Phys.org news
Phys.org / Why do spruce take decades to reproduce? A genetic study offers some clues
New techniques have enabled researchers in Sweden to begin decoding how one of Northern Europe's most important coniferous tree species switches from growing branches to producing cones—their seed-bearing reproductive organs.
Phys.org / Three DNA loops prove essential for efficient wing tissue regeneration in fruit flies
After an injury, DNA not only changes its activity but also the way it is organized spatially within the cell nucleus. In this process, certain regions of DNA establish new physical contacts through chromatin loops that act ...
Phys.org / Improved climate forecasts alone won't protect Africa's poorest farmers
As Africa prepares for the arrival of a powerful El Niño weather event, an international team of researchers led by the University of Sydney and Imperial College London has found that access to improved forecasts alone will ...
Phys.org / RNA 'delivery tags' guide key messages to distant neuron branches
Much like a courier reading an address on a package, neurons must deliver RNA to the precise locations where it is needed. A KAIST research team has discovered how a small chemical modification on RNA acts as a "delivery ...
Phys.org / Salicornia genomes reveal genetic secrets to farming on salty land
A University of Newcastle-led global study has produced the most complete genetic picture yet of a salt-loving plant with the potential to help grow food in some of the world's harshest environments.
Phys.org / Luminescence dating pushes age of South Dakota's Mammoth Site back by more than 100,000 years
Deep within an ancient sinkhole lie the remains of dozens of mammoths, prehistoric wanderers who waded into the warm springs to their deaths. These deaths had long been accepted as having occurred roughly 26,000 years ago, ...
Phys.org / Gravitational-wave analysis narrows the search for black hole impostors
Black holes are regions of spacetime where gravity is so strong that nothing, not even light, can escape. When two black holes orbit each other and merge, they produce gravitational waves (i.e., ripples in spacetime) that ...
Phys.org / Researchers pinpoint key early-universe measurement with record precision
An international team, including researchers from the University of Minnesota Twin Cities, has reached a major milestone in "precision cosmology" by measuring the amount of helium created in the universe's first five minutes ...
Phys.org / A 1,000-fold longer charge lifetime helps organic catalyst produce solar hydrogen faster
Researchers from the Ningbo Institute of Materials Technology and Engineering (NIMTE) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), in collaboration with researchers from the Technical Institute of Physics and Chemistry of CAS, ...
Phys.org / AI helps microscopes find the most informative nanoscale features in a sample
Researchers at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) have developed an artificial intelligence framework that helps researchers use atomic force microscopes to identify important nanoscale features ...
Phys.org / AI automates 3D membrane mapping, matching manual results in a fraction of time
Cell membranes and the proteins within them control many vital processes and play a key role in health and disease. But studying them in 3D images of cells has so far meant slow, manual work. A team from Helmholtz Munich, ...
Phys.org / Southern Ocean may flip from carbon sink to carbon source under mitigation scenarios
Plans to limit the global temperature rise to 1.5°C above preindustrial levels depend on reaching net-zero emissions and, in many cases, actively removing carbon dioxide (CO2) from the air. While this helps limit extreme ...