Phys.org news
Phys.org / Carbon-based catalyst can use sunlight to degrade PFAS
An international team of scientists led by the University of Bath has developed a new catalyst—a substance that speeds up chemical reactions—that uses sunlight to break down so-called "forever chemicals" prevalent in ...
Phys.org / Will melting glaciers slow climate change? A prevailing theory is on shaky ground
For scientists who study the Southern Ocean, a long-standing silver lining in the gloomy forecast of climate change has been the theory of iron fertilization. As temperatures rise and glaciers in Antarctica melt, ice-trapped ...
Phys.org / PFOS 'forever chemical' can accumulate in bees—and their honey
A study published in the journal Environmental Science & Technology has revealed the toxic "forever chemical," PFOS, can accumulate in exposed honeybee colonies and transfer to their honey, threatening pollinator viability, ...
Phys.org / Rice gene discovery could cut fertilizer use while protecting yields
Researchers from the University of Oxford, Nanjing Agricultural University, and Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology (Chinese Academy of Sciences) have finally identified the master regulator in plants that balances ...
Phys.org / Using high-energy sparks to degrade pollutants without generating waste
A study published in the Chemical Engineering Journal proposes a new approach to environmental remediation of pharmaceutical pollutants in water flows. This approach is based on a phenomenon known as "sparks," which refers ...
Phys.org / Scientists lay out what we do and don't yet know about moths and butterflies
Should you ever find yourself playing a trivia game on the topic of moths and butterflies, here are a few facts that might help. Collectively called Lepidoptera, moths and butterflies account for nearly 10% of all animal ...
Phys.org / Laser technique can quickly check mRNA packaging in lipid nanoparticles
Messenger RNA (mRNA) technology is transforming medicine by providing our cells with genetic instructions to produce proteins that help the immune system prevent or fight a wide range of diseases, including cancer and other ...
Phys.org / Ancient mosquitoes developed a taste for early hominins, research reveals
The preference of some mosquitoes in the Anopheles leucosphyrus (Leucosphyrus) group—including those that transmit malaria—for feeding on humans may have evolved in response to the arrival of early hominins in Southeast ...
Phys.org / Tackling the global tuberculosis crisis: An emerging class of antibiotics offers hope
Researchers from the University of Sydney and the Centenary Institute have discovered how a promising class of experimental antibiotics disrupts the bacterium that causes tuberculosis (TB), paving the way for urgently needed ...
Phys.org / Birds achieve sweet success: What adaptations to high-sugar diets reveal about metabolism
Anyone who has seen a hummingbird poking her beak deep into a trumpet creeper blossom, or a honeyeater using its brush-tipped tongue to extract nectar from eucalyptus flowers, has witnessed something that, from a human perspective, ...
Phys.org / How oxygen enriched Earth's atmosphere 2.5 billion years ago
Cyanobacteria, as they still exist today, were the first organisms to carry out photosynthesis and release oxygen. Produced in primeval oceans about 2.5 billion years ago, this oxygen accumulated in Earth's atmosphere on ...
Phys.org / Wildfire smoke linked to rise in violent assaults, 11-year study finds
A new study spanning 11 years of data has revealed a clear link between wildfire smoke pollution and an increase in violent assaults in Seattle. These findings represent the first direct causal evidence that short-term exposure ...
