Phys.org news
Phys.org / New sensing method expands label-free particle detection beyond sensor surfaces
Finding a single cancer cell in a tube of blood is a bit like finding a needle in a haystack. As researchers seek to detect ever-smaller and rarer targets, from viruses to circulating tumor cells in blood, the demand for ...
Phys.org / Where does Earth's nitrogen go? Two atoms offer a clue
Nitrogen is one of life's building blocks, but it's only helpful in the right amounts. Too much nitrogen in water, for example, can lead to poor water quality and the gradual death of aquatic organisms. Microbes remove nitrogen ...
Phys.org / 'Molecular movie' finally reveals how penicillin is made
Researchers from the University of Oxford and international collaborators have revealed previously unseen rapid chemical stages in the formation of β-lactam antibiotics like penicillin, offering insights that can support ...
Phys.org / How plant enzymes learned to tell mirror-image molecules apart
Many naturally occurring molecules such as menthol or limonene exist in two mirror-image forms, known as enantiomers, that look almost identical but can differ greatly in smell, taste or effect on the body.
Phys.org / 'Mix-and-match' material's properties can be tuned by changing its metallic 'recipe'
Scientists have created a new family of materials whose behavior can be tuned by changing their metallic "recipe"—opening new possibilities for uses including gas storage and sensing.
Phys.org / Global wildfires decreased during the COVID-19 lockdown, but some fires intensified without human intervention
When the COVID-19 pandemic brought human activity to a standstill around the world in the first half of 2020, wildfire incidents also declined by more than 12%. A new study published in Cell Reports Sustainability reveals ...
Phys.org / Rare traces of wooden tools reveal Neanderthals were skilled woodworkers
There is even more evidence that Neanderthals were far from the simple cave dwellers we once thought them to be. The discovery of a clublike artifact and other wooden tools from an archaeological site near Barcelona, Spain, ...
Phys.org / Liquid-crystal-like magnetism explains puzzling properties in a rare-earth compound
In some materials, physical properties don't emerge from their individual particles, but from the collective behavior of their quantum spins. Now, researchers led by Pengcheng Dai at Rice University in the U.S. have discovered ...
Phys.org / One ancient swimming mammal fossil and two evolutionary surprises, including a third set of teeth
What may have looked like a cross between a platypus and a beaverlike rodent and lived around 120 million years ago? Dongoconodon platycauda, a newly discovered fossil mammal from northeastern China. Beyond its unusual features, ...
Phys.org / Chance Instagram sighting leads to discovery of rare giant water lily in Colombia
A new paper published in the journal Phytotaxa describes a new species in the genus Victoria, the Colombian giant water lily (Victoria colombiana). With only three other known species in the genus, V. colombiana joins the ...
Phys.org / What pig hearts and a little noise can teach us about designing better soft valves
Some of the best engineers and inventors are copycats. They look at how the natural world solves complex problems and use those mechanisms as the basis for innovations. But Mother Nature doesn't always give up her secrets ...
Phys.org / Electronic stripes linked to unusual vortex states in a superconductor
Superconductors, materials that can carry electric current with an electrical resistance of zero, have proved to be promising for the development of various technologies, including medical devices, particle accelerators and ...
