Phys.org news
Phys.org / Psychologist wins Ig Nobel for proving rich drivers are the worst
Paul K. Piff, UC Irvine associate professor of psychology, has officially been recognized for what millions of frustrated commuters have long suspected: The fancier the car, the worse the driver.
Phys.org / A fake spider at the tip of this snake's tail helps it lure birds: Scientists get their first look inside it
Lots of animals use mimicry to survive. Some copy the appearance of threatening predators, and others have evolved to resemble plants or rocks so they can blend into the background and avoid being attacked. But a viper from ...
Phys.org / Ultra-cold quantum sensors cut X-ray uncertainty, improving nuclear material assessments
To monitor the amount and type of nuclear material at power plants and weapons facilities, scientists look for a special signal—the unique pattern of gamma rays emitted by specific radioactive elements. However, some of these ...
Phys.org / Chinese cave traces Denisovan hunting and adaptation across 120,000 years
An ancient cave in southwestern China has revealed new evidence about how Denisovans—an ancient human relative—lived, survived and adapted over more than 100,000 years.
Phys.org / Tightly guided atoms could enable low-power quantum navigation when GPS fails
Within tiny halos of light clinging to a vanishingly thin wisp of optical fiber, scientist Jongmin Lee guides atoms like marbles through a narrow pipe. Rock the fiber and the atoms shift side by side; they just don't fall ...
Phys.org / Cell wall transport disruption exposes weakness in antibiotic-resistant bacteria
Even highly antibiotic-resistant bacteria become more vulnerable when their cell wall transport system is disrupted, according to a new study from Umeå University. The discovery reveals a previously overlooked weakness that ...
Phys.org / An unusual bacterium that penetrates and lives inside human cells may offer a new drug target
Research underway in the lab of Rebecca Alexander, a professor in Wake Forest University's Department of Chemistry, is shedding light on an unusual human bacterium, Mycoplasma penetrans. Alexander's work to understand how ...
Phys.org / Ultrathin silicon structures can tune mid-IR light in billionths of a second
Light in the mid-infrared (mid-IR) portion of the electromagnetic spectrum plays a key role in modern sensing. Because molecules interact with this kind of light in specific ways, researchers use technologies like mid-IR ...
Phys.org / 'CRISPR-Combo' system speeds regeneration of hard-to-breed perennial crops
Editing a plant's genes is only half the battle. Before a new, improved trait can ever reach a farmer's field, scientists must be able to grow a whole plant from just a few edited cells—a process that can be slow, unreliable ...
Phys.org / Unveiling how nanoparticles create iridescence in ancient ceramics
Scientists led by the Universitat Politècnica de Barcelona and the ESRF, the European Synchrotron, have revealed the chemical reactions in nanoparticles that created a unique, shimmering effect in the painting on ninth-century ...
Phys.org / 'White graphene' reshaped at the atomic scale with tailor-made nanopores
A research team at the University of Vienna led by physicist Jani Kotakoski demonstrates how the shape of nanopores in hexagonal boron nitride—the electrically insulating counterpart to graphene, also known as "white graphene"—can ...
Phys.org / Himalayan glacial lakes are growing—and so is the downstream flood risk
Dozens of glacial lakes have formed across northern India in the last three decades, while existing lakes have expanded rapidly, highlighting the need to monitor a landscape reshaped by climate change.
