Phys.org news
Phys.org / Light-powered enzymes create valuable chiral molecules from plant-based building blocks
A pioneering research lab at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign has achieved another milestone using light-driven enzymatic reactions to convert simple biological building blocks into valuable chemicals.
Phys.org / International research team analyzes the genetic basis of ant evolution
The existence of ant colonies was a mystery even to the famous naturalist Charles Darwin. How could evolution produce workers that cannot reproduce? Darwin assumed that workers increase the reproductive success of their queen, ...
Phys.org / Good deals that are bad for the climate: Supermarket volume discounts lead to food waste
A new study reveals an unfortunate effect of supermarkets' popular "2 for 1" offers: Not only do they make us buy more, these offers also lead to food waste at home.
Phys.org / A small reaction space has a big impact on polymer chemistry
Mimicking the incredible skill of mother nature is never easy, especially when trying to match the remarkable chemical processes that take place in living organisms. Living systems, like cells, can carry out chemical reactions ...
Phys.org / Qinghai-Tibet Plateau study reveals timeline and uneven evolution of endemic flora
A team of researchers led by Prof. Wang Wei from the Institute of Botany of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (IBCAS) has revealed how unique native plant life on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (QTP) has evolved over time, shedding ...
Phys.org / Cryo-EM structures reveal how the reproductive hormone GnRH activates its receptor
In 1977, the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded to Roger Guillemin and Andrew Schally for their discovery and synthesis of gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH), a key regulator of reproductive function. Today, ...
Phys.org / Catching a jellyfish in the sky: New galaxy discovered with the James Webb Space Telescope
Using the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), astronomers from Canada and Switzerland have discovered a new galaxy, which received designation COSMOS2020-635829. The newfound object appears to undergo a ram pressure stripping ...
Phys.org / Study tightens King plot-based constraints on hypothetical fifth force
While the Standard Model (SM) describes all known fundamental particles and many of the interactions between them, it fails to explain dark matter, dark energy and the apparent asymmetry between matter and antimatter in the ...
Phys.org / Engineers turn toxic ancient tomb fungus into anti-cancer drug
Penn-led researchers have turned a deadly fungus into a potent cancer-fighting compound. After isolating a new class of molecules from Aspergillus flavus, a toxic crop fungus linked to deaths in the excavations of ancient ...
Phys.org / Lipid nanoparticles that engineer CAR T cells in vivo could unlock access for millions of autoimmune patients
Capstan Therapeutics scientists demonstrate that lipid nanoparticles can engineer CAR T cells within the body without laboratory cell manufacturing and ex vivo expansion. The method using targeted lipid nanoparticles (tLNPs) ...
Phys.org / Synthetic 'killswitch' uncovers hidden world of cellular condensates
Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics have developed a novel synthetic micropeptide termed the "killswitch" to selectively immobilize proteins within cellular condensates, unveiling crucial connections ...
Phys.org / Mysterious fast radio burst turns out to be from long-dead NASA satellite
A team of astronomers and astrophysicists affiliated with several institutions in Australia has found that a mysterious fast radio burst (FRB) detected last year originated not from a distant source, but from one circling ...
