Phys.org news

Phys.org / The far side of the moon provides clues to a past magnetic field

Unlike Earth, the moon no longer has a core-generated magnetic field. On our planet, the movement of liquid iron in the outer core generates a global magnetic field. This so-called geodynamo works on a similar principle to ...

12 hours ago
Phys.org / Spin waves inside a nano-oscillator imaged for the first time

For the first time, researchers have directly imaged the magnetization dynamics inside a spin Hall nano-oscillator—a nanoscale device that converts direct current into tunable microwave signals and is a promising building ...

13 hours ago
Phys.org / Past emissions from top polluters will keep the planet warmer for decades to come

If someone leaves the faucet running in your bathroom and the house floods, it's easy to assign responsibility for the damage. But for other disasters—bigger, more complicated and costlier ones—the link between cause and ...

12 hours ago
Phys.org / Brain organoids uncover how primates develop different brain shapes

Most primate species have relatively large brains with surfaces marked by pronounced bulges and furrows. This is not the case with common marmosets (Callithrix jacchus). The brains of these small monkeys are smooth and virtually ...

12 hours ago
Phys.org / Soil heterogeneity helps bacteria find nutrients

Microorganisms regulate key processes in soils and aquifers, including nutrient cycling, carbon turnover and contaminant degradation. Many bacteria use chemotaxis, the ability to sense and swim toward chemical signals, to ...

11 hours ago
Phys.org / Uncovering gravity's impact on the human genome

The Human Genome Project was launched in 1990, preceded by decades of breakthroughs in genetics. It eventually gave us a sequence of the human genome. Yet, while the physical rules behind the genome's organization remain ...

12 hours ago
Phys.org / Roaming black holes may tell the hidden history of galaxies

If you want to understand the origins of black holes, Yale astronomers say, you need to look beyond the centers of galaxies and start searching in the nooks and crannies. That's where you'll find the "wanderers"—black holes ...

13 hours ago
Phys.org / How evolution shaped the human skeleton: Clues from cartilage

Human and chimpanzee genomes are more than 98% identical, and the genes themselves barely differ. The changes that make us human are thought to hide instead in the DNA that controls when and where genes switch on.

15 hours ago
Phys.org / Variations in virus tails may help predict which phages kill more bacterial strains

Bacteriophages—or phages, for short—are viruses that kill bacteria, and scientists have been studying them for decades as a possible solution to antibiotic-resistant infections. But phages are notoriously picky eaters—a phage ...

12 hours ago
Phys.org / Earth may have gained optimal conditions for life's chemistry 4.33 billion years ago

Conditions on early Earth may have become stable enough to sustain the chemistry associated with the origins of life around 4.33 billion years ago, according to new research co-led by Planetary Science Institute senior scientist ...

15 hours ago
Phys.org / Kibble with microbial proteins appeals to cats and dogs in new study

In a new study, cats and dogs showed a short-term preference for kibble containing some protein derived from microorganisms over kibble containing only standard animal-derived protein. Ally Motta de Matos and A.L.B. Cruz ...

12 hours ago
Phys.org / Hormone-disrupting chemicals found in range of natural and drinking water sources

A new study has found that chemicals that can affect fertility and reproductive health are contaminating natural and drinking water supplies. The researchers involved in the study have also developed a tool to help detect ...

12 hours ago