Phys.org news
Phys.org / Why are sloths slow? It's in their DNA
Sloths are the slowest mammals on the planet, but living in dense jungles has made them notoriously difficult to study. For the first time, scientists have now sequenced and analyzed the two-toed sloth genome and revealed ...
Phys.org / Nature's 'master painters': Study reveals how damselflies break optical barriers to create saturated colors
Scientists at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) have uncovered for the first time the "ingenious" biological strategies that allow blue-tailed damselflies to produce strikingly vivid, angle-independent colors. The ...
Phys.org / Chloroplast map reveals 'missing link' in plant growth and solar energy
For decades, science has understood the basics of photosynthesis, the process by which plants turn sunlight into food. However, photosynthesis occurs on uniquely specialized membranes that we have only begun to understand. ...
Phys.org / These underwater 'living pink rocks' help store carbon: Scientists just found four new species
Rhodoliths may look like small rocks on the seafloor, but they are actually living algae that create habitats for marine life and contribute to long-term carbon storage. A new study found that the deeper, low-light waters ...
Phys.org / MeerKAT reveals three electron acceleration sites in one solar flare
Solar flares are the most explosive energy-release events in the solar corona, leading to intense particle acceleration, plasma heating and bulk plasma motions on short timescales. Core questions during solar flares remain ...
Phys.org / Savanna chimpanzees use tools for capturing and feeding on army ants, study shows
Chimpanzees are the only great apes, apart from humans, that have adapted to living on savannas as well as in forests. However, it is not yet well understood how the harsh ecological conditions of the savanna—compared with ...
Phys.org / Hardy ice plant's optical innovation inspires reflective design possibilities
Nature is filled with remarkable visual phenomena created by microscopic surface structures that interact with light in fascinating ways. The iridescent wings of butterflies, the shimmering feathers of birds and the glossy ...
Phys.org / 'Seismic champagne effect' may explain why fires break out long after earthquakes
Following the devastating urban fire that broke out in Wajima City after Japan's 2024 Noto Peninsula earthquake, investigators struggled to identify a clear ignition source, despite widespread destruction and unusual reports ...
Phys.org / Ancient ground squirrel droppings reveal Arctic's rich evolutionary history
Ground squirrel droppings, preserved for millennia in the Yukon's deep permafrost, have yielded an enormous amount of environmental DNA from dozens of species of plants, insects, microbes and large mammals, offering detailed ...
Phys.org / Children's motivation and attitudes towards learning play a key role in academic success, study finds
A major new study led by researchers at Queen Mary University of London has revealed that noncognitive skills—such as motivation, curiosity, academic interest and self-belief—play a key role in translating children's genetic ...
Phys.org / Q&A: Combating antibiotic resistance with nanotechnology, robotics and AI
Aeron Tynes Hammack, a physicist by training and currently interim facility director of the Nanofabrication Facility at the Molecular Foundry, likes to work with nanoscale objects to better understand the world and solve ...
Phys.org / Koala population crash came before humans, genomic study reveals
A genomic study has reshaped our understanding of the evolutionary history of the koala (Phascolarctos cinereus), revealing the iconic Australian marsupial experienced a severe population decline around 100,000 years ago, ...
