Phys.org news
Phys.org / Why dirty farm plastic matters: Cleaner mulch film could cut landfill waste and fossil fuel use
Nearly a billion pounds of plastic film mulch is used in American agriculture each year, and most of it is dumped into landfills. New research from Washington State University shows that recycling could be a feasible alternative, ...
Phys.org / Ancient oceans began suffocating millions of years before Triassic mass extinction, geologists discover
One of the most devastating extinctions in Earth's history is best known for what didn't die—dinosaurs. But the end-Triassic extinction 201 million years ago wiped out roughly 60% of Earth's species, and scientists are still ...
Phys.org / Textile wastewater treatment generates alarmingly high levels of toxic compounds, study reveals
Textile wastewater treatment practices inadvertently produce toxic byproducts—including chloroform and bromoform—at alarming levels that pose a clear occupational health hazard and lead to unknown environmental effects downstream, ...
Phys.org / Enzymes that assemble into droplets can speed up cellular reactions, biologists find
Within the past decade, biologists have discovered that one strategy cells use to keep their contents organized is a phenomenon known as phase separation. Similar to the way oil forms droplets that float in a vinegar solution, ...
Phys.org / RNA 'cut-and-patch' tool repairs faulty messages without altering DNA
A research team from the School of Biomedical Sciences at the LKS Faculty of Medicine, the University of Hong Kong (HKUMed), has achieved a significant advance in biotechnology that could revolutionize treatment strategies ...
Phys.org / Fast-moving droplets synthesize key drug compounds at room temperature, no catalysts needed
Chemical reactions are the backbone to nearly all biological processes, including those used to make new medicines. However, these reactions can often take considerable time and require harsh conditions or materials—potentially ...
Phys.org / Ancient land plant reveals the evolution of a 400‑million‑year‑old UV‑B protection system
Sunlight provides the energy necessary for photosynthesis and growth, but it also exposes plants to harmful ultraviolet-B (UV-B) radiation. Plants must therefore strike a delicate balance between growth and protection. By ...
Phys.org / Eight metabolic niches reveal how ocean microbes recycle carbon worldwide
The ocean is full of invisible workers. Trillions of microbes quietly break down carbon-containing organic matter, which helps to regulate Earth's climate. But scientists have long struggled to understand how different microbes ...
Phys.org / Researchers discover how to turn one germ's drug resistance into an Achilles' heel
Decades of reliance on the antibiotic rifampicin have fueled the rise of drug-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb). But as the bacterium mutates to protect itself from the drug, it also creates new weak points that ...
Phys.org / Better math discriminates exotic from classical materials
The planar Hall effect is a tabletop diagnostic tool for special quantum properties useful in basic research and technological applications. Or so it was thought, because careful calculation by Kobe University researchers ...
Phys.org / Low-cost method uncovers conical intersections that steer light-driven molecular reactions
Conical intersections are crucial molecular switching points in light-driven reactions, but accurately predicting them usually requires computations. A researcher from Shibaura Institute of Technology has developed a new ...
Phys.org / Space station dust maps slash climate uncertainty over iron-rich particles
New research from a team of scientists led by Cornell is transforming how researchers understand one of the atmosphere's most abundant and least understood constituents: mineral dust.
