Phys.org news

Phys.org / Disorder creates direction-dependent optics in compound semiconductors

An international research team has demonstrated that the intrinsic disorder of the compound semiconductor CuInSnS₄ can be exploited to influence its optical properties. While the atomic vibrations also sense the local disorder, ...

8 hours ago
Phys.org / Faster tests reveal six fluoropolymer microplastics, including four rarely tracked types

Scientists around the world have been searching food, water and other environmental media for microplastics and for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). But microfluoroplastics (MFPs), the intersection between these ...

8 hours ago
Phys.org / New cellular model for rare and deadly melanomas enables study of immunotherapy resistance

A research team at the University of Turku in Finland has developed a reliable laboratory model to study BAP1-deficient melanomas, which are a rare type of melanoma that evade the immune system once they have metastasized ...

8 hours ago
Phys.org / Great Barrier Reef drilling reveals repeated collapse, regrowth and migration since last ice age

An international expedition including University of Sydney researchers has pieced together the clearest picture yet of how the Great Barrier Reef responded to dramatic environmental change over the past 30,000 years. Multiple ...

9 hours ago
Phys.org / Why nanoscale droplets don't coalesce and microscale droplets do

Olive oil and water do not naturally mix. Water molecules are polar, having a net electric dipole moment due to the bend angle of about 104.5° between the two oxygen-hydrogen bonds. Olive oil is nonpolar due to its long hydrocarbon ...

17 hours ago
Phys.org / Some boreal forest species fail to recover even 100 years after clearcutting

Boreal forests are being clear-cut faster than some of their wildlife and plant species can recover, with a few failing to return even 100 years after harvesting, according to University of Alberta-led research.

10 hours ago
Phys.org / Urban growth may slow by 2100, leaving big cities smaller than expected

The world is urbanizing fast. In 1975, about 11% of the global population lived in cities with more than 1 million inhabitants. "Today, we estimate that share to be about 24%," says Andrea Musso, junior fellow at the Complexity ...

9 hours ago
Phys.org / Deep-sea extremophile yields protein that forms super stable biofilm

Scientists discovered a protein secreted by a deep-sea extremophile—an organism adapted to extreme environmental conditions—that self-assembles into a biofilm and is highly stable, boosting its potential for biomedical applications.

9 hours ago
Phys.org / Cyclic sealing and drainage on the Gofar Oceanic Transform Fault revealed

Oceanic transform faults are strike-slip boundaries—faults that move horizontally rather than up and down and connect offset mid-ocean ridge segments. They have long been regarded as simple "conservative" plate boundaries ...

9 hours ago
Phys.org / Giant exoplanet may hold a magnetic grip on its host star

Within their planetary systems, stars are continuously shaping their orbiting planets through gravity, radiation and magnetic forces. So far, this relationship has appeared to be a one-way street.

19 hours ago
Phys.org / First ever dinosaur found in Antarctica described for science

The first dinosaur fossil found on the Antarctic continent has been described scientifically. The fossil, a vertebra, was found on a British Antarctic Survey (BAS) expedition in 1985 but has only recently been recognized ...

14 hours ago
Phys.org / Table sugar could hold a cheaper, quicker key to making vital drugs

Pioneering research has developed a new way of creating carbohydrate-based medicines that could ultimately replace costly drugs for common health conditions, using two cheap basic ingredients—table sugar and vinegar.

9 hours ago