Phys.org news
Phys.org / AI-guided enzyme discovery enables 98.6% breakdown of polyurethane foam in hours
As the use of AI spreads through every industry and becomes more of a part of our lives every day, researchers are also looking into ways it can be used to solve some of the world's biggest problems. One of these problems ...
Phys.org / Global study reveals soaring freshwater demand in material production
An international research team has published a study unveiling the hidden water footprint of materials such as steel, cement, paper, plastics, and rubber. The findings highlight alarming growth in freshwater consumption tied ...
Phys.org / Automated chloroplast screening platform speeds up crop trait development
Chloroplasts—the "light power plants" of plant cells—are increasingly the focus of synthetic biology. These organelles house the photosynthetic apparatus and host several metabolic pathways that are of great interest ...
Phys.org / Large brains require warm bodies and big offspring in vertebrates, study finds
Vertebrates have extremely different brain sizes: even with the same body size, brain size can vary a hundredfold. As a rule, mammals and birds have the largest brains in relation to their body size, followed by sharks and ...
Phys.org / Soft gel advance enables lab-grown slow-twitch muscles
A team of researchers from the National Institutes for Quantum Science and Technology (QST) and Tokyo Metropolitan University has developed a biomaterial that could change how we treat muscle degeneration and metabolic disorders.
Phys.org / Dark matter does not defy gravity, study suggests
Does dark matter follow the same laws as ordinary matter? The mystery of this invisible and hypothetical component of our universe—which neither emits nor reflects light—remains unsolved. A team involving members from ...
Phys.org / When speaking out feels risky: New study maps hidden dynamics of self-censorship
In an era when social media blurs the line between public and private speech, how do people decide whether to speak their minds or stay silent?
Phys.org / Scientists create new bullet-proof fiber that is stronger and thinner than Kevlar
Kevlar has met its match. For decades, it has been the gold standard for impact protection, from bulletproof vests to armored vehicles, and is still widely used. But scientists have now developed a new composite material ...
Phys.org / Bacterial enzyme structure reveals new path for renewable plastic
Current demand for plastics and chemical raw materials is met through large-scale production of ethylene from fossil fuels. This makes it necessary to search for new, renewable processes. Using bacterial enzymes as catalysts ...
Phys.org / Tissue 'tipping points': How cells collectively switch from healthy to disease states
Cells convert mechanical forces into signals that influence physiological processes, such as exercise strengthening bones. A research team at Washington University in St. Louis and Tsinghua University in Beijing have discovered ...
Phys.org / Powerful tool can map gene regulation at single-nucleotide resolution
Understanding how cells turn genes on and off is one of biology's most enduring mysteries. Now, a new technology developed by chemist Brian Liau and his collaborators at Harvard offers an unprecedented window into this activity, ...
Phys.org / Brains and stock markets follow the same rules in crisis, study finds
What do brains and the stock market have in common? While this might sound like a set-up for a joke, new research from U-M researchers reveals that the behaviors of brains and economies during crises can be explained using ...
