Phys.org news
Phys.org / How immune cells spot viral RNA fast: LGP2 helps MDA5 respond to short dsRNA
A study reveals how two proteins cooperate in a key early step of antiviral detection, as reported by researchers at Science Tokyo. Using cryo-electron microscopy and high-speed atomic force microscopy, they found that LGP2 ...
Phys.org / We may be underestimating the true carbon cost of northern wildfires
Wildfires in the northern boreal forests of Alaska, Canada, Scandinavia, and Russia may be more damaging to the climate than previously thought, a new UC Berkeley-led study suggests. That's because these fires don't just ...
Phys.org / Molecular map reveals Andes hantavirus entry protein at the nanoscale
Hantaviruses, transmitted from rodents to people, have a death rate approaching 40%. They're found around the world, and because there are no approved vaccines or treatments, they're among the pathogens of highest concern ...
Phys.org / Putting sports stats to the test: Unpredictable play helps pick a winner in soccer
A comprehensive game plan and strategic tactics are critical to winning soccer, but how much does a team's unpredictability in moving the soccer ball around the pitch matter? In a new article published in PLOS One, an international ...
Phys.org / Over 70% of global ecosystems remain unsampled for critical underground fungi
Underground, intricate networks of soil fungi underpin the functioning of terrestrial ecosystems. Yet despite their global importance, only 30% of global ecosystems have been sampled for these fungal partners. Arbuscular ...
Phys.org / Political polarization can spur CO₂ emissions and stymie climate action
In recent years, studies and media reports have blamed growing partisan hostility in the U.S. for shattered marriages, broken families, ruined holiday dinners, and increased stress. New CU Boulder research suggests it may ...
Phys.org / Neanderthal males, human females? How ancient attraction shaped the human genome
The human genome is a rich, complex record of migration, encounters, and inheritance written over thousands of millennia. Genomic research by members of Sarah Tishkoff's lab at the University of Pennsylvania are revisiting ...
Phys.org / Exceptionally preserved 551-million-year-old site suggests Avalon biota lasted longer
Researchers studying the soft-bodied Ediacaran biotas of the world generally accept that there are three distinct assemblages. The 575–560-million-year-old (Ma) Avalon Assemblage is best known from the Ediacaran of Newfoundland, ...
Phys.org / A new, useful absorption limit for ultra-thin films
Ultrathin, conductive films such as those made of graphene are widely used in modern optoelectronic devices, but it has been thought that their efficacy is fundamentally limited: they can absorb at most half of the incident ...
Phys.org / Rydberg atoms detect clear signals from a handheld radio
For the first time, a team of US researchers has used sensors containing highly excited Rydberg atoms to detect signals from an ordinary handheld radio. Through a careful approach to demodulating the incoming signals, Noah ...
Phys.org / Single-celled organism becomes multicellular via three different pathways
Some single-celled organisms are known to transition to multicellularity during their lifetimes, usually either by cloning themselves or when many similar cells come together to form a larger multicellular organism. A new ...
Phys.org / Energy loss triggers quantum thermal Hall-like effect at macroscopic scale
In many quantum materials—materials with unusual electrical and magnetic properties driven by quantum mechanical effects—electrons can organize themselves into Landau levels. Landau levels are essentially quantized energy ...
