...
