Phys.org news
Phys.org / Southern Annular Mode in most positive state in 1,000 years, review finds
A new review has revealed that the Southern Annular Mode (SAM), the Southern Hemisphere's most influential climate driver, is now in its most positive state in more than 1,000 years. If greenhouse gas emissions continue to ...
Phys.org / Seeing physics as a mountain landscape for classification of nonlinear systems
Imagine standing on top of a mountain. From this vantage point, we can see picturesque valleys and majestic ridges below, and streams wind their way downhill. If a drop of rain falls somewhere on this terrain, gravity guides ...
Phys.org / First fertilizer: A chemical process that may have sparked life on Earth
University of Alberta geochemists have discovered a missing piece to one of the great mysteries of science—the origin of life on Earth.
Phys.org / Plant 'first responder' cells warn neighbors about bacterial pathogens
Purdue University researchers found that a subset of epidermal cells in plant leaves serves as early responders to chemical cues from bacterial pathogens and communicate this information to neighbors through a local traveling ...
Phys.org / Crickets munch on microplastics—especially if they have a big mouth
To a human, microplastics are very small at less than 5 millimeters (mm) wide. But to an insect, microplastics might be the same size as the food they usually eat. Researchers reporting in the journal Environmental Science ...
Phys.org / When Americans migrate from violent states, the risk of future violence follows them
Americans who grow up in historically violent states may move to a safer state, but they remain far more likely to die violently, according to new research co-authored at the University of California, Berkeley.
Phys.org / Rapid weather shifts govern how plants influence climate and air quality, study finds
A new study shows that during drought, it's not how hot or how dry it is that determines gas emissions from plants—but how quickly conditions change. This discovery reshapes our understanding of the relationship between ...
Phys.org / X-ray laser offers new look at protein movement inside cells
At European XFEL, researchers have observed in detail how the vital iron protein ferritin makes its way in highly dense environments—with implications for medicine and nanotechnology.
Phys.org / Ocean microplastics can drift for years or sink rapidly: Analysis reveals two distinct pathways
Publishing in the journal Environmental Science & Technology, researchers at Kyushu University report that they have developed a new method to more accurately analyze the distribution of small microplastics in the ocean at ...
Phys.org / Urban sprawl could deny 220 million people access to clean water by 2050
A new study analyzing more than 100 cities across Asia, Africa, and Latin America has quantified the stark consequences of urban sprawl on water and sanitation access, finding that how cities grow might determine whether ...
Phys.org / Newly discovered viral enzymes act like molecular scissors to disable immune alarm signals
Viruses and their hosts—whether bacteria, animals, or humans—are locked in a constant evolutionary arms race. Cells evolve defenses against viral infection, viruses evolve ways around those defenses, and the cycle continues.
Phys.org / Adjustable DNA 'shield' can control timing and rate at which mRNA produces proteins in vivo
mRNA, widely known from the COVID-19 vaccine, is not actually a "therapeutic agent," but a technology that delivers the blueprint for functional proteins in the body and induces therapeutic effects. Recently, its application ...
